Manner of taking out all Kinds of Spots and Stains from Linen and Stuffs; and various other useful Receipts.

281. To take Iron Mould out of Linen.

Hold the Iron Mould over the Fume of Boiling Water for some time, then pour on the spot a little Juice of Sorrel and a little Salt, and when the cloth has thoroughly imbibed the Juice, wash it in Lee.

282. To take out Stains of Oil.

Take Windsor Soap shaved thin, put it into a bottle half full of Lee, throw in the size of a Nut of Sal Armoniac, a little Cabbage Juice, two Yolks of new-laid Eggs, and Ox-gall at discretion, and lastly an ounce of powdered Tartar: then cork the bottle, and expose it to the heat of the noon-day sun four days, at the expiration of which time it becomes fit for use. Pour this Liquor on the stains, and rub it well on both sides of the cloth; then wash the stains with clear Water, or rather with the following soap, and when the cloth is dry, they will no longer appear.

283. Scowering Balls.

Take soft Soap, or Fuller's Earth; mix it with Vine Ashes sifted through a fine sieve, and with powdered Chalk, Alum, and Tartar, of each equal parts; form the mass into balls, which dry in the shade. Their use is to rub on spots and stains, washing the spotted part afterwards in clear Water.

284. To take out Stains of Coomb.

Put Butter on the stain, and rub it well with a piece of brown paper laid on a heated silver spoon; then wash the whole in the same manner as directed for spots of Wax.

285. To take out Stains of Urine.

Wash the stained place well with boiled Urine, and afterwards wash it in clear Water.

286. To take out Stains on Cloth of whatever Colour.

Take half a pound of Honey, the size of a Nut of Sal Armoniac, and the Yolk of an Egg; mix them together, and put a little of this mixture on the stain, letting it remain till dry. Then wash the cloth with fair Water, and the stains will disappear. Water impregnated with mineral Alkaline Salt or Soda, Ox-gall, and Black Soap, is also very good to take out spots of grease.

287. To take out Spots of Ink.

As soon as the accident happens, wet the place with Juice of Sorrel, or Lemon, or with Vinegar, and the best hard White Soap.

288. To take out Spots of Pitch and Turpentine.

Pour a good deal of Sallad Oil on the stained place, and let it dry on it four and twenty hours; then rub the inside of the cloth with the Scowering Ball and warm Water.

289. To take out Spots of Oil on Sattin and other Stuffs, and on Paper.

If the spot be not of long standing, take the Ashes of Sheep's Trotters calcined, and apply them hot both under and upon the spot. Lay on it something heavy, letting it remain all night; and if in the morning the spot is not entirely effaced, renew the application repeatedly till it wholly disappear.

290. To take out Spots on Silk.

Rub the Spots with Spirit of Turpentine; this Spirit exhaling, carries off with it the Oil that causes the Spot.

291. Balls to take out Stains.

Take an ounce of Quick-lime, half a pound of Soap, and a quarter of a pound of White Clay; moisten the whole with Water, and make it into little balls, with which rub the stains, and afterwards wash them with fair water.

292. To clean Gold and Silver Lace.

Take the Gall of an Ox and of a Pike, mixed well together in fair Water, and rub the gold or silver with this composition.

293. To restore to Tapestry its original Lustre.

Shake well, and thoroughly clean the tapestry; then rub it twice over with Chalk, which, after remaining seven or eight hours each time, is to be brushed off with a hard brush; the tapestry being likewise well beaten with a stick, and shaked.

294. To clean Turkey Carpets.

To revive the colour of a Turkey Carpet, beat it well with a stick, till the dust is all got out; then with Lemon or Sorrel Juice take out the spots of ink, if the carpet be stained with any; wash it in cold Water, and afterwards shake out all the Water from the threads of the carpet. When it is thoroughly dry, rub it all over with the Crumb of a hot Wheaten Loaf; and if the weather is very fine, hang it out in the open air a night or two.

295. To refresh Tapestry, Carpets, Hangings, or Chairs.

Beat the dust out of them on a dry day as clean as possible, and brush them well with a dry brush. Afterwards rub them well over with a good lather of Castile Soap, laid on with a brush. Wash off the froth with common Water; then wash the tapestry, &c. with Alum Water. When the cloth is dry, you will find most of the colours restored. Those that are yet too faint, touch up with a pencil dipped in suitable colours, and indeed you may run over the whole piece in the same manner with water colours, mixed with weak gum water, and, if well done, it will cause the tapestry, &c. to look at a distance like new.

296. To take Wax out of Silk or Camblet.

Take Soft Soap, rub it well on the spots of wax, dry it in the sun till it grows very hot, then wash the spotted part with cold Water, and the wax will be entirely taken out.

297. To take Wax out of Velvet of all Colours except Crimson.

Take a Crummy Wheaten Loaf, cut it in two, toast it before the fire, and while very hot, apply it to the part spotted with wax. Then apply another piece of toasted Bread hot as before, and continue to repeat this application till the wax is entirely taken out.

298. To wash Gold or Silver Work on Linen, or any other Stuff, so as to look like new.

Take a pound of Ox-gall; Honey and Soap, of each three ounces; Florentine Orrice in fine powder, three ounces; mix the whole in a glass vessel into a Paste, and expose it to the sun during ten days; then make a decoction of Bran, and strain it clear. Plaster over with your bitter Paste, the places you want to clean, and afterwards wash off the Paste with the Bran-water, till the latter is no longer tinged. Then wipe with a clean linen cloth the places you have washed; cover them with a clean napkin, dry them in the sun, press and glaze, and the work will look as well as when new.

299. To take Spots out of Silken or Woollen Stuffs.

Take a sufficient quantity of the finest Starch, wet it in an earthen pipkin with Brandy, rub a little on the spots, let it dry on them, and then brush it off; repeat this operation till the spots are wholly taken out. You must be careful to beat and brush well the place on which the Starch was applied.

300. To take Stains of Oil out of Cloth.

Take Oil of Tartar, pour a little on the spot, immediately wash the place with warm Water, and two or three times after with cold Water, and the spot will entirely disappear.

301. To take Stains out of White Cloth.

Boil an ounce of Alum in a gallon and a half of Water, for half an hour, then add a piece of White Soap, and half a ounce more of Alum, and after it has stood in cold infusion two days, wash with this mixture stains in any kind of white cloth.

302. To take Stains out of Crimson Velvet, and coloured Velvets.

Take a quart of strong Lee made with Vine Ashes, dissolve in it half an ounce of Alum; and when the mixture has settled, strain it through a linen cloth. Then take half a drachm of soft Soap, and the same quantity of Castile Soap, a drachm of Alum, half a drachm of Crude Sal Armoniac, a scruple of common Salt, a little Loaf Sugar, Juice of Celandine, and the Gall of a Calf; mix the whole well, and strain off the Liquor. When you want to use it, take a little Brazil Wood Shavings with some Scarlet Flocks, boil them in this Liquor, and when strained off, it will be very good to take spots or stains out of crimson velvet or cloth. For velvets or cloths of other colours, you dye your Liquor of the proper colour, by boiling in it some Flocks of the same colour as the cloth you intend to clean.

303. A Soap that takes out all manner of Spots and Stains.

Take the Yolks of six Eggs, half a table spoonful of bruised Salt, and a pound of Venetian Soap; mix the whole together with the Juice of Beet-roots, and form it into round balls, that are to be dried in the shade. The method of using this Soap is to wet with fair Water the stained part of the cloth, and rub both sides of it well with this Soap; then wash the cloth in Water, and the stain will no longer appear.

304. Another Method to take Spots or Stains out of White Silk or Crimson Velvet.

First soak the place well with Brandy or Spirit of Wine, then rub it over with the White of a new-laid Egg, and dry it in the sun. Wash it briskly in cold Water, rubbing the place where the spot is, hard between the fingers; and repeat this operation a second and even a third time, if it has not previously succeeded.

305. A Receipt to clean Gloves without wetting.

Lay the Gloves upon a clean board; and mix together Fuller's Earth and Powder of Alum very dry, which lay over them on both sides with a moderately stiff brush. Then sweep off the Powder, sprinkle them well with Bran and Whiting, and dust them thoroughly. If not very greasy, this will render them as clean as when new; but if they are extremely greasy, rub them with stale Crumb of Bread, and Powder of burnt Bones, then pass them over with a woollen Cloth dipped in Fuller's Earth or Alum Powder.

306. To colour Gloves.

If you want to colour them of a dark colour, take Spanish Brown and Black Earth; if lighter, Yellow Ochre and Whiting, and so of the rest; mix the colour with Size of a moderate strength, then wet the Gloves over with the Colour, and hang them to dry gradually. Beat out the superfluous Colour, smooth them over with a sleeking stick, and reduce them to a proper size.

307. To wash Point Lace.

Draw the Lace pretty tight in a frame, then with a lather of Castile Soap a little warm, rub it over gently by means of a fine brush. When you perceive it clean on one side, turn it, and rub the other in the same manner; then throw over the Lace some Alum-water, taking off the Suds, and with some thin Starch go over the wrong side of the Lace; iron it on the same side when dry, and raise the flowers with a bodkin.

308. To clean Point Lace without washing.

Fix the lace in a frame, and rub it with Crumb of stale Bread, which afterwards dust out.

309. To wash black and white Sarcenet.

Lay the silk smooth upon a board, spread a little Soap over the dirty places, make a lather with Castile Soap, and with a fine brush dipped in it, pass over the silk the right way, viz. lengthways, and continue so to do till that side is sufficiently scowered. Then turn the silk, scower the other side in the same manner, and put the silk into boiling Water, where it must lie some time; afterwards rince it in thin Gum Water; if white silk, add a little Smalt. This being done, fold the silk, clapping or pressing out the water with your hands on a dry Carpet, till it become tolerably dry; if white, dry it over the Smoak of Brimstone till ready for smoothing, which is to be done on the right side with an Iron moderately hot.

310. A Soap to take out all Kinds of Stains.

Boil a handful of Strawberries or Strawberry Leaves in a quart of Water and a pint of Vinegar, adding two pounds of Castile Soap; and half a pound of Chalk in fine powder; boil them together till the water has evaporated. When you use it, wet the place with the sharpest Vinegar or Verjuice, and rub it over with this Soap; dry it afterwards before the fire or in the sun.

311. An expeditious Method to take Stains out of Scarlet, or Velvet of any other Colour.

Take Soapwort, when bruised strain out its Juice, and add to it a small quantity of black Soap. Wash the Stain with this Liquor, suffering it to dry between whiles; and by this means, in a day or two the Spots will disappear.