Ironing board

“ They always put the ironing board on the dining room table. Washed Monday, hanging out the clothes Tuesday and ironed Wednesday. Finished ironing that evening. Then I laid the clothes ironed out in piles and Mrs. Borden and the girls took them up stairs. I mean Lizzie took hers up instead of the girls took them up. They took the piles of clothes up Thursday morning, I separated the clothes before breakfast. The little ironing board was not quite as big as a large board. Sometimes in hot weather the girls ironed in the kitchen, but usually it was in the dining room. ”

“ Above you see the construction of the Curtis built-in ironing board, which makes it adjustable in height. At the extreme left is the board in place; at the immediate left, the board in use; at the right the board is shown sustaining a weight of 365 pounds. The sturdy construction of the board and its leg makes a stable ironing board. The above construction is such that the board cannot shift endwise with the motion of the iron.
Where You Spend Over One-third of Your Life
Did you ever stop to realize that you spend more than one-third of your life in your bedroom? ”

“ Some boards are made with folding legs which are a convenience if substantial and well braced. Besides a large board, it is well to have a small bosom board; they are not merely for shirts but are convenient also for ironing small articles at other times than on a regular ironing day. A sleeve board is likewise a helpful addition to the laundry fittings.
Irons.—To do a family ironing at least six irons are needed. Do not keep them on a stove with fire in it except when they are in use. They are spoiled by being constantly heated and cooled, and they get dirty. Water is not good for them. ”

“ At eight o’clock a group of students, with clean collars and well-pressed clothes, came down from the University building, each carrying an ironing-board, to be sold in some nearby town. This ironing-board was entirely unlike every other ironing-board invented by man or woman. It was the product of the fertile and practical mind of our mathematical professor; its chief virtues being, as described in the prospectus, that “it stands up like a soldier, kneels down like a camel, and folds up like a jack-knife!” ”

“ Have the irons hot, and the ironing-board ready, and make up your mind to iron patiently a long time. A medium-sized broadcloth table cover, such as used to be in fashion, required to be ironed two hours and a half. A less time is necessary for the thinner fabrics; but whatever the texture is, if it has wool in it, it must be pressed until it is dry, else it will not look well. Faded table-covers, having one color only, mingled with white, may be dyed with advantage. ”

“ A large, flat stone occupies each hearth-section and forms the ironing-board upon which the cylinders of glass are to be smoothed. In the layingout oven, the crack in the cylinder is brought uppermost. Under the influence of the heat the glass gradually unfolds, until it lies open on the stone like a sheet of rumpled paper. In the succeeding compartment—the flattening oven—the plastic sheet is made perfectly smooth and flat by means of a moist block of wood on the end of a long iron rod. ”

“ The ironing, by spreading a coarse dry towel on the bowels, and passing over them "a bottle filled with boiling water, or, what is better, a common flat-iron, such as is used in smoothing linen, heated as warm as can well be borne, for fifteen or twenty minutes." Make an ironing-board of a patient's bowels! This is worse than all: a man might consent to be tickled and pickled—but to iron him for twenty minutes—mercy on us! ”

“ The ironing-holder should be of soft, light-colored material, that dirt and stains may bear testimony against its use about clean clothes, till it is washed. Harsh material is severe on the hands when used for hours on a hot iron. When out of use, the ironing-holder must be put away with the ironing-sheet, bosom-board, etc., that they may not be used in the kitchen. ”

“ An electric iron is a great convenience but not a necessity. A one burner gas stove or a small oil stove and an ordinary flat iron make a practical substitute.
Do not try to get along without an iron and ironing board. ”

“ There is no royal road to ironing, but with perseverance and care the home laundress can become quite expert, even though she cannot hope to compete with the work turned out by those who do nothing but iron six days in the week. Give the iron a good, steady pressure, lifting from the board as little as possible, and then—iron! Take the bed linen first, giving a little extra press to the hems of the sheets. Many housewives have a theory that unironed sheets are the more hygienic; that ironing destroys the life and freshness imparted by the sun and air. ”

“ When using an electrical flatiron the flexible cord frequently gets under the iron, causing much trouble for the user, and mussing up the clothing. The cord can be kept out of the way by fastening a pulley to the ironing board and attaching a coil spring to the electric cord between the pulley and the electric-fixture socket. A coil spring that will draw out about 3 ft. should be used.—Contributed by Herbert Blandford, Elmira, N. Y.
A Wood Clothes Peg
If clothes that are slightly damp are hung on a nail or metal peg, a rust stain that is almost impossible to remove will be the result. ”

“ Place the iron-stand at the right-hand end of the board, and with it a paper, a cloth and a piece of beeswax. Under the board spread a clean cloth, that when long pieces are being ironed they may rest on the cloth instead of on the floor.
The order in which ironing is done is a matter [327] of preference. Some women say, do the heaviest and most difficult pieces first. Others prefer to alternate the hard and easy ones. Women who do their housework without assistance usually make a roll of little unimportant things which they iron in the intervals of getting luncheon or of other necessary work. ”

“ Then keep it under a weight of some sort to prevent any probable warping of the wood. Mr. Sabatini was very insistent about the plank being of oak, as any other wood imparts too definite a flavor of its own to the food stuffs cooked on it.
Ironing boards have never been replaced with metal to any large extent. It is their “give” when swathed in “white stuff” that makes them comforting and usable. Even the modern bracketed ironing boards are wooden with the exception of their metal joints and arms, enabling them to be folded against the walls or put out of the way. ”

“ Iron colored clothes—lawns, dimities, percales, chambrays, etc.—on the wrong side, with an iron not too hot, otherwise the color is apt to be injured. The home laundress is usually not quite equal to the task of ironing shirts, which would far better go to the laundry; but when done at home from choice or necessity, plenty of patience and muscle must be applied. Iron the body of the shirt first, then draw the bosom tightly over a board and attack it with the regular irons, wipe over quickly with a damp cloth and press hard with the polishing iron. ”

“ For ironing fine things, such as collars, cuffs, muslins, and laces, there is nothing so clean and nice to use as the box-iron, the bottom being bright, and never placed near the fire. It is always perfectly clean; it should, however, be kept in a dry place, for fear of its rusting. The skirts of muslin dresses should be ironed on a skirt-board covered with flannel, and the fronts of shirts on a smaller board, also covered with flannel, this board being placed between the back and front. After things are mangled, they should also be ironed in the folds and gathers ”

“ In planning for the ironing much may be done to facilitate the work. Little labor-saving devices can be introduced which will increase the amount of work done in a day. Ironing boards of special shapes, and for special purposes, and tables of various designs can be had for a trifle and will result in a saving of time and more finished work. ”

“ When irons are put away, turn the bottoms up. If they are put away for a long time, it is well to give them a thin coating of beeswax.
If you have ever seen any one test an iron with a wet finger to see if it is hot, you will only need the courage to try to be able to do it. Wet your finger in your mouth and strike quickly and lightly on the bottom of the iron; if it—spits, to put it elegantly, the iron is right for average ironing. Rub it on a paper or a cloth and judge from the effect whether it is clean and of the right temperature for the work you are doing. ”

“ Before beginning to iron have everything in readiness—beeswax, a heavy paper on which to test the iron, a dish of water, and a soft cloth or a small sponge for dampening surfaces which have become too dry to iron well, or which have been poorly ironed and need doing over. Stand the ironing table in the best light which can be found, with the ironing stand at the right and the clothes at the left, and work as rapidly as consistent with good results. ”

“ To be able to iron properly requires much practice and experience. Strict cleanliness with all the ironing utensils must be observed, as, if this is not the case, not the most expert ironer will be able to make her things look clear and free from smears, &c. After wiping down her ironing table, the laundry-maid should place a coarse cloth on it, and over that the ironing-blanket, with her stand and iron-rubber ”

“ There are many modifications of these general rules and methods, and it may be necessary in certain cases, such as the ironing of braids stiffened with media other than gelatine or water soluble materials, to employ other methods, but they are generally peculiar to the plait used and of a purely ephemeral nature. In some factories box irons are used, heated by patent fuel, others are warmed by gas and electricity, but the general convenience of the fire-heated pad causes the old fashioned iron to retain an almost universal supremacy. ”

“ Waxing roller
of mangle.
178. Flat, or Sadirons. Irons are of two kinds—those which must be heated on a stove, and the self-heating ones. The weight of the iron governs the amount of heat it will absorb, and this is the amount that it will give up in ironing. Heat is needed to dry clothes, and as the cloth can be smoothed best when damp, but will wrinkle again unless dried while smooth, heat is essential to the ironing process.
The weight of the iron helps in the smoothing process. The heavy irons do the best grade of work, but are harder to manipulate. ”

“ They are made in a great variety of forms, to enable them to deal with articles of different shapes, but they may be described generally as consisting either of a polished metal roller, heated by steam or gas, which works against a blanketted or felted surface in the form of another roller or a flat table, or, as in the Decoudun type, of a felted metal roller rotating against a heated concave bed of polished metal. In cases where hand-ironing is resorted to, time is economized by the employment of irons which are continuously heated by gas or electricity. ”

“ A great fuss has been made about setting the clock ahead one hour to save time and daylight, but little attention has been given the problem of saving four hours every ironing day by means of electricity and the ironing machine. A good machine, unlike the mangle which only folds and is not heated, should be able to iron at the rate of seven or eight feet per minute. In this way the ordinary ironing can be done four times as quickly as by the old method. ”

“ There should be at least three irons for each person ironing, and a small and large clothes-frame, on which to air the fine and coarse clothes. It is a great saving of space as well as labor to have a clothes-frame made with a large number of slats, on which to hang clothes. ”

“ Linen, cotton, and other fabrics, after being washed and dried, are made smooth and glossy by mangling and by ironing. The mangling process, which is simply passing them between rollers subjected to a very considerable pressure, produced by weight, is confined to sheets, towels, table-linen, and similar articles, which are without folds or plaits. Ironing is necessary to smooth body-linen, and made-up articles of delicate texture or gathered into folds. ”

“ In getting up fine things well much also depends on the ironing. The ironing-blanket should be thick, so that the work on the collars, &c., &c., should have a raised look after being ironed; where the blanket is thin the hard surface of the table flattens the work, and injures the appearance. ”

“ The cloth is then delivered at the far side of the machine in Fig. 44. If necessary, the surface speed of the middle or steam-heated roller may differ from the others so that a glazed effect--somewhat resembling that obtained by ordinary ironing--is imparted to the surface of the fabric. The faster moving roller is the steam-heated one. For ordinary calender finish, the surface speed of all the rollers is the same. ”

“ Time and strength are wasted in attempts to use cool irons, therefore allow them time to get thoroughly heated before you begin to iron. Set up the board in a place where it will not be in a draught, as this quickly cools the irons. ”

“ The great force of the steam will raise the pile much more quickly than the method of using a damp cloth over a hot iron. If the velvet after steaming is found to be still too imperfect or faded to be used on the hat plain, it may be gathered a half inch apart or more and used either on the crown or the brim, or it may be mirrored by ironing on the right side with a hot iron, always ironing lightly one way, using a sweeping motion. ”