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.
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Upton's Gold Detergent
Quicklime, 1 ounce; sprinkle with a little hot water to slack it, then gradually add 1 pint boiling water, SO as to form a milk; dissolve 2 ounces pearlash in 1½ pints boiling water; mix the two solutions, cover up, agitate occasionally for an hour, allow it to settle, decant the clear, put it into flat half-pint bottles, and cork them down well. It is used to clean gilding, &c., either alone or diluted with water. It is applied with a soft sponge, and then washed off with clean water. It is essentially a weak solution of potassa, and may be extemporaneously prepared by diluting liquor of potassa with about 5 times its volume of water.