, 1890-06-06
POINTS ON HOUSE CLEANING.
Timely ~SugE1stIous Regarding RenOvS
,tions and Spring Cleaning.

Timely sugErstions Regarding RenovH-
tions and Spring Cleaning.
A dear old housekeeper conhded to me
some tricks to which she had resorted
with good effect in the renovation OF her
domicile during her forty years expert
ence in town and county at the head of
q household Of large number. This vet
eran in her vocation never covers the en-.
tire surface Of her bedroom floors, by
which plan she al have the corners kept
scr~upulously free from dust, and she
says one can make the margin look well
and last a long time by first cleaning it
nicely and then putting on a heavy coat
Of hnseed oil, which she follows, after
the oil has thoroughly dried with two
coats of brown shellac varnish. Reno
waiting the bedstesds bureaus and chairs,
my authority insists, is one of the aces
sories Of cleaning house, and a great ad-
vantage to all housewives who desire to
combine economy and perfection.
IAN my hardwood furniture" pur-
sued the old lady, ~ thoroughly wash
free OF all dust, grease and finger marks
with soap and water, and dry as thor
oughly with clean cloths. Then, as l
wish to keep the appearance the same as
when it was new, l pour some linseed
oil into a dish and, dipping a bit Of fan
mel into 1t, rub 1t over every bit of the
wood, which was originally finished in
oil, using a good deal OF energy and con-
tinuing the rubbing until / can pass my
hand over the entire surface without soil
ing 1t. II there are any portions that
were vanished, / buy a pint or so OF or
binary furniture varuish and spread it
on generously with a small vanish brush
Picture frames usually need q little
~renoyating now and again, and such as 1
have of black walnut or other hard wood
/ generally rub over with the flannel rag
and hnseed oil. Sometimes they can be
made to look better than new by using
shellac varnish on them, which does not
dry so glossy as furniture varnish. For
a brush | prefer a fiat paint brush, such
a. is called 'chiseled'-that is, ground off
on each side to form a thin edge-and
after il has been used in shellac varnish
a painter told me to wash 1t in strong al
cohol, and never in t~urpentine or o
and water. II a person desires to touch
up a pianoforte, they can procure from
the manufacturer some varnish which
is known as piano polishing for the case,
and piano flowing which is another
preparation, for the legs.
I'm apartments where it is practicable
/ always like to lay a mating for the
summer months; 1t looks so clean, cool
and comfortable during the hot weather.
But 1t often surprises me that so many
people follow the custom of lacking each
breadth to the floor with either the sin
gle or the double pointed tacks that have
recently been devised to lessen the num-
Der TO be driven. lacking down each
breadth In this manner is not only de-
structive to the mating, but 1t spoils the
floor as well. Every tack put in or with
drawn breaks at least one OF the strawa
/ have foundit a far better plan to sew the
breadths together and then tacki it to the
floor in the same manner one would treat
a carpet. Previous to laying the mat
ting, however. l always sew the two laid
pieces where they are Joined, across and
across, which keeps the joints from open
ing. 1 think housekeepers + whom
economy Is an object will find that mat
ting made and laid as 1 suggest will last
fully twice as long as when it is tackled
down breadth by breadth.
when there is a marble w~ashstand,
bureau top, mantel or buffet that needs
especial cleaning. some washing soda,
crushed fine and mixed with pulverized
quicklime, worked into a paste with
some water, should be laid on and left to
dry, after which 1t may be scraped off
and washed clean with soap and water.
1.-THE oilcloth in my kitchen has been
down for years. | never allow soap, or
only the least bit, to be used on it, as it
removes the coloring. but l always keep
some varnish on hand to AVE it treated
with occasionally Grace Conroy in
New York Star.