New Project " Handier Household Hints"

[eric]

I'm starting collecting the household hints from yesteryear that would have been used in this area, for example, windows would have been cleaned with vinegar and water and a piece of newspaper, in the 19th century, a back yard may have been swilled down with the contents of "The Guzzunder" which, when you think about it, would contain ammonia, and would keep the moss and slime down, and the smell would go unnoticed in the streets of Victorian keighley, also I'm collecting the "Remedies" of yesteryear, thing like Butter on a bump on the forehead, a Clove of Garlic for toothache, one lady told me her grandmother had put peroxide in her ear to bubble out the wax!! (don't fancy trying that one!).
If readers could post their comments on the forum so we all can share them and hopefully stimulate memories, I can then copy them and print them out and put them in a folder.

[angler]

My mother used Goose Grease in winter to put on red flannel to stop us getting a cold we had to wear it under our vests. Some families wore the same vest all winter and it was sewn on so that they could not take it off. We had Cod Liver Oil and Malt 1 spoonful every night to help us grow big and strong. We had a button sewn into the back of our shirts so that we slept on our side to prevent snoring As we were poor we sieved the cinders in the morning to go back onto the fire each day and often we had a brick at the back of the fire to save coal. Oh happy days Angler

[fsharpminor]

I remember being given Castor Oil for constipation, and a horrible tasting product called Fennings Fever Cure if I had a temperature. Sloans Liniment was used for muscular aches (particularly by sportsmen), and in my child era the flannel referred to by Angler was soaked in camphorated oil.

[eric]

Got a cold? then try these remedies, put your feet in a hot black mustard bath!, take a teaspoonful of glycerine and a teaspoonful of rum, or to prevent a cold, boil an onion in milk and eat it once a week,

[eric]

Got a sore throat? Boil a potato, put it in a sock and tie it round your neck.
Troubled with boils and acne? You could try bathing the spots with urine! Might not have many friends left though, but again, the ammonia would help kill the grease in the skin I suppose!

[Andy Wade]

Jun 26, 2009 11:25:07 GMT fsharpminor said:

I remember being given Castor Oil for constipation, and a horrible tasting product called Fennings Fever Cure if I had a temperature. Sloans Liniment was used for muscular aches (particularly by sportsmen), and in my child era the flannel referred to by Angler was soaked in camphorated oil.

[eric]

For a chill on the kidney's, try scalding some Barley and straining through some muslin and drink the liquid!
Troubled with warts? rub the wart with a piece of potato, then bury the potato in the ground.
Suffer from cracked skin on your hands in winter? Apparently builders pee on their hands to stop the skin cracking.
Again, for boils, a poultice of soap and sugar under a plaster or bandage may help!

[lawkholmelaner]

For drawing a boil (for some reason we called them "biles") - mix some green, household soap with sugar. Heat and make a poultice with any old cloth and apply. Did it work!

[fsharpminor]

Good Lord Andy, are they all still in your medicine chest ? That dates you a bit !

Later edit - some Fennings products are still available , eg from www.wellcene.co.uk (children's corner thread). I imagine they contain paracetamol now, the original liquid 'fever cure' (in the corked bottle) was probably aspirin based. Beechams Powders (also aspirin based ) came in about then also I think.

[gemma]

My great grandma used to prescribe melted butter with a squeeze of lemon juice and a teaspoon of honey for sore throats and a teaspoon of suger to cure hiccups. I have used these remedies all my life and swear by them!

[lawkholmelaner]

In the school holidays we used to get down and dirty in the street and collect "gas tar" when it melted in the gutters. Where she got it from I'll never know - but my mam used best butter to remove the tar from my hands and knees. Never saw any on us bread.

[Andy Wade]

I remember doing the same thing!
Except my mother used to put granulated sugar in with the butter to make it gritty, it used to work really well at getting the tar off.
I also remember my dad used to use this to get paint off his hands after he'd been glossing.

[fsharpminor]

The best solvent for 'gas tar' is turpentine. (The genuine stuff, not 'Turps subs' which is quite different chemically). Well there is an even better solvent called Orange Terpenes or D'Limonene, but not widely available except in the chemical industry ( I trade them !) . Smells strongly of oranges, it extracted from the skin, Florida and Brazil being the main source.

[alumpot]

Lard used to work quite well for removing tar from knees

[Andy Wade]

Actually, now I've thought about it over a few cups of tea and coffee, my Dad used lard with the sugar, not butter.
My mum used to put butter on the scrapes and grazes on our knees and shins.

[fsharpminor]

Two rather badly worded household hints:-

'To avoid slipping in the bath, place a rubber mat on the bottom'

'When your flowers begin to fade, stand in 2 inches of hot water'