Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1891-10-16

Every housekeeper knows that there is a
certain art in sweeping a room which re-
quires skill and patience. All the differ
ence between refined, daintily kept parlor
and q Longing room, defiant with dust
and disorder, lies in the proper doing of
this simple work. The great mistake
which the novice in sweeping makes is to
take long heavy strokes. These are mani
festly labor thrown away. The object OF
sweeping is not to wear out the carpet. 1t
Is to brush the dust out of the carpet.
Short, light, even strokes do the work as
it should be done, In any carpet it is al
ways best to sweep it once with the grain,
and then again across it, going over each
two or three yards OF the carpet in this
way till 1t is all swept.
Where there is a fireplace it is well to
sweep toward it to collect the dust in one
pile Where the carpet is old and worn
even 1t is not quite as necessary to sweep
it in both directions, but where it is new
and there are perceptible ridges in the
weaving, where dust may be- this caution
Is always necessary A Brussels or nap
carpet should always be swept in this way.
There are many excellent houses where
there is not a proper equipment of brushes,
brooms and busting sheets for sweeping.
Before beginning to sweep a room, all
pieces of furniture which are easily NOV
able should be busted and set in an adjoin-
ing room. All small pieces of bric-a brac
and other articles which are liable to catch
the dust must be removed. Large pieces
of furniture like beds, bureaus and book
cases, should be carefully and closely GOV
cred with busting sheets.
The windows should be opened and the
blinds busted, but if the windows are to
be washed it should be done after the
sweeping, when the paint is wiped. After
the first sweeping of room it is usually
left for five or ten minutes, for the dust to
settle, when the ceiling and walls may be
busted down with the long hair brushes
provided for the purpose. The pictures
should be thoroughly busted with soft dry
cloths. Brushing around the edges of the
carpet with a whisk brush is a regular part
of the sweeping and should not be omitted
After going over a room thoroughly and
allowing the dust to settle, it is always
necessary to brush it over again. and it is
best to do this with damp broom, so as
to collect all the dust.
Wiping with a damp cloth wrung out as
dry as possible from water in which two
tablespoons of ammonia has been put to a
gallon will brighten faded colors and make
the carpet look fresh and new. Before put
ting the furniture back into the room, all
finger marks and soiled spots on the paint
or woodwork should be wiped off. If there
Is a fireplace the hearth should be washed
up and the iron work rubbed off with rag
dampened slightly with kerosene oil. If
there is brass work it should be carefully
polished. The busting sheets may now be
removed and the furniture put back in
place, busted and fresh
Such a sweeping as this is part of the
regular homework every week in a house
where there are carpets, and every room in
the house should be swept as thoroughly as
this While upon this subject it is we'll to
suggest that housekeepers who are buying
heavy pieces of furniture, not easily moved,
should purchase only such pieces as are
lifted up on legs, leaving a clear space for
the broom to pass under and collect the
dust.-New York Tribune.