The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1881-06-09
Floors and Floor Coverings.

There are many housewives this sea-
son who cannot afford to replace worm
out carpets with new ones nor have
they inlaid floors over which to spread
rugs. How to cover the rough, knotty
planks, splashed here and there with
spots of paint that constitute the floors
of SO many houses, is one of the per-
picking problems woman with mod
est income is called upon to answer. If
she were having house newly built, of
floors, smoothly-planed, narrow, clear
grained and close-titting planks that
would be more easily managed, but
with unsightly floors provided and no
money to buy yards upon yards of car
pet to cover it. the only thing to do is
to accept the situation and proceed to
make the best of it.
Where there are spots and splashes
from the paint brush to be removed,
cover these with caustic potash, which
must be left on from twenty-four to
thirty-six hours, or until the paint is
dissolved. Then scrub the floor. Next
fill up all cracks between the planks
with putty and plane off uneven sur
faces. It is now ready to stain and
polish. Mixtures for staining are put
up.in tin cans and are for sale at paint
stores. Decide if the floor is to be
stained light or dark color, in alternate
stripes of dark and light or center of
one shade and border OF another. Order
the staining material accordingly, and,
before applying with good paint
brush. thin it to a proper consistency
with turpentine.
A floor may be stained a walnut color
with burnt umber ground in oil. All
other colors ground in oil are, by the
way, put up in tin boxes or cans for the
convenience of those who have no facil-
tiles for grinding their own paints, and
can be purchased at paint, drug and
oftentimes grocery stores. A one-pound
can of burnt umber ground in oil will
be sufficient to stain the floor Of an
ordinary-sized room. Add to boiled
linseed oil enough of this color to pro-
duce the shade required. This mixture
may be rubbed into the wood with a
wooden cloth or applied with brush,
afterwards rubbing over with WOODEN
cloth until the stain will no longer
come of. After the floor is dry if the
color is not dark enough applya second
coat.
This staining will leave the floor dull
in color, and waxing is next in order.
Mix beeswax and turpcntine together
in the proportions of one pound of wax,
shaved thin, to one gallon of turpen-
tine. The wax should soak for about
two days in the turpentine previous to
being rubbed on the floor with wooden
cloth. Several applications 1T intervals
of about three days must be made be-
fore the required polish will be gained,
after which, in parlors and bedrooms
that do not receive hard usage, the wax
need not be applied oftener than once
or twice every month. The floor in the
mean time can be cleaned by passing
over it a broom covered with moist
cloth. These floors must always be
wiped up, never scrubbed.
1t need hardly be explained that
much labor may be spared by spreading
down over the main center space large
rug, allowing border of the wood to
show. BY this arrangement the border
portion only need be waxed.
In houses where there are hardwood
floors the following recipe will be found
good one for refreshing them: Mix
one pound OF melted beeswax in a pint
of turpentine. When mixed it ought
to he the consistency of lard or axle
grease. Should it prove thicker than
this, thin by adding more turpentine.
Apply to the floor, previously cleaned
of dust, with cloth; put ON sparing.
ly. Allow it to remain four or five
hours. or until the turpentine has evap-
Grated, and then wipe the floor dry with
a clean cloth.
Very serviceable as we'll as pretty
rugs for the center of stained floors may
be made of carpeting bordered with
regular carpet bordering, or with heavy
wooden fringe. There are also mex
pensive domestic rugs for sale at carpet
stores, in imitation of Smyrna rugs,
that cost but a small fraction of the
price of an entire covering of carpet. -
~ Y World.