Put on a wash boiler half full of water, and add a cupful of powdered borax. Put the feathers in this, bring them to el, boil, and again pour them on cheese cloth. Drain and squeeze dry. Tie the corners of the cheese cloth together and hang it over a clothes line, shaking occasionally until dry. Several days may be required to dry the feathers thoroughly. Do not use soap to wash feathers.
Care of Feather Beds.—Many feath er beds are in use which have been slept on for more than one generation without being renovated. When the feathers have been properly cleaned and the ticks cared for, they perhaps do not need renovating oftener than once in two or three years, but at least once in three years the feathers should be passed into a fresh tick, the ticking washed, and the feathers reno vated before they are returned to it. After the tick has been washed, rub the inside with a mixture of equal parts of beeswax and turpentine and go over it with a warm iron. This will prevent the feathers from being soiled by perspiration or otherwise or from working through the tick.
Or, once a year, place the feather beds and pillows out of doors on the grass or on a clean, flat roof, and allow them to be thoroughly drenched by a warm summer rain.
Hang them to the limb of a tree to dry in the shade.
To Clean Feather Pillows.—Feath er pillows may be washed without re moving the feathers by boiling them in borax water to which a small quan tity of ammonia has been added. Use half a teacupful of borax to a boiler ful of water, and add a tablespoonful of ammonia. Boil fifteen or twenty minutes. After removing the pillow from the boiler, scrub the tick, if bad ly stained, by laying it on a wash board and applying suds with a stiff brush. Rinse in two or three waters and hang on the line in a shady place to dry. Shake the pillow and change ends two or three times a day. Bring the pillows into the house before the dew falls or if it should come on to rain, as it takes a long time to dry pillows at best. This process makes the feathers light, flaky, and sweet smelling.
Or, if you do not wish to wash the feathers, pass them into pillow covers and hang them on the line to air while the ticks are being washed.
Or put the pillows out of doors in a drenching rain storm. Afterwards squeeze as much water out of them as possible and hang them up to dry in a shady place.
To Mend Old Blankets.—To mend all breaks and tears in old blankets, cover both sides with cheese cloth. Tack all together with white or col ored yarn, and thus make a light quilt superior to a comforter. Finish the edge by crocheting around all four sides.
To Store Bedding. — Line a large packing case with heavy wrapping paper by using brass tacks or by pasting paper to the inside of the case with flour paste and a whitewash brush. This will prevent moths from making their way through the cracks of the case and the folds of the paper. Air the bedclothes thoroughly, fold blankets in paper, and scatter freely among the folds hemlock or arbor vitae dry sweet flags, lavender, or sachet powder. These are equally as effective as moth balls, and give the bedclothes an agreeable odor. Paste the ends of the paper together and paste wrapping paper over the top of the case in such a way as to leave no cracks through which moths can find an entrance. Nail down the lid.
Bedroom Ornaments. — Remove all unnecessary bric-a-brac from the bed rooms and take unnecessary articles from dressing tables. A room looks much daintier without useless little things.
To Clean the Bathroom. — Thor oughly wash down walls and floors, clean out the medicine closet, and throw away everything that is not likely to be used. Look over the shelves carefully for cracks and crevices which may give lodgment to vermin, and wash them with strong soap and water. Clean the porcelain tub and basin with a cloth wet with kerosene. Pour in kerosene, if necessary, and scrub with a whisk broom or fiber brush. Remove stains from porcelain with dilute muriatic acid (1 part of acid to 10 parts of water), applied by means of a cotton swab held in a cleft stick. Polish the metal work of faucets and pipes with a suitable cleaner.
Or clean the bathtub, washbowl, etc., with gasoline and flannel.
When painting the bathroom, if you wish the floor darker than the walls, without buying two shades of paint, get a light-colored paint, as lead color or light yellow, and after the walls are painted add to the remainder of the paint powdered burnt umber. This will give to the floor a darker color of the same general tone.