The Newtown bee., 1880-12-08
CLEANING FROM EXPERIENCE.
Mrs. Henry Ward Beecher Gives Some Useful Information to the Household.

Mrs. Henry Ward BeecheE Gives Some
 Useful Information to the Household.
 Much time and strength ire needlessly expended in cleaning the woodwork in our rooms, and the appearance of the wood is often injured rather than inn proved by it, because many housekeep- CTS imagine that much soap and the ex- penditure of all the strength they can spare with the scrubbing-brush is the only way by which the desired state of cleanliness can be secured. This IS 8 mistaken idea. By careful dusting, so that dust cannot have 8 chance to settle long on any part of the woodwork, and through dampness adhere closely, much hard work can be avoided. And hard work may also be lessened materially by the. wiping of finger marks and fly specks with a damp cloth as soon as seen. When there is not superabund- ance of servants, this can be done with out any great expenditure of strength by devoting an hour or so each day to one room, or by going over one orr two rooms a week in experimentation. In this way the much-dreaded semi-anDual house. cleaning loses half its terrors, and wood and paint retain their new fresh look much longer.
 In cleaning white paint, if any soap
 
 not on the flannel used to wash it. Avoid it altogether if possible. Soap turns white paint yellow, and if often or freely used, removes the paint itself altogether. Hot water also yellows white paint; and unless the paint is so dirty as to need scrubbing, should not be used. Cold water, with little borax or ammonia in it, and clean piece of soft flannel, is far better. This way of cleaning white paint makes it look very fresh, and saves soap and fuel. Only enough ammonia to soften tEe water should be used. A teaspoontul to two quarts of cold water is sufficient.
 Ii paint is quite dirty and greasy, warm water-not hot-with little more am- monia will remove the grease, unless dropped on hot or left unnoticed a long time. Then, if necessary, one must re sort to the scrubbing brush, and per- haps use a little soap. When ammonia --or, as some think, sott-soda-is used, the paint must be rinsed, and wiped dry immediately, and only small space washed at time before rinsing. This is a slow process, and can in almost all cases be avoided by removing any grease spot immediately.
 In cleaning grained wood use clear warm water and clean white cloth. Be careful and not have the water hot, as that will leave white spots. Wash only small place at time, and wipe dry as fast as a spot is washed. Wipe with a clean white cloth. Colored cloths stain the wood, or give a dingy look to the graining Wet no more at time than can be dried immediately, as drops will settle on the wood, and make the whole look dull, old, and stTeaked if left to dry by the atmosphere. It should be rubbed till perfectly dry, changing the cloths as soon as wet.
 If grained wood has been very much neglected, or left till greatly soiled with greasy fingers, or defaced by fly specks, 8 very little hard soap must be put into the first water, and that will necessitate more careful rinsing and drying. But, if possible, avoid using the soap, even if it may require little mere time and labor to cleanse the wood, for soap tar nishes the varnish. however skillfully it may be applied. On no account put the soap on the cloth.
 Gliding in cornices, or on any part of the woodwork, must be carefully guarded from being touched by the water or wet cloth when cleaning 8 room; nor should it be wiped even with the cleanest cloth; that will deaden and take off the gliding. A feather brush will remove the dust better than any thing. If the gliding unfortunately be- comes spotted, only an expert at regild- ing can with safety attempt to renovate it.
 The finest furniture will be soon de- faced if it do not receive careful atten- tion very often. The very best will not be injured by washing with a soft sponge wet in clear cold water. Squeeze the sponge gently 50 that the water will not drip, and then rub the furniture with it, penetrating into all the fine carving; then take a soft chamois- skin, and wipe and rub as dry as possible, taking care to dry all the moisture from sary to get at it by wrapping the chamois-skin on the point of blunt stick or ivory crochet needle. As the rubbing and drying proceed, when the chamois becomes quite damp, wiring it between two dry cloths to absorb all the moisture possible, and polish off lastly with clean dry skin.
 If vanished work becomes defaced, and begins to show white spots, take equal parts of linseed-oil and turpentine, put them in vial, shake till thoroughly incorporated, then pour in small quan- titles on 8 soft cloth, and apply to the spots. Repeat till the color is restored, and then with another clean soft cloth wipe. the mixture off carefully. In deeply carved furniture. if the dust has settled so as to be difficult to remove. use first 8 stiff-haired paint brush to get out as much of the dust as possible be- lore using the wet sponge; then roll the sponge up in the hand. and rub it into the carving two or three times; rinse. and rub dry with the chamois, and finish of by wrapping the dry skin over the ivory needle, and drying every damp place in the carving. This need not take more time than is occupied in telling it. If the furniture is often dusted, it will not require any more, and it will look fresh and bright for years with such care.
 If hot water or spirits of any kind have been spilled on furniture or var nished wood, it will turn white in spots. and become greatly detaced. Take two tablespoonfuls of sweet-oil, one tea spoonful of vinegar; shake these well together; wet soft piece ot flannel in this mix ture, and rub the spots with it. They will then disappear, leaving the furniture as good as new If at any time desirable to give pine tables an oaken color, or the woodwork of a room, it can be done without calling in a painter. Wash the wood carefully in a solution ot copperas dissolved in strong lye, in the proportion of pound of copperas to gallon of lye; when the wood is dry after having been thus thor oughly saturated with this wash, oil it, and it will look fresh and nice for a year or two, when it can be restained and again oiled. Often, when not subjected to hard usage, the color will remain undimmed for several years, only requir- ing to. be oiled occasionally. The color may be put on with a short-bristled brush, or, the hands heinz protected with thick buckskin gloves, the wash B ay be applied with cloth, which will saturate the wood more evenly. It will hliatcrr fhn hor 4l