Washing soda

“ After baking soda has lost its carbon dioxide gas, it is no longer baking soda, but is transformed into its relative, washing soda, which has a disagreeable taste and is by no means desirable for the stomach.
Man's knowledge of chemicals and their effect on each other has enabled him to overcome this difficulty and, at the same time, to retain the leavening effect of the baking soda. ”

“ Oxalate of soda may be made thus—procure 3 lbs. of carbonate of soda, the common washing soda used by the laundress, not bicarbonate of soda; boil it up in a saucepan with just as little water as will suffice to dissolve it. ”

“ Amongst the lesser virtues which have been greatly promoted by means of scientific research is that of cleanliness. The origin of soap was the discovery of the detergent properties of a boiled mixture of fat and alkali. The numerous inventions which have cheapened the most important soap-producing material, viz., washing soda, and those which have cheapened oil of vitriol, the chief substance consumed in making washing-soda, have all contributed to the cleanliness of mankind ”

“ Make a strong solution of common washing soda in hot water, place a little unslaked lime, broken into coarse powder, over the stains, and pour on sufficient solution of soda to wet the lime thoroughly. ”

“ This washing soda is also an important part of bone; mingled with phosphate of lime, phosphate of magnesia, and fluoride of lime, it helps to make our bones and teeth.
Smelling salts seems a funny thing to have within you, but it is there. Sodium, potassium, and ammonium are mixed with hydrogen and oxygen to make it—the pungent ammonia, as well as the soda and potash which are the cleansing principles of soap. These are distributed through all the flesh of the body and are present in the blood. Together with the phosphates they keep the blood and other fluids alkaline. ”

“ No better antiseptic exists than ordinary soap, not altogether because of the properties of the soap, but because of the action of the soap combined with hot water. Washing soda, dissolved in water and used for boiling clothes which have become polluted, adds to the disinfecting power of the hot water the disinfecting properties of the soap, and the result is most effective. Ammonia has not the same value as the soda or potash soap, although it has the power of destroying bacteria in the course of a few hours. ”

“ The lye bath is made by adding two heaping tablespoonfuls of lye or washing soda to the gallon of boiling water. Cans boiled in this solution for five minutes will be thoroughly cleaned and free from paint, paper labels, and practically anything likely to be found inside or outside of a can. The lye or washing soda may be obtained at any grocery store. Care should [73] be taken not to get any of the lye solution on the hands or the clothes as it is very caustic and will burn the hands and ruin the clothes if not immediately washed off. ”

“ Usually soap and warm water is sufficient to remove dirt and stains, but occasionally a particularly hard case calls for the addition of a little washing soda in the water. The last washing, however, should always be in clear water. ”

“ Now, although the soap may be economized in personal ablution by the uncomfortable method here described, it is impossible to obtain this economy in the washing of linen. In this case, the whole of the water must be saturated with soap before it is available. Soda is, to a certain extent, substituted with a view to economy, as much as £30,000 worth of soda being annually used in the metropolis to compensate for the hard quality of the water; and, perhaps, as an approximative calculation, £200,000 worth of soap is annually wasted without being useful as a detergent. ”

“ Here will be the best place for me to say something about washing powders and fluids of which there are so many on the market. I think I have tried all or most of them and I do not believe any one of them has saved me half an hour’s labour or made my clothes any whiter than I could get them with the ordinary soap and soda. Some of them ruin the clothes, others turn them yellow after a few washings. When washing very greasy or dirty things a tablespoonful of kerosene added to the boiler is a great help, but unless put in just at the right moment, which is when boiling, it is useless. ”

“ Liquid ammonia is a very good preparation with which to soften hard water. Ordinary household ammonia is quite equal to the various patent preparations. About a tablespoonful of strong ammonia will soften about twenty gallons of London water. Failing ammonia, common washing soda is as good as anything, and is certainly cheap enough for everybody. You can easily tell if you have added enough of the ammonia or soda to the water by feeling it with the hand, when the hard feel of ordinary tap water gives place to the unctuous feel of soft water. ”

“ In purchasing soap, it is safer to choose the make of some well-known firm, who have a reputation to lose if their products are not good; and for anything stronger than soap, it is better to buy sal-soda and use it knowingly than to trust to the various packages so extensively advertised. Washing soda should always be dissolved in a separate vessel, and added to the water to be used. Ammonia may be used, but its too frequent use will yellow bleached fabrics. Borax is an effectual cleanser, disinfectant and bleacher. It is more expensive than ammonia or soda but is the safest alkali to use. ”

“ Add a small amount of common soda or some of the well-known washing powders to a bucket of water and keep under your counter to wash your ice cream soda glasses in, afterwards rinsing them.
Don’t hire a cheap boy to run your fountain; a boy may be cheaper than a man, but people have confidence in a man that a boy cannot inspire. ”

“ Negatives that have been varnished are cleaned by first immersing in a hot solution of common washing soda until the film comes off, then wash them under the tap, rubbing well with a rag, then immerse them in the acid solution so as to neutralize the alkali. ”

“ Strong acids and alkalies act as caustics; that is they destroy fabrics. Continued washing in strong soda and water not only tends to destroy, but also spoils the appearance of all kinds of wearing apparel and household linen. White silk and wool at once become yellow on being washed with soap that contains free soda, and linen is affected in the same way though not to the same extent. ”

“ Half fill with cold water, add washing soda, heat water gradually to boiling-point, then empty, when dish may be easily washed. Pearline or any soap-powder may be used in place of washing soda.
To Wash Mirrors and Windows. Rub over with chamois skin wrung out of warm water, then wipe with a piece of dry chamois skin. This method saves much strength.
To Remove White Spots from Furniture. Dip a cloth in hot water nearly to boiling-point. Place over spot, remove quickly, and rub over spot with a dry cloth. Repeat if spot is not removed. Alcohol or camphor quickly applied may be used. ”

“ The uses of dripping will begin to dawn upon you, and you will soon become expert in the manufacture of tallow candles. You will wash your own clothes, and will learn that you must not boil flannel shirts, and experience will teach you that you must eschew the promiscuous use of washing soda, tempting though indeed it be if you are in a hurry. ”

“ This mode of washing has been adopted for many years in a family of seven persons; the linen is of an excellent color, with only half the assistance formerly required, and the quantity of soap used is much lessened.
N. B. The refuse water is a good manure for fruit trees.
166. Substitutes for Soap.—Put any quantity of pearl-ash or soda into a large jar, cover it lightly, and in a few days it will become liquid; then mix with it an equal quantity of newly-slaked lime, and double its quantity of soft water: boil it half an hour, add as much more hot water, and pour off the liquor. ”

“ Uses of Soap.—Soap is produced by an action of an alkali on an oil. The alkali displaces glycerine from the oil, and forms an alkaline stearate, which is soap. Soft soap is chiefly stearate of potassium; hard soap is stearate of sodium. There may also be present the alkaline salts of oleic and palmitic acid. Soft soap is not used for washing the skin, as it is too irritating. All soaps contain a slight excess of soda; the greater this excess, the more irritating is the soap to delicate skins. Hard soaps may be also made with potash, if the fat employed be a solid one ”

“ The bi-carbonate of soda is obtained by passing carbonic acid gas over the carbonate crystals. Soda does not attract moisture from the air. It is used in washing, in glass manufactories, in dyeing, soap-making, etc.
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Sulphate of Soda is “Glauber’s Salt”; it is also employed in glass-making. Mixed with sulphuric acid and water, it forms a freezing mixture. Glass, as we have seen, is made with silicic acid (sand) , soda, potassa, oxide of lead, and lime, and is an artificial silicate of soda. ”

“ Soluble silicates are very useful as detergents. A small quantity of silicate of soda mixed with hard water renders it valuable for washing purposes. Silicate of soda is also used in the manufacture of the cheaper kinds of soap. We can hardly speak of it as an adulteration, because it renders the soap with which it is combined much more powerful in its cleansing action. I suggest to those interested in the application of science to the arts, that this subject will no doubt well repay experimental investigations. ”

“ Any earthy salt, such as chalk or gypsum, decomposes soap, and prevents its action as a detergent. Soap consists of an oily acid combined generally with soda. Now, when this is added to water containing [Pg 51] lime, that earth unites with the oily acid, forming an insoluble soap, of no use as a detergent; this insoluble lime-soap is the curd which appears in hard water during washing with soap. Hard water is of no use as a cleanser, until all the lime has been removed by uniting with the oily acid of the soap. ”

“ When the greater portion of the liquor has drained off, warm water is sprinkled over the pulp from a hose for the purpose of extracting all the liquid which is sufficiently concentrated to repay the cost of evaporation—the most advantageous method of recovering the soda. The contents of the waggons—from the same number of boilers—are then placed in two washing-engines, each capable of holding 1,000 lbs. of pulp. After being sufficiently worked in these engines the pulp is transferred to two stuff-chests, and from thence conveyed by pumps to two wet-machines. ”

“ After each feeding they should be thoroughly washed with soap or washing powder. A long-handled bottle brush should be used to help clean the bottle. After the bottle has been thoroughly rinsed a number of times with hot water, it should be set aside filled with warm water into which one teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda has been put. Before filling them with the freshly prepared food each morning the bottles should be boiled. Every mother with a bottle-fed baby should buy a dozen bottles, all of the same kind and size to begin with. ”

“ Washing.—The boiled straw is discharged into large tanks placed below the digester and washed with hot water, the smallest possible quantity being used consistent with complete washing in order to prevent the accumulation of large volumes of weak lye. The spent liquor and washing waters are drained off into store tanks and evaporated in a multiple effect apparatus by the same process as that used for esparto pulp. The last washings are usually run away because the percentage of soda in them is too small to pay for the cost of recovery. ”

“ When melted with flint or sand, it forms glass, and answers much better for this purpose than potash. In conjunction with oil and lime, it is employed in the manufacture of soap; and it is used as a substitute for soap in the cleaning and bleaching of linen, flannels, and worsted goods. If a weak solution of soda be poured into foul bottles, or casks in which wine has long been kept, it will cleanse them. It may also be successfully used for the cleansing of vessels in which milk has become acid. ”

“ All the utensils must be washed in hot soda water and thoroughly dried before putting them away. Having regard to the fact that soda is most injurious to one’s hands, and whether for the mistress or maid the care and appearance of one’s hands is of great importance, it is best to place the saucepans, pans, etc. (not earthenware) on the stove with a certain amount of water and a good piece of soda, and let them stand to soak on the side of the hot stove, together with such articles as ricer, poacher, strainer, etc. ”

“ Cold water removes milk more quickly than hot, as hot water causes a coating of milk to adhere to the glass. Bicarbonate of soda not only hastens the cleansing process, but sweetens the bottle. Milk cans, pails and all milk containers are cleansed in the same manner, using more baking soda in greater quantities of water.
FIRE EXTINGUISHER. Arm & Hammer or Cow Brand Baking Soda is unsurpassed as a fire extinguisher. It not only smothers the fire, but generates carbonic acid gas which temporarily envelopes the flames, shuts off the air supply or oxygen, and so extinguishes the fire. ”