To remove this furry deposit from heavy iron kettles, fill with water, add a large spoonful of sal ammoniac, and bring to a boil. Empty the kettle and let it stand over the fire until very hot, when the fur will peel off. Afterwards fill with water containing sal soda, boil, and rinse.
The furry deposit may also be dis solved in a weak solution of muriatic or acetic acid, but it must be remem bered that these are deadly poisons. Immediately fill the kettle with water, add 2 to 4 ounces of hyposulphide of soda or baking soda, and boil. Let this stand in the kettle for two or three days, and afterwards rinse with boiling water.
Teakettle.—Put an oyster shell in the teakettle to prevent its becoming incrusted with lime. Polish occasion ally with a woolen rag moistened with kerosene.
Tinware.—To cleanse tinware mois ten either brick dust or whiting with aqua ammonia, kerosene, or washing soda. Care must be taken not to use lye in cleaning tins, as it will injure them.
To Prevent Rust on Tinware. After washing and wiping tinware, place it on the back of the range or other warm place until it is thorough ly dry. To protect new tinware rub lard over every part of the tin and set it in the oven until it is heated through. This makes the tin perma nently rust proof.
To Prepare New Tins. — New tins are often covered with rosin or other substances which should be removed before using. Fill with boiling water and add sal soda or aqua ammonia at the rate of a tablespoonful to each quart of water. Boil and afterwards scour.
To Wash Tinware.—Fill greasy tins with water, add a tablespoonful of sal soda, and place on the back part of the range. Or use hot water con taining a teaspoonful of aqua am monia.
To Scour Tins. — Use sifted coal ashes moistened with kerosene. Or use whiting with kerosene. Or fine sand, or bath brick, followed by whit ing. Or polish with brown paper mois tened in vinegar. Damp flannel or dry chamois may be used for polishing tin ware. Afterwards wash in soapsuds, rinse, and dry.
To Clean Coffeepots.—Rub salt on the inside of u coffeepot to remove coffee and egg. Rinse quickly and thoroughly.
To Clean Wash Boilers.—If rusty, grease with lard and wash off with sweet milk. Dry thoroughly before storing away.
To Clean Earthenware.— To clean earthenware articles, as pots or jars, yellow-ware bowls, pie plates, etc., put them in a kettle with cold water, ashes, and sal soda, bring to a boil, and after boiling let them stand twenty four hours in the lye.
Or fill the vessels with hot lime wa ter and let them stand twenty-four hours.
Or scour, rinse, and wash with soap suds. Afterwards scour with charcoal powder and fill with water containing lumps of charcoal. This will remove all lingering odors.
To Repair Cracked Articles. — If earthenware or china articles begin to crack, put in them a tablespoonful of sugar and half a tumberful of water, and set over a brisk fire. Paint the inside of the vessel, especially the cracks, with the melted sugar. The sirup will enter the cracks and act as cement. This can be used for pie plates and other earthenware utensils used in cooking.
Earthenware baking dishes in which food is burned on should not be scraped. Put in the vessel a little
ashes or borax or baking soda, and fill with cold water. Set on the stove and raise slowly to a boil. Set aside to cool, and wash with hot soapsuds and a small stiff brush. Scald and wipe dry.
To remove brown stains from cus tard cups, pie plates, and the like, use dry whiting applied with a damp flan nel, or bath brick, scouring sand, or pumice. A piece of zinc shaped like the corner of a square tin is a great convenience in cleaning the corners of baking dishes and similar utensils. Punch a hole in it and hang it on a neighboring wall.
Tea and Coffee Pots.— Metal tea and coffee pots, if allowed to stand for a time, often get a musty odor. To prevent this, put a lump of dry sugar in them before putting them away. This absorbs the dampness which produces must. To clean and brighten the inside of these articles, fill with water and add a piece of hard soap. Boil for half an hour.
Or rub on a little salt and immedi ately rinse thoroughly.
Kettle Lids.—When these lose their handles, substitute a small block of wood by driving a screw through a tin into the lid from beneath.
Wooden Ware. — Do not wash the bread board, wooden bread platter, or rolling-pin in hot water. Wash with warm soapsuds and rinse in clean cold water.
Copper Ware.—Copper ware was formerly quite generally used for cooking utensils, and especially for large kettles, because of its durability. This ware is now being largely re placed by aluminum ware, which is equally durable, much lighter, and free from danger.
If copper-ware utensils are used it must be borne in mind that they are acted upon by moisture and by the fatty acids contained in fats and oils, the result being a carbonate of cop per, and also by acetic acid contained in vinegar, the result being acetate of copper or verdigris. Both of these are deadly poisons, hence when copper vessels are used to cook food or for other purposes they should be imme diately emptied and cleaned. Wipe them dry and keep in a dry place.
They should be again cleaned before they are used, by scrubbing with hot salt and vinegar, and afterwards scald ing with boiling water.
Or use hot buttermilk and salt for this purpose.
To Clean Japanned Ware. — Trays and other articles of japanned ware are quite commonly used, as they are light, cheap, and convenient. They must not be washed in hot water, strong suds, or water containing free alkali in any form, as sal soda, caustic lye, and the like, or with washing pow ders concerning which we know little. These take off the lacquer and may cause the ware to chip and scale. Wash them with a sponge or soft cloth in suds made of hard white or other neutral soap and cold or warm water. Afterwards wipe dry and sprinkle with flour. Polish with a dry cloth or chamois skin. Do not let them stand to drain dry or to dry by evaporation, as they may be stained. Never put hot articles on them.
To remove the white marks left by heat or water stains, apply sweet oil with a flannel cloth or sponge and afterwards rub with alcohol.