Foam rubber pillows should be washed with the case on to prevent fraying. Then, air dry the pillow -- never in a hot dryer.

Add a few drops of vinegar to the rinse water to help prevent static electricity in synthetics.

To keep fabrics from bleeding, add 2-3 teaspoons of sale to the wash and rinse cycles.

Black clothing tends to look brown after several washings. To restore the black color, add coffee or strong tea to the rinse water.

Perspiration stains can be removed by soaking the clothing in salt water prior before placing in the washing machine. You can also use a baking soda paste on the affected area to remove these stains.

Mildew spots can be removed from white fabrics by rubbing a lemon juice and salt mixture into the spots. Then, let the garment dry in the sun before washing.

Never use bleach to get your fabric tennis shoes whiter! A little lemon juice in the final rinse should do the trick, though.

Tap water will corrode the insides of your iron. Always use distilled water in your iron. It's cheap and will prevent corrosion of the iron -- and hard water stains on your garments.

If you use a dry iron instead of a steam iron, please heavy duty aluminum foil over the ironing board and cover it with the board's slipcover. The foil will reflect heat back to garment being ironed making your work easier and more efficient.

To remove stains of wine or fruit from table linen. A wine stain may sometimes be removed by rubbing it, while wet, with common salt. It is said, also, that sherry wine poured immediately on a place where port wine has been spilled, will prevent its leaving a stain. A certain way of extracting fruit or wine stains from table linen is to tie up some cream of tartar in the stained part (so as to form a sort of bag), and then to put the linen into a lather of soap and cold water, and boil it awhile. Then transfer it wet to lukewarm suds, wash and rinse it well, and dry and iron it. The stains will disappear during the process. Another way is to mix, in equal quantities, soft soap, slacked lime, and pearlash. Rub the stain with this preparation, and expose the linen to the sun with the mixture plastered on it. If necessary, repeat the application. As soon as the stain has disappeared, wash out the linen immediately, as it will be injured if the mixture is left in it.