Important: Safety Warning
This page directs the use of hazardous substances — such as benzine, gasoline, lye, or strong acids — for household tasks. These materials are highly flammable, corrosive, or poisonous, and the practices described have caused fires, burns, and poisonings.
This information has been left in for historical purposes but should not be acted upon.
Home › To Remove Stains And Spots › To Wash Point Lace
To Wash Point Lace
By following the directions laid down in this receipt, ladies may wash and finish their own point lace as thoroughly as any French laundress.
Mix a tea-spoonful powdered borax in a basin of strong white Castile soap-suds. Baste the lace to be washed, very carefully, with fine add 1 quart of lye, 4 ounce pearlash, dissolved over a slow fire. When dissolved, put into a vessel prepared for it to stand in; then add + pint turpentine, 1 gill hartshorn; stir well, and it is ready for use.