The formula. A book for laundrymen, containing formulas for various laundry operations, including washing, bleaching, bluing, etc

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

HE l^ORMULH.

A Book for Laundrymen. '

CONTAINING FORMULAS FOR VARIOUS LAUNDRY
OPERATIONS, INCLUDING

Washing, Bleacliiiig, Bluing, etc,

TROY, N. Y.:
E. H. LISK, PUBLISHER.

1

Copyright, 1SS9,
By E. H. Lisk,

Page.

Introductory 4

Soap Making , 7

Soft Bleach Formula . 10

Ozone Bleaching Fluid (for Colored

Fabrics) 11

Javelle Water for Bleaching 1^

Anti-Heat Marking Ink 12

Nitrate of Silver Marking Ink 12

Trojan Blue i;3

Liquid Prussian Blue 14

Liquid Blue of Commerce 14

Preparation of Aniline Blue 14

Washing'Mixture 14

Starch Gloss (new) 15

Soap from Soap Chips 15

Washing and Bleaching Ifj

Bleaching 16

Soap Test 17

Black Specks, their Cause, Prevention

and Remedy 18

General Hints 19

INTRODUCTORY.

Various books have been issued from
time to time claiming to be of value in
the Laundries. These works are for the
most part misnomers. They are made up
of vague hints, lengtky essays upon well
understood processes, various recipes —
most of which are out of date and few of
which have any particular value. In
short, the work that should be of any
value to the Laundryman as an instructor
has not heretofore been published.

Feeling that there is need of such a
work, the author, an old Troy Laundry-
man, has sought to supply this need by
"The Formula."

In this work no space is given to ser-
monizing or worthless recipes ; but, as the
name implies, various formulas are given
in the use of which the Laundryman may
be the manufacturer of his supplies to a
very large extent and thereby save every

year many dollars, the amount depending,
of course, upon the magnitude of business
done.

It is a well known fact, for instance,
that the one article of soap pays to the
manufacturer nearly 100% profit ; in other
words, the Laundryman who makes his
own soap saves from two to three cents
upon every pound used. The trouble has
been, heretofore, that those parties aim-
ing to instruct the Laundryman in the
fabrication of ^os^ call for a large pay-
ment for instruction and an expensive
apparatus. "The Formula," however,
costs but $10, and the ^paratus required
to make soap by the given process is com-
parativ(ily inexpensive, while the process
itself is simple and the result as good
soap as made by any manufacturer. The
same is true regarding the various ' ' fluids "
for bleaching, in some cases as high as
$200 being asked for the apparatus and
"secret." The fluid of "The Formula"
has no superior for the turning out of fine
work, and the cost of apparatus is almost
nothing.

The " Trojan Blue " is equal in color to

aniline, having none of the disadvantages
of the latter and 7io sour is required.

In short, there is hardly a formula
given which is not worth more than the
cost of the whole work, and some of them
will save the laundryman every year many
times the cost of the book.

The author hopes for compensation in
large sales. He could not afford otherwise
to publish his information — the product
of years of study and experiment, and he
therefore most earnestly requests the
buyers of this work to keep the informa-
tion to themselves, leaving others to pay
for it as they themselves have done.

The Author

0%

The Formula

SOAP MAKING.

It is fully demonstrated that pure tallow
soap made by the '^cold process" is the
most economical and efficient for laundry
use. The chip soa^" of commerce is
almost entirely made by this process.

In making soap 'it should be remem-
bered that this useful compound is the
result of chemical combination between
grease and alkali As these articles vary
in purity and strength as well as in other
particulars it will be readily understood
that an absolute unvarying formula is
difficult. Approximation is the first
thing, judgment and experience come
next. The soaps of different makers
differ quite as often in skillful manipula-
tion as in quality of material.

The formula for pure tallow soap is as
follows : For a given quantity of tallow
use one-half its weight of alkali of 38

degrees strength. For example, to
saponify 100 pounds of pure tallow, 50
pounds of caustic alkali of 38 degrees
strength are needed. We will give our
formula upon the basis of 100 pounds of
tallow, premising that after the process
is understood, that it will be found as
easy and, therefore, more economical, to
use larger quantities. Hence in procuring
apparatus the same should be of sufficient
capacity for 400 pounds of tallow or more.

In making soap the most crude appar-
atus may be used. For instance, the
melting may be done in a barrel by means
of an improvised steam coil. The coil may
be removed and the mixing may be done
in the same barrel. The alkali may also
be prepared in a barrel or tub, and the
cooling done in tubs or boxes, but it will
be found much more convenient to have
proper apparatus, which is as follows :
First, kettle for melting (may also be used
for mixing); second, vat for mixing
alkali ; third, cooling vats ; fourth, hy-
drometer for testing strength of alkali ;
fifth, thermometer ; sixth, crutch for
stirring. *

The kettle may be of copper, brass or
iron, and heated by fire underneath, or
steam jacket (which is the best) or steam
coil. The alkali vat may be of iron or
galvanized iron, or even wood will do.
The cooling vats are of galvanized iron,
say 36 X 12 X 12 inches.

The hydrometer and thermometer may
be obtained of any druggist. The crutch
consists of a flat piece of steel, brass or
copper, cut in oval form say 6x4 inches,
having an upright handle brazed to the
center and of sufficient length to make
the work of stirring the soap convenient.

We give the modus operandi as follow\s
for 100 pounds of tallow : Take 15
pounds of pure caustic soda and 5 pounds
of pure caustic potash and dissolve in suffi-
cient water to bring the total weight to
50 pounds. This work should be done the
day before the soap is to be made, as
much heat is generated and it must cool
before use. The potash is not necessary.
Soda may be used alone, but the potash
improves the soap. This alkali as thus
made should test 38 degrees by the
hydrometer, if less, add more soda.

10

Having melted the tallow stir it until
it falls to about 110 degrees of heat (ther-
mometer). Then bring the alkali up to the
same heat. The alkali and tallow are then
mixed together and stirred with the
crutch until the whole mass begins to
thicken. It is then poured into the cool-
ing vatSj covered with muslin (in a warm
place) and allowed to stand for about two
days, at the end of which time the soap
is ready for cutting up. Care should be
taken to have all materials of the utmost
purity. It is also essential that the alkali
should be of full strength (38 degrees)
and when the time comes for mixing the
tallow and alkali about the same degree of
heat in both alkali and tallow is essential.

If, while stirring, the mixture shows
nothing of a soapy smell a little more
alkali may be added. After turning into
vats note closely for any evidence of
separation. In case this seems likely, re-
turn again to the mixer and continue the
stirring.

SOFT BLEACH FORMULA.

Dissolve 20 pounds chloride of lime in
32 gallons cold water ; dissolve 40 pounds

11

carbonate of soda (soda crystals) in 11
gallons warm water. Mix the two solu-
tions together and filter or allow to settle.
When settled draw into carboys and keep
corked. (For use see page 16.)

OZONE FLUID FOR BLEACHING.

Ten pounds chloride of lime, B pounds
pure caustic soda, 1 pound oxalic acid, 40
gallons water. Dissolve the lime in 20
gallons of water ; dissolve the caustic soda
in 10 gallons of water ; dissolve the
oxalic acid in 10 gallons of water. Mix
all together and keep covered. When
made it should test 2 degrees by the
hydrometer.

This makes a beautiful bleach and is
especially valuable as it may be used on
colored fabrics. It must not be used with
soap, but instead, make the bleaching a
separate operation, after suds and several
rinses, using about 2 gallons to every 60
shirts or their equivalent. Run for 15 or
20 minutes in warm water. The colored
work mav be run in with the white. ''

12
JAVELLE WATER.

FOR BLEACHING.

Five pounds chloride of lime, 10 pounds
sulphate of soda, 4 pounds sal soda,
12 gallons of water. Mix well. The
precipitate will be sulphate of lime, which
has some value.

FORMULA FOR ANTI-HEAT INK.

Procure one pint asi^haltum varnish,
also ivory drop black ground in japan,
turpentine and crude carbolic acid (liquid).

To prepare — Ta,ke a lump of drop black
about the size of an English walnut ;
work it into liquid (not very thin) by
using turpentine, using just turpentine
enough for the purpose. Mix this into
the varnish by thorough stirring. Use
the carbolic acid to thin down to proper
consistency for use with a common pen.
Should it thicken at any time, thin with
carbolic acid.

/nitrate of silver marking

INK.

Nitrate of silver, 5 parts ; distilled
water, 12 parts ; powdered gum arable, 5

13

parts ; carbonate of soda, 7 parts ; solu-
tion of ammonia, 10 parts. Dissolve
the nitrate of silver in ammonia ; powder
the soda and gum, then mix. Heat
gently until it becomes a dark color.
The marking should be set by applying
heat.

TROJAN BLUE.

INDIGO SOLUTION.

Three and one-half ounces indigo, 1
quart best sulphuric acid. Have the
indigo dry and powdered. Mix it into the
acid a little at a time, stirring it while
mixing. Let it stand 24 hours, then keep
in tight bottle. Li mixing, space must be
;illowed for foaming.

ANILINE SOLUTION.

EKssolve 1 ounce aniline in 1 quart
water.

TO MAKE.

Mix together one- half pint indigo
solution, 1 pint aniline solution, 1 gallon
water.

14

LIQUID PRUSSIAN BLUE.

Two ounces Prussian blue, two ounces
oxalic acid. Dissolve in one gallon water
and filter.

LIQUID BLUE OF COMMERCE.

Dissolve 2 ounces of soluble blue and 1
ounce oxalic acid in 1 gallon soft water.

PREPARATION OF ANILINE
BLUE.

The usual method of preparing aniline
blue is to dissolve 1 ounce of the aniline
in 1 gallon of soft water. If soft water
is not available use distilled water. Stir
the blue in a little at a time. Be sure you
have a perfect solution. When well
mixed add 3 ounces of acetic acid. Filter
before using.

^ WASHING MIXTUR-E.

FOR HAND WASHING.

Three quarts water, 5 pounds best bar
soap, 4 ounces sal soda, 4 ounces borax, 1
ounce turpentine. Slice up the soap and
dissolve in the water by heating and

15

stirring ; when dissolved, stir in the soda,
borax and turpentine ; when cool, cut
into bars. Very little rubbing is neces-
sary when this mixture is used.

^ STARCH GLOSS.

One pint glycerine, 1 pound oxide zinc,
1 pound precipitated chalk, 1 pound white
glue. Rub zinc and chalk together; melt
glycerine and glue together (using Httle
water). Then mix all well together until
it makes a thick, pasty mass. To one
gallon cooked starch add about one ounce
of paste dissolved in hot water and stirred
in while cooking.

BEST METHOD OF MAKING SOFT
SOAP FROM SOAP CHIPS.

Dissolve li pounds caustic soda in 3
gallons of water. Put in 5 pounds
neutral tallow soap, and boil 30 minutes.
Then add three gallons more water and
boil 15 minutes longer. Pour this mix-
ture into a 30-gallon barrel and fill with
clear water, stirring all the time. Potash
may be used in place of the caustic soda
if preferred. An addition of one-half

16

pint turpentine just before filling ba
with clear water will improve the soa

WASHING AND BLEACHING

(Example, 50 shirts or equivalent.)
Start with lukewarm water, one-
pint of soft bleach and soap enougl
make good suds. Run thirty mimj
Then draw off and fill with quite
water. Use 1 pint soft bleach and s
enough to make suds. Run 30 mini;
last five minutes quite hot. Now r
three times. Then sour 10 mini:
For fine work use oxalic acid. R
three times more, then blue.

BLEACHING.

The bleaching done by laundry me]
for the most part, re-hleacliing, and
this reason our soft bleach is better t
anything else, the deleterious effect u
the fabric being very slight, and it aL
readily removed by rinsing. At tii
more thorough bleaching is necessary
for this purpose prepare, first, chlorid
lime solution of 2 degrees strength (al
10 pounds lime to 10 gallons wa

17

second, prepare a sour bath of water and
sulphuric acid, using just enough of the
acid to give the water a sharp, sour taste.

OPERATION.

First wash the goods in a strong
alkahne water, rinse several times and
then put into the chloride of lime solu-
tion. Let it steep for from 15 to 30 min-
utes, depending upon the amount of
bleaching desired. Then remove directly
to sour solution for from 5 to 10 minutes.
Rinse thoroughly. If required color is
not obtained, repeat the operation.
[N. B. — This operation is for bleaching
and not for re-bleaching, and great care
must be used to prevent damage.]

SOAP TEST.

To test the purity of soap, take a pint
bottle and fill it half full of alchohol.
Put in 2 ounces of the soap to be tested
and place the bottle in a basin of water
and boil the water until the soap in the
bottle is dissolved. Cork the bottle and
put away to cool. When cool, the im-

18

purities (if any) will have settled to the
bottom of the bottle, showing a dark
colored substance.

BLACK SPECKS.

THEIR CAUSE, PREVENTION AND REMOVAL.

Generally, soaps used in the public
laundry have an excess of alkali. Quite
frequently this alkali is added by the
iaundryman instead of the soap maker,
and is therefore not perfectly incorporated
with the soap. The tendency of alkali is
to combine with grease and form soap.

All soiled wearing apparel contains
more or less matter of a greasy or oily
nature, hence, in washing, if any of the
alkali in the soap becomes ' ' free " — i. e. ,
separated from the soap — it combines with
the oily matter in the clothes and forms
soap. If there be any dirt present the
soap so formed will be dark color or black.
Thus are the dark specks formed. Now
this soap so formed is different from ordi-
nary soap in that it is not soluble in
water, hence, to remove it we must have
a solvent and this solvent is found in
spirits of turpentine.

19

To prevent specks : First, be careful
not to use any more alkali than necessary ;
second, in washing always be sure to
keep the suds "alive." The separation
spoken of above always takes place when
the suds die away. So if at any time
this seems likely to occur, put more soap
to the wash so as to hold the suds.

To remove specks, boil for a few min-
utes in water to which is added a little
neutral soap and a small quantity of tur-
pentine.

GENERAL HINTS.

Laundrymen should beware of waste.

Starch should cook one hour before use.

Sulphate of indigo makes a very good
blue.

Kerosene oil is said to make a fine
starch gloss.

Keep your laundry and all appliances
neat and clean.

See that your bleaching solution (lime)
is always clear and of a greenish hue.

20

Equal portions of wheat and corn starch
make the most popular laundry mixture.

Aim to reduce the use of chemicals to
the finest point compatible with good
work.

To clean the headers of washing ma-
chines, steam thoroughly with a jet of
steam through hose.

Starch is composed of minute grains
which expand and burst Y/ith heat, hence
the necessity of cooking.

Sour. — For souring purposes sulphuric
acid is the cheapest, acetic acid the least
harmful and oxalic acid the best.

A perforated coil makes the best starch
cooker. Provide a drip to take away the
condensation before the steam enters the
coil.

Exhaust steam is valuable. By having
tanks and coils through which the
exhaust may pass you will always have
plenty of hot water.

Kerosene oil, turpentine, camphine,

21

ammonia, bicarbonate of soda and borax
all have good detersive qualities and if
used with judgment are valuable.

Do not depend too much upon the
bleach. Soil and discoloration should as
far as possible be removed in the wash,
the bleach being simply the finishing
touch.

All wool goods are washed in water of
about 120 degrees and rinsed in the same
temperature. They may be wrung in the
centrifugal but not in the roll wringer.
Use mild, pure soap and borax. Dry
quickly.

Bleaching and Washing.— While the
soft bleach allows washing and bleaching
to be done at the same time, the best
results are obtained by bleaching separ-
ately. The former method saves time and
possibly soap ; the latter gives clearer
work. We advise the former for shirt
work, the latter for collars and cuffs.

Piece prices in large custom laundries
run something as follows : Finishing
shirts after starching machine, 5 cents to

6 cents per dozen ; starching shirts by
hand, 10 cents to 15 cents per dozen ;
finishing collars after starching machine,
8 cents to 12 cents per hundred ; starching
collars by hand, 4 cents to 5 cents per
dozen ; finishing shirts after machine and
body ironer, 50 cents to 75 cents per hun-
dred ; finishing shirts after machine, 1
cent to li cents each ; ironing shirts by
hand, 3^ to 0 cents each.

Dust is the laundry man's enemy. In
the summer season it creeps in through
every door, window, crack and crevice,
and, as a result, laundrymen must be
eternally on the alert, otherwise baskets,
boxes, shelves and tables will become
sprinkled and many beautiful jobs will be
spoiled and will need to return again to
the wash room. In point of fact this
happens more frequently than many sup-
pose. As a remedy we suggest the fol-
lowing : Do mvay tvith your baskets and
use bags. The bags may be made of
canvas, jean or any serviceable material,
of the right size to be convenient — say
about two bushels capacity — and drawn
together with a strong cord. Provide

23

suitable wooden holder to hold the hags
op^n while being filled. When full the
cord is drawn together and the goods aie
safe from dirt. The advantages over
baskets may be seen at a glance.

Some laundry men experience trouble in
getting a perfect solution of aniline. Try
the following : Weigh out the amount
you wish to use. Put it into a small bag
made of heavy cotton cloth and tie
securely. Place this bag in the required
amount of water and boil until the anihne
seems to have left the bag (?. e., is dis-
solved). Bluing thus made will not need
filtering unless the cloth used is very
coarse. Do not squeeze the bag. You
can better afford to lose a few grains of
aniline than to have blue specks in your
work.

The merits of Brimstone as a bleacher
are not generally appreciated. Burning
brimstone throws off sulphurous acid, a
most powerful disinfectant and bleacher
as well. Should you at any time have
clothing to handle which you have reason
to believe is disease infected, it should be
submitted to the fumes of burning briin

24

stone before being otherwise handled.
For this purpose provide an apartment
nearly air-tight. Hang the goods to be
acted upon upon lines. Put the required
amount of Brimstone in an iron vessel
and apply fire to it. Close the room and
let the goods remain until the fire is spent.
Do not enter the room until it has been
well aired. This method of disinfecting
is also bleaching. The effect upon
woolens is especially fine.

Don't give away the information in
this book. Let others pay for it if they
want it, as you have done.

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