Bizarre Civil War Era Household Tips: Cleaning, Cooking, and DIY

While at the flea market last fall, I found some Civil War era women’s magazines. I hadn’t heard of Peterson’s Magazine before, but leafing through, I saw lots of beautiful fashion plates, recipes, stories, and sewing/embroidery/knitting/crocheting patterns. I will have a series of posts containing fun information from these magazines.

In this post, I’ll cover fifty household tips from 1863. Some of these are difficult to decipher and others are a bit bizarre. Others are still useful today. I thought it would be fun to go through some of the more interesting ones and add a bit of commentary. I’ve transcribed the full list of household tips for you at the bottom of the post.

My Favorite Civil War Household Tips

TO PREVENT FLIES FROM INJURING PICTURE FRAMES, GLASSES, ETC.--Boil three or four onions in a pint of water; then, with a gilding brush, do over your glasses and frames, and the flies will not alight on the article so washed. This may be used without apprehension, as it will not do the least injury to the frames.

My thoughts: This one seemed a little bizarre. Were flies more plentiful and robust in the 1860s? Were they doing combat with people’s picture frames? This is not a problem I’ve encountered before.

TO REMOVE FRUIT-STAINS FROM COTTON OR LINEN--Pour boiling water over the stain, and let it soak for a few moments.

This one perplexed me a bit because I always thought that you shouldn’t use heat to remove a stain, as it will help set the stain.

TO EXTRACT PAINT FROM GARMENTS--Saturate the spot with spirits of turpentine; let it remain a number of hours, then rub it between the hands; it will crumble away without injury either to the texture or color of any kind of woollen, cotton or silk goods.

Could you be more specific about how many hours this should take?

TO DISPERSE RATS--Corks cut as thin as sixpences, roasted or stewed in grease, and placed in their tracks; or dried sponge in small pieces, fried, or dipped in honey, with a little oil of rhodium; or bird-lime, laid in their haunts, will stick to their fur and cause their departure.

I thought this sounded a little overly involved, but then I realized that spring-loaded mouse traps weren’t invented until 1897. 

TO CLEAN FLOOR CLOTHS--After sweeping and cleaning the floor-cloth with a broom and damp flannel, wet it over with milk, and rub with a dry cloth till beautifully bright.

I wasn’t sure what floor cloths were, but according to HGTV, they were floor coverings made of recycled ships’ sails. They were often stenciled and painted to have interesting patterns. Still, cleaning with milk doesn’t seem like the best choice.

TO RESTORE OLD BLACK SILK--Boil an old black kid glove in a pint of water until all the black is extracted. Then sponge the silk with the glove dipped in the water. The black from the glove will restore the lustre of the silk. Or cold coffee may be used instead. Silk should never be dipped in water, but spread out smoothly and sponged carefully.

I love how they offer substitutions for so many of these tips. Use a boiled kid glove, but you know, coffee’s fine, too.

TO WASH LILAC-COLORED DRESS GOODS--When the dress is dirty, dissolve ten cents’ worth of sugar of lead in a bucket of water, and dip in the dress, wetting it thoroughly; then dry it, then it is ready to wash, and can be washed without fear ever after.

I have so many questions about this one. How stable was the price of sugar of lead that they assumed that ten cents’ worth of it would be a reasonable measurement to use? What is sugar of lead? Why should we fear washing lilac-colored dress goods? Was the color lilac especially prone to running in the wash?

A MIXTURE TO DESTROY COCKROACHES--Reduce a loaf of stale bread to crumbs; to a pint of water, add two spoonfuls of Cayenne pepper, one spoonful of pulverized orris seed, half a drachm of saltpetre, the same quantity of white lead, and a glassful of the extract of hops. Throw in your crumbed bread, and allow it to stand in a moderately hot place for six hours; strain it through a cloth, and add to the liquor thirty-five drops of the tincture of quassia; let it stand till the next day; bottle and cork it close. A fine lump of sugar saturated with this liquid, placed where the cockroaches are in the habit of gathering, will remove them in a few days.

I bet the lead really helps you to get rid of the cockroaches, but I’m not sure I’d want to spread it around my house.

TO CLEAN IRONS FROM RUST--Pound some glass to a fine powder, and having nailed some linen or woolen cloth upon a board, lay upon it a strong coat of gum water, and sift thereon some of your powdered glass, and let it dry. Repeat this operation three times, and when the last covering of powdered glass is dry, you may easily rub off the rust from iron utensils with the cloth thus prepared.

Pounding glass into a fine powder sounds like a terrible idea, unless you’re going to wear a respirator.

HYDROPHOBIA--Take two tablespoonfuls of fresh chloride of lime, powdered, and half a pint of water. Mix them together, and constantly bathe the wound, renewing the wash as is necessary.

I was confused by this one, until I looked up hydrophobia. In this case, it does not mean fear of water--it’s referring to rabies! Today I would not rely on home remedies to treat rabies, but I guess in the 1860s, you’d want to feel like you were doing something to help.

TO REMOVE FRUIT STAINS FROM THE HANDS--Hold the hands over the smoke of burning sulphur until the stains disappear. Common matches will serve.

No thanks, I’ll just have stained hands.

TWO EXCELLENT RULES--Never spend your money before you get it. Never buy anything you do not want because it is cheap.

Okay, this one I can get behind.

The Full List of Civil War Household Tips

Hints to Housekeepers

Fifty Miscellaneous Receipts

1. TO TRY OUT LARD--For fifty pounds of lard, make two quarts of white lye, and pour into the kettle in which you are to try the lard; then cut up the leaf lard, and put it into the lye, and let it cook all day over a slow fire. The lye completely dissolves the lard, so there are no scraps to strain and squeeze--only a brown sediment at the bottom, and a similar scum on the top. Remove these, and the lard is left white as snow, and keeps for any length of time without becoming rancid.
2. TO CLARIFY TALLOW AND HARDEN IT--Take two pounds of alum to every twenty pounds of tallow. Dissolve it in water, and put in a pint of lye, and put in the tallow before the water gets hot. Boil a whole day, and next day melt and strain the tallow.
3. MILK IN WARM WEATHER--In warm weather, when milk sours soon, put in two tablespoonfuls of salt to every four gallons before straining. It will improve the quality and increase the quantity of butter.
4. TO POT BUTTER FOR WINTER--Mix a large spoonful of powdered white sugar, one of saltpetre and one of salt; work this quantity into every six pounds of fresh-made butter. Put it in a stone pot that is thoroughly cleansed, having a thick layer of salt on top. Butter put down for winter should remain covered with the salt till cold weather.
5. TO PRESERVE CORN FOR WINTER USE--Pluck the corn when fit for eating, strip down the husk so as to remove the silk, and then replace it; pack it away in a barrel, and pour on a strong pickle, such as used for meat, with a weight to keep it down. When taken from the salt, parboil, and then boil to make it fresh.
6. APPLE VINEGAR--Take a gallon of boiling water, and pour it over a gallon of fruit cut up excessively thin; let it remain four days, stirring it frequently; then add one pound of coarse brown sugar, and put it into a barrel with some good yeast upon a piece of toasted bread. When worked sufficiently, place it in a warm situation, or in the sun, where it must stay until it is quite sour.
7. TO MAKE VINEGAR--Boil slowly, for one hour, three pounds of very coarse brown sugar in three gallons of water; work it with a little yeast, the same as you would beer; then put it into a cask, and expose it to the sun, with a piece of brown paper pasted over the bunghole, and it will soon become good vinegar, fit for pickling or any other purpose.
8. TO PREVENT A CRUST FORMING ON TEAKETTLES--Keep an oyster shell in your teakettle. The crust that forms on copper kettles where the tinning has melted off, is injurious to health.
9. TO KEEP LEMON-JUICE AND LEMON-PEEL--Mix a pound of powdered loaf sugar with a pint of juice; boil and skim it, and bottle, sealing well. Pare off the yellow part of the rinds of lemons, cut in small pieces, and drop in brandy. These are nice for flavoring sauces, etc. Or, rub the yellow rind on lumps of sugar, and put in a glass jar, and cork well, for flavoring of cakes.
10. TO MAKE OLD GILT FRAMES LOOK LIKE BRONZE--Put on lightly one or two coats of asphaltum with a soft brush, and then, if not bright, it can be varnished with a cabinetmaker’s varnish.
11. TO PREVENT FLIES FROM INJURING PICTURE FRAMES, GLASSES, ETC.--Boil three or four onions in a pint of water; then, with a gilding brush, do over your glasses and frames, and the flies will not alight on the article so washed. This may be used without apprehension, as it will not do the least injury to the frames.
12. TO REMOVE WHITE SPOTS FROM FURNITURE--Rub the spots with pulverized pumice-stone wet with water, and then with buckskin moistened with sweet-oil; or, put a piece of paper on the spot, and hold a warm iron over it, and rub with an oiled cloth.
13. TO CLEAN MARBLE--Take two parts of soda, one part of pumice-stone, and one part of finely powdered chalk, and sift through a fine sieve, and mix with water. Rub over the marble, and wash off with soap and water.
14. TO CLEAN PAINT--Squeeze flannel nearly dry out of warm water, and dip in whiting, and apply with a gentle rubbing; it will remove grease and other stains. Wash in warm water, and rub dry with a soft cloth.
15. TO TAKE INK OUT OF LINEN--Dip the spotted part in purse melted tallow; then wash out the tallow, and the ink will come out with it.
16. TO REMOVE FRUIT-STAINS FROM COTTON OR LINEN--Pour boiling water over the stain, and let it soak for a few moments.
17. TO SOFTEN OLD, HARD PUTTY--Panes of glass may be easily removed by the application of soft soap for a few hours, however hard the putty has become.
18. TO REMOVE PAINT AND PUTTY FROM WINDOW GLASS--Put sufficient salaratus into hot water to make a strong solution, then saturate the paint which is on the glass. Let it remain till nearly dry, then rub it off with a woollen cloth. This. process will remove putty from class if not dried on; if dry, rub with whiting.
19. INK FROM FURNITURE, CARPETS AND FLOORS--Wipe the spot with oxalic acid; let it remain a few minutes, then rub it with a cloth wet with warm water. Colored paint, mahogany and carpets, will require washing with the hartshorne-water to restore the original color.
20. TO EXTRACT PAINT FROM GARMENTS--Saturate the spot with spirits of turpentine; let it remain a number of hours, then rub it between the hands; it will crumble away without injury either to the texture or color of any kind of woollen, cotton or silk goods.
21. HEAT MARKS FROM MAHOGANY--Pour lamp-oil on the spots, and rub them hard with a soft cloth; then pour on alcohol and rub them with another soft cloth till dry.
22. INK-STAINS OR IRON MOULD FROM WHITE COTTON AND LINEN--soak in oxalic acid diluted with water, and the stains will disappear.
23. TO TAKE MILDEW OUT OF LINEN--Mix some soft soap with powdered starch, half as much salt, and the juice of a lemon; lay it out on the mildewed part on both sides with a brush; then let it lie on the grass day and night till the stain comes out.
24. TO DISPERSE RATS--Corks cut as thin as sixpences, roasted or stewed in grease, and placed in their tracks; or dried sponge in small pieces, fried, or dipped in honey, with a little oil of rhodium; or bird-lime, laid in their haunts, will stick to their fur and cause their departure.
25. TO CLEAN GOLD--Wash in warm water, with ten or fifteen drops of sal-volatile.
26. TO CLEAN FLOOR CLOTHS--After sweeping and cleaning the floor-cloth with a broom and damp flannel, wet it over with milk, and rub with a dry cloth till beautifully bright.
27. TO REMOVE IRON SPOTS FROM MARBLE--Mix equal quantities of spirit of vitriol and lemon-juice; shake well, wet the spots with the mixture, and in a few minutes rub with a soft linen until they are completely effaced.
28. TO TAKE STAINS OUT OF SILKS--Mix together, in a phial, two ounces of essence of lemon, and one ounce of oil of turpentine. Grease and other spots in silk are to be rubbed gently with a linen rag dipped in the mixture.
29. RATS AND MICE--The asphodel is useful in driving away rats and mice, which have such an antipathy to this plant, that if their holes are stopped up with it, they will rather die than pass where it has been placed.
30. MORTAR IMPERVIOUS TO WET--Provide a square trough eight feet by four, and one foot and four inches deep. Put a quantity of fresh lime in the trough, adding water quickly. When the lime is well boiled, having assisted in the operation by frequent stirring, add tar in the proportion of one part to two parts lime. The heat of the boiling lime melts the tar. Stir it well, taking care that every part is instantly mixed with the tar. Then add sharp sand or crushed clinker in quantity equal to both lime and tar. Stir all well, and in twenty-four hours it will be fit for use.
31. TO MEND IRON POTS--To repair cracks, &c., in iron pots or pans, mix some finely sifted lime with well-beaten eggs till reduced to a paste; then add some iron file dust; apply the composition to the injured part, and it will soon become hard and fit for use.
32. TO MEND CRACKED STOVES--Cracks in stoves and stove-pipes are readily closed by a paste made of ashes and salt, with water. Iron turnings or filings, sal ammoniac and water make a harder and more durable cement.
33. CEMENT FOR THE MOUTHS OF BOTTLES--Melt together a quarter of a pound of sealing-wax, the same quantity of rosin, and two ounces of beeswax. When it froths, stir it with a tallow candle. As soon as it melts, dip in the mouth of the bottle, which should be previously corked.
34. ANOTHER CEMENT FOR BOTTLES--Equal parts of rosin and brick-dust pounded fine, and some beeswax, melted together; or melted pitch and rosin, and dip in cold water after sealing; or equal parts of rosin and Spanish brown, and half the quantity beeswax. Melt all together.
35. TO RESTORE OLD BLACK SILK--Boil an old black kid glove in a pint of water until all the black is extracted. Then sponge the silk with the glove dipped in the water. The black from the glove will restore the lustre of the silk. Or cold coffee may be used instead. Silk should never be dipped in water, but spread out smoothly and sponged carefully.
36. TO WASH LILAC-COLORED DRESS GOODS--When the dress is dirty, dissolve ten cents’ worth of sugar of lead in a bucket of water, and dip in the dress, wetting it thoroughly; then dry it, when it is ready to wash, and can be washed without fear ever after.
37. TO CLEAN BRASS--Rub it over with a bit of flannel dipped in sweet oil; then rub it hard with a finely powdered rottenstone, then with a soft linen cloth, and polish with a bit of wash-leather.
38. TO CLEAN GLASS--Glasses should be washed and rinsed in cold water, and the water wiped off with one cloth; then rub dry and clean with another.
39. TO CLEAN CUT GLASS--Cut glass should be rubbed with a damp sponge dipped in whiting; then brush this off with a clean brush, and wash the vessel in cold water.
40. A MIXTURE TO DESTROY COCKROACHES--Reduce a loaf of stale bread to crumbs; to a pint of water, add two spoonfuls of Cayenne pepper, one spoonful of pulverized orris seed, half a drachm of saltpetre, the same quantity of white lead, and a glassful of the extract of hops. Throw in your crumbed bread, and allow it to stand in a moderately hot place for six hours; strain it through a cloth, and add to the liquor thirty-five drops of the tincture of quassia; let it stand till the next day; bottle and cork it close. A find lump of sugar saturated with this liquid, placed where the cockroaches are in the habit of gathering, will remove them in a few days.
41. TO CLEAN IRONS FROM RUST--Pound some glass to a fine powder, and having nailed some linen or woolen cloth upon a board, lay upon it a strong coat of gum water, and sift thereon some of your powdered glass, and let it dry. Repeat this operation three times, and when the last covering of powdered glass is dry, you may easily rub off the rust from iron utensils with the cloth thus prepared.
42. TO GIVE SILVER PLATE A LUSTRE--Dissolve alum in a strong lye; skim it carefully; then mix it with soap, and wash your silver utensils with it, using a linen rag.
43. PROTECTION AGAINST MOTHS--A small piece of paper or linen, moistened with turpentine, and put into wardrobe or drawers, for a single day, two or three times a year, is a sufficient preservative against moths.
44. OIL OF LAVENDER AS A PRESERVATIVE--Oil of lavender keeps books from moulding; a few drops only need be used. A single drop of this oil will prevent one pint of ink from moulding. Paste may also be kept from mould by this addition. Leather is also protected from injury by the same agency.
45. TO SCRUB MARBLE STEPS--Use water with a small portion of washing soda dissolved in it, and some sand. On no account use soap, as it will discolor the marble.
46. TO REMOVE WHITEWASH STAINS FROM CARPETS, CLOTHS, ETC--Apply white wine vinegar.
47. TO PRESERVE EARTHENWARE--Put earthenware in cold water, and let it heat gradually until it boils; then cool it again. Brown earthenware, particularly, may be cooled in this way. A handful of rye or wheat bran thrown in while it is boiling, will preserve the glazing, so that it will not be destroyed by acid or salt.
48. HYDROPHOBIA--Take two tablespoonfuls of fresh chloride of lime, powdered, and half a pint of water. Mix them together, and constantly bathe the wound, renewing the wash as is necessary.
49. ANOTHER CURE FOR HYDROPHOBIA--Wash the wound immediately with warm vinegar and tepid water, dry it, and then apply a few drops of muriatic acid, which will destroy the poison of the saliva, or neutralize it, and the cure is effected.
50. TO REMOVE FRUIT STAINS FROM THE HANDS--Hold the hands over the smoke of burning sulphur until the stains disappear. Common matches will serve.
51. TWO EXCELLENT RULES--Never spend your money before you get it. Never buy anything you do not want because it is cheap.