  LAUNDERING AND DRY CLEANSING “Washing is a necessity, ironing a luxury.” This terse sentence expresses very clearly the relative value of the two large divisions of the laundering process. The thorough washing of clothing is a most important branch of household sanitation, upon which the health of the family and of the whole community depends, for disease is communicable by means of soiled garments and those that are imperfectly cleansed in unsanitary houses and possibly in commercial laundries. The ideal city will have many large and spotlessly clean laundries, where skilled labor intelligently directed will insure clothing as clean as it can possibly be made. There is an Æsthetic element in laundering as well, for good washing methods give a tinted white to fabrics that it is a pleasure to see, and ironing makes a smoothness that is pleasant to the touch, and brings out beauty of design, as in damasks and embroideries. There is an economic feature, too, in that poor and rough methods of work in both washing and ironing injure fabrics and shorten their term of usableness. “Washing Day” has an ill repute that it does not deserve, for laundering is a science and an art that it is a pleasure to practice, if one has skill. Make it one of the household arts which you must carefully study, and you will find it pleasurable as well as necessary. Soil in garments.—The dust and dirt of the street and house that soil our garments contain inorganic particles of Cleansing agents.—Water is the great cleanser, and if it is not available in abundance and used freely, the washing is a failure. All other agents are merely aids to the water or substitutes for it. In primitive outdoor methods, still largely used in some countries, the flowing water is the only agent, and yet the result is fairly good. We aid the process by the use of soap or washing powders or ammonia. The air and sun are also purifiers, and clothing should be exposed to their action for drying whenever possible. There is a sweetness in air and sun-dried clothing that no artificial drier seems to give. Probably there takes place some oxidation of impurities present in very small amount and, moreover, any bacteria still clinging to the fabric may be killed by the sun’s rays. Heat is a purifier, oily substances being more readily removed by hot water and soap than by cold; and the boiling temperature of water renders bacteria and organic matter harmless. Some mechanical action that forces water through the fabric is necessary, and the method of accomplishing this is one of the important problems in laundering. We seek a method that will be thorough, that will not injure the fabric, and that will economize the muscular energy of the worker. Beating, pounding, and rubbing are the old methods, the use of a machine the new, and that is the best machine that meets all the requirements of the properly conducted washing process as described below. The water should be soft and clean. Rain water is a perfectly Hard water prevents the soap from lathering, and this must be counteracted for laundering. Temporary hardness is removed by boiling. Permanent hardness is not affected by boiling and can be overcome only by the addition of some substance like ammonia, borax, or soda. Only enough of these should be used to allow the soap to do its work, since they may injure fabric and the skin of the worker. Soap is the most useful of the cleansing agents added to water. It may have been accidentally made in the first place by some housewife who put a greasy pot to soak with a solution of lye made from the ashes of her hearth fire. Heat and alkali break up the fat into two parts, glycerin and a fatty acid. The fatty acid combines with the alkali, giving soap, and the glycerin remains free. Both animal and vegetable fats are used, and different forms of alkali, usually potash or caustic soda, the former for soft, the latter for hard, soap. In these days soap is much better made in the factory than it can be at home. In the factory the alkali is proportioned by weight, so that as little free alkali is left as possible. Such a soap is called “neutral.” Resin is added, in yellow laundry soaps, and is supposed to aid in forming suds. When there is an excess of resin, as in some cheap soaps, it is hard to rinse out and colors the clothes. Borax is sometimes added to soap, and is useful when the water is hard, but not necessary in soft water. Naphtha or some other petroleum oil in soap increases the cleansing property of soap, by dissolving fatty or greasy impurities. A soap solution is essential for use in the boiler and in washing machines and is useful for rubbing on spots before washing. To make soap solution, cut up the soap and dissolve it in hot water, one pound soap to one gallon of water. It should be strong enough to jelly when cool, and may be kept in jars ready to use. Even more convenient are soap chips which come by the barrel, but may be bought at pound rates. Bleaching and bluing agents.—The sun, as it bleaches white fabrics, may be counted in this group. Chemical bleaches are used to whiten clothes, but should not be resorted to unless clothes are yellow from poor washing, as in the end they weaken the fabric. Commercial laundries sometimes use an excess of acid for this purpose. Cream of tartar is a harmless bleach. Javelle water is another household bleach, chloride of lime being the bleaching substance. This is also a good disinfectant. To use cream of tartar.—Dissolve cream of tartar in hot water, 1 teaspoonful to each quart. After the yellowed fabrics have been thoroughly washed and rinsed, lay them overnight in a solution of this strength, rinse, blue, and dry in the morning. Javelle water.—1/4 pound chloride of lime, 1 pound sal soda, 2 quarts of cold water. Dissolve the chloride in half the water cold, and the sal soda in the other half boiling. Stir together thoroughly, allow the mixture to stand several hours, pour off the clear water with care, and bottle it. Use a tablespoonful of the solution to a gallon of water, and heat the yellow fabric in this mixture after thorough washing, for half an hour, not allowing the temperature to rise above 100° F. Rinse very thoroughly before bluing and drying. Bluing is used to neutralize the slightly yellowish tint of the fabric, when it cannot be completely bleached. Ultramarine blue is sold in small balls and cakes. Aniline blue is a strong color, and in a very dilute solution gives Prussian blue is to be avoided, since it is a salt of iron, and often yellows or spots the clothes. It is usually sold in liquid form. To test, mix the liquid blue with a strong solution of washing soda and heat. If the mixture turns red, and there is a reddish precipitate, the blue is this salt of iron. Starch is used to fill the interstices of fabrics and give a smoothness and stiffness to the cloth that prevents the rumpling of garments. Both wheat and cornstarch are used for laundry purposes when only the natural starches are available, the wheat starch being better for home laundering, as the cornstarch gives a quality that is too stiff and crackling. Recently, however, the manufacturers have learned to make “thin boiling” starches from corn and have placed on the market a variety of such modifications of cornstarch for laundry use. Rice starch or “rice water” is used for very thin muslins. To make starch.—For method of making, see starch experiments, Chapter VIII. The starch must be perfectly smooth, and should be stirred while it is boiling for a few minutes, and strained. Proportions. 1. For lingerie, 1 teaspoonful of starch to 1 quart water. 2. For medium fabrics, 11/2 to 3 tablespoonfuls starch to 1 quart water. 3. For stiff work, 5 tablespoonfuls starch to 1 quart water. Ironing.—The ironing process is the most difficult art in laundering, and requires good tools, practice, and patience. In the summer it is an exhausting labor unless an electric or gas iron is available. Much energy may be saved in hot weather by omitting the ironing of certain articles. Dish towels, even toilet towels, and soft underwear may be stretched and folded, and are perfectly comfortable to use. The smoothing of the fabric is accomplished by heated irons, or by pressing between rollers in a mangle. To summarize.—The essential steps in laundering are: the forcing of clear water through the fabric; loosening of the soil and stains by soap and appropriate chemicals, sterilization by boiling temperature, drying and sweetening in the air if possible. The less essential are bluing, starching, and in some cases ironing. Laundry equipment.—We are beginning to realize that a separate room for laundering purposes is an essential in a well-equipped home. Such a laundry will be light and well ventilated, will have washable floors, walls, and ceilings, running water and hot water supply, sanitary tubs and conveniences in the shape of machinery. We shall not have perfect laundries until electric power is available at a fair price. Much is said about electricity on the farm, and the progressive farmer who has his own engine should not fail to use the power for all laundry work. Trolley power should be available, and this use of electricity should be made cooperative when practicable. In a few communities abroad and at home, the power available in a creamery is used for laundering purposes as well. Where there cannot be a separate laundry, take pains to have the equipment as good as space will allow. The tubs.—If possible, have three tubs, for this makes for economy of time. Enameled tubs are the most sanitary, and be sure that they are white. You cannot tell whether or not the clothes are clean and blued to the proper tint in a buff-tinted tub, which you may be tempted to buy because it is cheaper. Round portable tubs, to be set upon a bench, should be of galvanized iron, which is sanitary and light. Wooden tubs are things of the past, unsanitary and heavy. Equipment for forcing water.—The rubbing board is the old-time method, yet it wears the fabric and wears out the worker, and should be used as little as possible. If still considered necessary, it should be of glass set in wood. The wooden board is unsanitary and the metal board may at any moment develop a tiny crack that will tear the fabric. Fortunately, many women are learning that the washing machine, properly used, is a great economy of fabric, time, and strength. Many machines are on the market, and we need to discriminate and to select the machine constructed to force the water through the fabric without injury to the fabric, and with the smallest amount of muscular energy and that properly exerted without strain. Of course, if machine power is available, the problem is easy. These many washers may be classed in four groups. One is a revolving arrangement, sometimes consisting of two corrugated boards set in the center of a tub of clothes, one objection being that the clothes are sometimes torn. Another type has a revolving perforated inner cylinder for the clothes, and an outer one for the soap and water. This is much more expensive. Still a third rocks the clothes in soap and water and is very effective. A fourth type makes use of suction. The principle of cleansing by pressure and suction is used in several machines and hand washers, and these are, on the whole, inexpensive and practical for home work. The work is accomplished by an inverted cone, pushed down on the clothes, and lifted. Such a washer is seen standing on the floor in Fig. 80. The same figure also shows another of this type standing on the table, and still another to be used in the boiler. Most of these devices can be used with power. The boiler.—A portable boiler is convenient. It should be made of good quality tin with copper bottom and must be thoroughly washed and dried after using. The wringer is of great assistance to good work. It should be a good machine having hard rubber rollers, ball-bearing action, and strong springs at the side. It must be cleaned after using, dried, the pressure loosened, and the whole kept covered. The drier.—If clothesline or heavy wire is used, this must be of good quality, and well cared for. The clothesline should be taken in after each using. A revolving drier is convenient, and may even Fig. 80.—Simple laundry equipment for the home. A. Fowler, Photographer. Irons.—The hand iron is heated in several different ways. The old-fashioned iron heated on the stove, and the electric iron are the most satisfactory. In buying hand irons, select those of good weight, for this makes the work easier. Three or four will suffice for ordinary work, and they should weigh from 4 or 5 to 7 pounds. A small pointed iron is necessary for fine work, and for sleeves there is a special, narrow iron. The irons must be kept clean, and perfectly dry when not in use. Wax tied in a cloth is a good cleaner, and should be at hand during the ironing process. A stand is necessary on which the iron may rest, and paper or cloth on which to rub the iron when it comes from the stove. Electric irons are proving very satisfactory, and although the first cost is high, they should be used wherever possible. The mangle.—Small mangles, used either cold or heated, are now made for family use, and are great labor savers in flat work. Towels and small flat pieces may even be put through the wringer, while they are still damp, with very good effect. The ironing board.—This should be firm, well padded, and covered with clean cloth. The cover may be made to tie on so that it can be easily changed. Ironing boards should be placed in a good light. Boards may be attached to the wall, and these have firm support. In a small room, the board can be made to turn up. Other apparatus.—A hamper or bag for soiled clothes, a basket for clean, pail and dipper, a clothes stick, a large pan, a small and a large saucepan, a teakettle for boiling water, a knife, wooden spoon, common spoons and measures, a sprinkler or brush for sprinkling clothes, a clotheshorse, clothes hangers for waists and dresses. The soiled clothes bag should be washed weekly, and the hamper should have a removable lining also for weekly washing. Monday and Tuesday are the traditional days for washing and ironing, but the woman who does her own work, or perhaps has a helper, or one maid, may find it a good plan to do no more on Monday than the mending, removing of stains, and sorting. This gives time to make the house orderly, after Sunday, and to prepare food, some of which may last Order of work.—Mending, sorting the clothes, removing stains, soaking, washing, boiling, rinsing, bluing, starching, drying, sprinkling and rolling, ironing, folding, airing, sorting, and distributing. Methods.—Mending and removing spots from fabrics are discussed in “Shelter and Clothing.” A few common stains are removed as follows: Fruit and coffee stains.—Hold the spotted fabric tightly over a bowl and pour boiling water through it. Of course, remove stains at once if possible. Peach stains are removed by Javelle water. Apply a few drops and pour boiling water through at once. Cocoa and chocolate stains are helped by borax, and by soap and cold water. Ink.—Liquid ink removers provided for the library table are convenient. Wet the spot, use 1, dry with a blotter, and use 2, and rinse at once. The same thing is done by wetting, applying an oxalic acid solution first, then Javelle water and rinsing. Blood stains are removed by soaking in lukewarm water, and washing in a soap solution with a little ammonia and kerosene, or with a naphtha soap. Sorting.—Separate the fabrics, wool from cotton and so on, and colored cotton from white; also separate body linen from bed linen and from table linen. Soaking.—This hastens the process since it loosens dirt, and one laboratory experiment seemed to show that soaked clothes are freer from bacteria, than those that are not. Shrinkable fabrics cannot be soaked. Body and table linen should be soaked separately. The water should be cold, softened with a little ammonia. Washing.—Wash woolens and silk underwear first, in warm, not hot, soap suds, wring out, rinse, and hang to dry. Use a white, neutral soap. Have the same temperature for both washing and rinsing. Boiling water shrinks wool, and yellows silk. Hand-knit wool, as shawls and jackets, stretch in drying. If dried in a Prepare hot water in the tub, with dissolved soap in it, either for handwork or a washer. Wash table linen first, then bed linen and towels, and next the body clothes. Soap the articles well, and rub or use a washer. It is well to wash handkerchiefs by themselves, boiling in a pail for half an hour. If one of the family has a cold or influenza, soak his handkerchiefs in a solution of salt and water and perhaps a little bleaching powder before washing and boiling. Make fresh suds often. This means heavy labor in the case of portable tubs, but clothes cannot be cleansed in dirty water. Colored cotton and linen articles may be washed last. They should be put first into salt and water to set the color, washed in tepid water with white soap, rinsed thoroughly and hung in the shade, wrong side out. Boiling.—Boil the washed clothes in soap solution for ten minutes. In case of infectious disease, all the patient’s linen should be boiled an hour, Rinsing.—This must be thorough and two or three waters must be used. This is the stage where many laundresses fail. The suction washers are very useful here. Wringing.—This must take place between every two stages of the process. Bluing.—Add the bluing solution to clean water to the desired shade, shake each piece, put it through the water, and wring out at once. Do not use bluing in excess. Starching.—Next the fabrics that need a little thin starch may be starched. Starch for stiff collars and shirts is rubbed in at the time of ironing. Drying.—Hang out the clothes, having pieces of a kind together, and the threads straight. If out of doors, hang in such a way that the air will have easy access. Take down, when dry, and fold lightly in a basket. Sprinkle, roll tightly, and leave them until ironing time. Thin fabrics should be very moist, as they dry quickly. Ironing.—This art must be acquired by watching the expert and by practice. Fig. 81.—Folding of nightdresses. Courtesy of Balderston and Limerick. Shake or stretch the article, and lay it straight upon the board. Iron from right to left, arranging the material with the left hand, and iron with the long thread of the material. Bring the article on the board toward you. Iron first the parts that will wrinkle least, such as ruffles and trimming and sleeves. Embroidery and damask should be ironed on a very soft material like a Turkish towel, right side down. Always iron until the fabric is dry. All tucks and folds must be carefully straightened, and if ironed crooked, they must be made very wet and done over again. When ironing a waist will you do the sleeve or the body first? Large flat pieces, towels, and napkins are folded in the ironing. Doilies and centerpieces should not be folded. Folding is necessary in order to make the garments of convenient shape for putting away. Figures 81 and 82 will suggest the method for some garments. Fig. 82.—Folding of corset covers. Courtesy of Balderston and Limerick. Commercial laundries.—The convenience of these has been suggested already. When we can make them all sanitary, and when methods are used that will not injure the fabric, we can safely put this kind of work out of the house, but at present many commercial laundries are unsanitary and ruin the clothes. Cost of laundering.—We cannot have good service without paying for it, and one cause of poor laundry work is the public demand for cheap work, and this too has its effect upon the laundry worker. The housekeeper often fails to If you have never done any laundering and expect a laundress to do up fine lingerie at a low rate, it will be a revelation to you to attempt to iron a shirt waist or lingerie dress, and then decide what remuneration you would yourself like to receive. One class of high school girls, after a course of six laundry lessons, decided that a dollar a dozen was fair pay for ordinary work! This is an interesting question for class and home discussion. Dry cleaning.—This is accomplished by gasoline, naphtha, or benzine, and should not be attempted by the city dweller. In the country or suburbs, it should be done out of doors, far from any source of fire. Use a basin or tub, and immerse the article in the liquid, using as much as if water, lifting gently up and down. Rinse in a second portion. A suction washer may be used with large garments. Do not rub the fabric in the liquid. Lift, drain, and hang to dry. Keep the can in a safe place, safety being insured by coolness. Powdered French chalk may be rubbed into delicate silk and wool, where there is a grease spot, or an oiliness from the skin. Leave for twenty-four hours, then shake, and brush out. Ether and chalk may be used, but the ether affects some people unpleasantly, and dissolves out some delicate colors. Meal may also be used for cleaning wool, especially knitted fabrics, but it is difficult to shake out, and it needs blowing out on the clothesline. Laboratory management.—A few lessons can be given in laundering where there is no complete equipment. Dish towels, doilies, and napkins can at least be washed in dishpans in the school kitchen, and a few irons provided. A few such lessons are helpful at least in developing an appreciation of what good laundering means at home and to the community. The following order of practical work is suggested, when there is a school equipment. (From “A Laundry Manual,” courtesy of Balderston and Limerick.) First Course I. Make Javelle water, detergent, soap, and give general notes. II. Removal of stains. Wash. Table linen. 1 tablecloth for every four students. 1 napkin for each student. 1 doily for each student. III. Wash. Bed linen. 1 sheet for every four students. 1 pillow case for each student. Iron. Tablecloth, napkins, and doilies. IV. Wash. Drawers and stockings. Iron. Sheets and pillow cases. V. Wash. Towels and plain colored pieces. Iron. Drawers and stockings. VI. Wash. Nightdress and corset covers. Iron. Towel and colored clothes. VII. Wash. Flannel underwear. Iron. Nightdress and corset covers. VIII. Wash. Embroideries. Iron. Embroideries and flannels. Second Course I. Wash. White skirts. Wash and iron. Doilies and drawn work. II. Wash. Shirtwaists. Iron. White skirts. III. Wash. Knit and crocheted articles and flannel waists. Iron. Shirtwaists. IV. Wash. Woolen dress goods, down quilt, and blankets. Iron. Flannel waists. V. Wash. Collars and cuffs, child’s dress, ribbons. Finish quilt and blankets. VI. Wash. Silks. Iron. Silks, collars and cuffs, child’s dress. VII. Wash. Laces, lace curtains. VIII. Wash. Collarettes, stocks, handkerchiefs. Iron. Collarettes, stocks, handkerchiefs. Finish lace curtains. EXERCISES1. Why is ironing less necessary than washing? 2. What are the chief cleansing and purifying agents? 3. Explain the difference between hard and soft water. Remedies for hardness? 4. What is soap, and how does it act? 5. Why do we blue and starch clothes? 6. Describe the methods of forcing water through clothes. 7. Why are clothes boiled? 8. What are some of the labor saving devices and methods in washing and ironing? 9. Why must clothes be sorted according to fabrics? 10. What are the essentials of a good washing machine? 11. Make a list of the cleansers and chemicals necessary to have on the laundry shelf. 12. Obtain price lists and estimate the cost of simple but sufficient laundry equipment. 13. Obtain a laundry list from a commercial laundry. Make a list of the articles washed at home, and compare cost with the cost of putting out clothes, estimating fuel, cleansers, labor, and some wear and tear of apparatus. |
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