The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1889-11-22
HOW TO DUST A ROOM.
A Woman Who Thinks There should he u
Method in This n In other Work.


Method In This n In other Work.
The feather dus,er is an abomination, writes
Christina Terhune Herrick in recent num-
Der OF The Housewife. In the hands Of a
careless housemaid IL is flirted among the
furniture, up about the picture frames, down
amid the chair rungs, into hooks and corners,
scattering the dust everywhere, brushing the
impalpable powder from one spot and driving
il into another, until, when the maid retircs
from her labors. all the dust in the room has
changed its place, while but little OF IL has
been permanently removed.
There should lie IA method in dusting and
it should he closely followed. First OF all,
the carpet should bc brushed. A thorough
sweeping may not be necessary, bot in most
living rooms there is daily need Of a carpet
sweeper or dust pan and brush, often OF all
three The carpet sweeper Is admirable for
taking up the dirt in the middle Of the room,
but II is practically useless in corners. Every
housekeeper should have one Of the dust pans
that can be held in place by the foot The
gain in comfort is immeasurable 10 the wo-
man who has been accustomed 10 bend her-
self double when she wished 20 brush up tho
fluff that she had gathered together with her
broom.
The high places Of the room should next
receive attention, the cornices, curtain poles,
etc A Turks head brush is invaluable here
and is easily improyised by tying cloth or
towel around feather duster aud attaching
this 10 the end Of pole long enough 90 en-
able one 10 touch the ceiling with the brush.
For the other parts of the room n cloth
must be used. Old silk handkerchiefs make
excellent busters, but even they are not SUI
perior TO those OF cheese cloth. These should
not be too large. A duster a yard long by
half yard wide is big enough for all or
dinary purposes. Cheese cloth is 40 cheap
that there is no reason why every family
should not be provided with generous sup
ply Of busters
They must be hemmeJ, OF course, and may
be prettly finished by feather stitching Of
bright marking cotton Such busters will go
into all the hooks aud corners, gathering up
the dust and retaining II. They should be
shaken after using and washed frequently.
IL is "A tedious business 10 dust the modern
parlor Filled with bric-a-brac, adorned
with hangings over doors, windows and man
ties, ornamented with bits Of drapery flung
over easels and picture frames, 10 presents a
discouraging aspect TO the busy housewife
One must pay for having pretty aud artistic
surroundings, but, rs long as the dust gather
ing agencies are kept out Of sleeping rooms,
little harm is done. Everything should bo
moved in dusting. There should be no dusty
rims left around ornaments to show how the
cloth SKINNED around them without touching
them. Such carelessness must be watched
for i'm the housemaid, whose study often is 10
slight skillfully instead Of 20 perform her
task thoroughly.
For dusting tufted furniture, nothing Is
better than an ordinary house painting brush.
The bristes go into every crevice and fold Of
the covering and fray the material less than
do the straws Of n whisll broom.