19th Century Household Hints

Don’t throw away your worn-out linen napkins and pillow cases. “For grease and milk and acid spots upon furniture, rub the place with cold water, then polish with soft linen,” The Morning Star of Glens Falls suggested on Aug. 19, 1890. “Save old napkins and pillow cases for such work.”

Following are more 19th century household hints collected from historic Northern New York newspapers. I cannot vouch for the veracity of any of these suggestions, as I am only a collector, not an experimenter.

“When one is fatigued and footsore from much walking, it is very refreshing to bathe the feet in warm water and rub them with extract of ammonia.” — The Morning Star
of Glens Falls, July 18, 1890.

“It is convenient to have an iron holder attached by a long string to the band of the apron while cooking. It saves burned fingers or scorched aprons and is always at hand.” – The Morning Star, July 18, 1890.

“If a flannel cloth dipped in kerosene, then wrung dry, be used in rubbing off dirty fingermarks from paint, the grateful house keeper will repeat the experiment often.” –
The Morning Star, Sept. 30, 1890.

“Coffee is far more desirous when made with eggs than it is without. One egg to a teacup full of ground coffee is about the right proportion for a rich extract, but less than this can be easily used by adding a teacup full of cold water to a well-beaten egg and using enough of the mixture to thoroughly wet the coffee.” – The Morning Star, Nov. 8, 1890.

“It is said that the onion is a great sleep inducer and about equal to quinine for malaria.” — The Morning Star, Nov. 19, 1890.

“It is said that a grated potato, says an exchange, has cured cases of rheumatism that have for years baffled the skill of physicians. It is only necessary to grate or crush the potato to a pulp, or, in the absence of other means, slice it very thin and apply in the form of a poultice to the affected part. It is not claimed that it will eradicate the disease from the system, but that it gives instant relief and is, in certain families, in regular use for that purpose.” – The Morning Star, Sept. 2, 1893.

“Moisten your boots and shoes once each week with milk and see how it will freshen and preserve the leather.” — The Morning Star, Dec. 14, 1893.

“In Spain, water in which a wedding ring has been dipped is good for sore eyes.” – The Granville Sentinel, Dec. 8, 1893