REMOVING STAINS FROM OLD FABRICS

Trying to get stains out of old fabrics? Mix color-safe bleaching powder (1/4 cup) with dishwasher powder (1/8 cup) and warm water (1/2 gallon). Soak the fabric in the mixture overnight, then wash. Dry in the air; do not use a dryer.

PROTECTING ANTIQUES FROM THE SUN

Sunny windows are the enemy of antiques. Textiles and wood will fade; glass sometimes breaks from the heat.

KEEPING UNWANTED VISITORS AWAY

Sometimes old quilts, pillows, and upholstered pieces bring unwanted visitors to your home--bedbugs. Once inside your house, they will nest in walls, in cracks in wooden furniture and floors, and even in light fixtures. There is a worldwide epidemic. If your house is invaded, hire an exterminator to spray. Then wash all fabrics you can in hot water (over 120 degrees) and keep doing that for at least 20 weeks--since bedbugs keep laying eggs that keep hatching. In the early 1900s, there were many new ideas about health. One group suggested using iron, not wooden, beds to stay healthy. We wonder if they suspected it helped ward off bedbugs and fleas.