Originally published in the "Women's Column" in the Queensland Times, 24th July 1920.
How to wash silk:
The soft soap and borax mixture is the best soapy preparation to use for both white silk and woollens. Allow one tablespoonful of powdered borax to two tablespoonfuls of soft soap. Mix them thoroughly together, then add boiling water gradually, stirring well until the mixture is completely dissolved. If necessary, the mixture may be heated on the stove to assist the dissolving. When the mixture is quite liquid and without lumps, pour it into about a third of a tubful of cold water. Let the whole get quite cold.
Soak the silk or woollen articles in this for an hour or longer if they are very dirty, Then wash them well in the same water, and rinse thoroughly in cold water two or three times.
The flannels may be dried in the open air, but the silk, after being squeezed as dry as possible, should be rolled tightly in a towel and left for some hours, or in cool weather even all night, before ironing.
It is exposure to the air while wet that makes silk turn yellow rapidly.
Source: Women's Column (1920, July 24). Queensland Times (Ipswich) (Qld. : 1909 - 1954), p. 5 (DAILY.).
No comments