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03/30/07, 08:23 AM
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Shepherd
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Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Central NY
Posts: 1,658
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Grandma's Starching Method
For some reason I have the notion that my grandmother used to add cornstarch to laundry rinse water...
Am I remember correctly? What was the method for starching clothes back then?
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03/30/07, 08:30 AM
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Is anybody here?
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Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 3,340
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Cornstarch: For homemade laundry starch, dissolve 1 tablespoon cornstarch in 1 pint cold water. Place in a spray bottle. Shake before using. Clearly label the contents of the spray bottle.
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03/30/07, 09:46 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 19,807
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I remember from back when I was very little, my mom using a dark blue box, labeled in white lettering: ARGO Laundry Starch.
I don't know if it was just regular corn starch or what...  But I do remember her rolling the starched items up and putting them in the fridge... ??? And that she had a sprinkler with a cork stuck into a Pepsi bottle... and she'd sprinkle water from the pop bottle on to the clothes and tablecloths as she ironed them.
Of course, those are pretty old memories. I wasn't any older than 5 or 6. Then mom discovered spray starch and diet pills around the same time. She'd be up ironing at 2 a.m. And one morning, we woke up to the entire kitchen (even the fridge!) painted in an hideous shade of turquoise...
Mother's little helper...
ANYway, I'm looking forward to seeing what others have to add about the starch thing. Now I have to go use brain bleach to get rid of that turquoise kitchen nightmare... 
Pony!
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03/30/07, 11:17 AM
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Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone 9b, Lake Harney, Central FL
Posts: 4,898
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Pony:
LOL!
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03/30/07, 12:21 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: MS
Posts: 24,572
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Pony
...And that she had a sprinkler with a cork stuck into a Pepsi bottle... and she'd sprinkle water from the pop bottle on to the clothes and tablecloths as she ironed them....
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My mom did too.
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03/30/07, 12:27 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Florida
Posts: 182
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My grandma used it too! just be sure to experiment first so you don't end up with white residue. and you can also use it to make papier-mache ;-)
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03/30/07, 12:29 PM
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Big Front Porch advocate
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Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 44,425
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I remember the clothes in the refrigerator and the sprinkler bottle also.
Angie
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"Live your life, and forget your age." Norman Vincent Peale
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03/30/07, 02:13 PM
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Join Date: May 2003
Location: Western WA
Posts: 2,285
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Lordy, I must be getting old! I used to sprinkle my ironing and keep it damp in the fridge.
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03/30/07, 03:12 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Ripley Co. Mo
Posts: 837
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Used to use Faultless starch. It came in a blue box and was blue and looked about like corn starch. You could mix it up in either cold or hot water. If you wanted it really stiff, you would cook it some on the stove.
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03/30/07, 03:17 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 19,807
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by BeeFree
Used to use Faultless starch. It came in a blue box and was blue and looked about like corn starch. You could mix it up in either cold or hot water. If you wanted it really stiff, you would cook it some on the stove.
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Okay... so you actually put the starch in the rinse water, right? And then, when the clothes are dry, you sprinkle them with water and put them in the fridge? Why the chilling? Does it make a crisper crease?
I have to press the damask tablecloth and napkins for Easter dinner. I'd love to do "real" starch, as I recall it being much nicer than the spray stuff in the can.
Now if only I could get my hands on a mangle... 
Pony!
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03/30/07, 03:19 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 1,446
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by jassytoo
Lordy, I must be getting old! I used to sprinkle my ironing and keep it damp in the fridge.
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I still do :baby04:
Linen irons like butter when it is sprinkled & frozen.
veme
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03/30/07, 03:19 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 19,807
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Jan Doling
Pony:
LOL!
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Yeah, I think we can trace my pathology back to that kitchen... dang...
The sins of the fathers, eh? LOL!!!
Pony!
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03/30/07, 03:21 PM
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Big Front Porch advocate
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Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 44,425
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I was told that keeping it in the fridge, let it stay moist and not mildew before ironing.
Angie
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"Live your life, and forget your age." Norman Vincent Peale
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03/30/07, 04:05 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 6,722
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I can remember my mom cooking starch in a pan on the stove. I don't remember any of the details of what went into the pot, but I do remember that she cooked it. We used the cork sprinkler top in a pop bottle too. I've been looking for one of them and haven't been able to find one. I have lots of clothes that I iron and would like to sprinkle them like we did in the old days.
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03/30/07, 04:17 PM
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Big Front Porch advocate
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Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 44,425
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__________________
"Live your life, and forget your age." Norman Vincent Peale
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03/30/07, 04:40 PM
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Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Australia
Posts: 3,187
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You can make laundry starch by using the water in which you have boiled potatoes or pasta.
Fabrics such as taffeta, linen, cotton, silk or lace which cannot be stiffened with starch, can be stiffened with gelatine. Dissolve 3 teaspoons gelatine in 1 cup hot water, stir till clear. Add 4 litres cold water. Use the mixture as the final rinsing water. If article is too stiff when dry, rinse lightly with cold water and dry again. If not stiff enough, treat again in gelatine mixture. Sprinkle evenly all over with water to dampen slightly before ironing.
You can also use sugar:
Dip into a solution of 2 cups sugar boiled in 1 cup water. Stretch crochet into the desired shape on a flat surface. Stuff with paper to hold in shape if necessary. Upright parts can be held in place with a stick. Allow to dry completely, adjusting the shape if needed. Allow to dry for 3-4 days. Repeat several times if necessary until the fabric is as stiff as required.
Starch is very useful for things like lace - especially crochet work, tablecloths, d'oileys, that sort of thing. You can buy it in dry or liquid form, or as a spray. I have an old linen tablecloth, beautifully embroidered, which just won't iron crease-free without the use of starch.
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03/30/07, 11:44 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Ripley Co. Mo
Posts: 837
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Pony
Okay... so you actually put the starch in the rinse water, right? And then, when the clothes are dry, you sprinkle them with water and put them in the fridge? Why the chilling? Does it make a crisper crease?
I have to press the damask tablecloth and napkins for Easter dinner. I'd love to do "real" starch, as I recall it being much nicer than the spray stuff in the can.
Now if only I could get my hands on a mangle...
Pony! |
After the clothes were rinsed, then they were put into the starch which had been made in a large pan. Much like a big aluminum dish pan. I would hang mine up to dry. Then when ready to iron them sprinkle them and roll them up if I was going to do a lot of ironing at one time, otherwise just sprinkle and iron. I never put mine in the fridge, but can remember Mom and Grandma doing so. Course they had stove heated irons and gas irons. After they got electric irons they started using a starch that would dissolve in cold water and didn't really get real stiff. Also they later used spray starch when it came out. I had to iron military fatigues and they had to be stiff enough to stand up in the corner by themselves. Yep, been quiet a few years ago.
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03/31/07, 02:49 AM
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Is anybody here?
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Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 3,340
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Did a google and found this.................................
Starch linens and cottons
Mix a paste of 1 tablespoonful of Laundry Starch in 2 tablespoonfuls of cold water. Add a litre of hot water, stirring vigorously. Immerse articles in the mixture, then spin or wring (follow garment manufacturer’s instructions). Iron whilst damp with a hot iron.
For linens, add a tablespoonful of Borax to improve the finish and prevent iron from sticking. Make your own Spray Starch: Fill a spray bottle with a litre of cold water and mix in 2 tablespoons of Laundry Starch. Shake before each use. For normal Laundry Starch, stir half a cup of Starch into one cup of cold water. Add boiling water (2 litres for heavy finish or stiffness, 4 litres for medium finish, and 6 litres for light finish). Dip clothes into the mixture and dry. Sprinkle lightly with warm water and iron as usual.
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