The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-11-20
CARE OF THE HOUSE.
Proper Tr.atmens of tho Iasid. Woo

Proper Treatment OF tho Inside Wood
How to make the best of the things
we have is one of the most important
lessons of life. The most valuab bic
possessions soon grow useless il not
properly cared for, and thousands of
homes and their contents go to de-
struction every year for lack of judi
cious looking after.
Among the portions of the establish.
ment requiring the most careful atten-
ton is the inside woodwork. Very
few servants realize that fine hard.
| wood floors may easily be ruined by q
little thoughtlessness or stupidity. In
deed, many housewives seem never to
have given this subject q moments
thought.
In building house the quality of
the flooring is of far greater impor-
lance than most builders are willing
to admit. The woman who had each
board carefully examined and rejected
every one with irregular grain or
knots, had scores of them thrown out
and many of them taken up and dis
earded altogether. made herself very
unpopular with the builder, but Sc
cured by her persistence floor that,
with reasonable care, would last a
lifetime. and would never wear out
her fioor-cloths or her patience.
In the average house the boards of
the kitchen floor are cut from badly
seasoned timber and the edges are
soft, spongy and irregular. Repeated
scrubbings with soda or potash and
the much-lauded dirt-killers that are
found on every hand make the poor
stuff warp and split, and soon the floor
cloth catches in it and long splinters
are either loosened or torn off alto
gether. Week after week this process
goes on until the floor is full of seams
and burrows. Then it may, perhaps,
be covered with oilcloth as the most
practical alternative, but the cloth
cuts and breaks over the roughness
and rarely lasts more than a couple of
seasons
1t is of prime importance to select
for exposed floors good lumber and
then to take good care of It A thick
coating of boiled linseed oil, applied
while not, is one of the very best pre-
servatives- The floor must be thor
oughly dry and clean. Heat the oil in
a tin pail or can placed in kettle of
boiling water. 1t may safely remain
on the stove until wan ted If care is
taken not TO spill or spatter the oil in
any way, as this might cause a most
disastrous conhagration. Never heat
oil merely by putting the vessel con-
tanning IL upon the stove, but always
with hot water surrounding IL When
ready for use lift the kettle of water
with the can containing the oil from
the stove and carry to the corner of
the room farthest from the door With
wide. fat brush or a mop made of
strips of wooden cloth. apply the oil.
working rapidly and rubbing length.
wise of the boards
1t is surprising how quickly hot oil
will sink into the wood, and. this ab-
sorption is the secret of success, it may
be gone over again as soon as the first
coat has disappeared.
Finish the job o. backing out of the
door. then leave the room undisturbed
Tor some hours. If possible When IL Is
necessary to use the room at once, Il IS
we'll to heat an old smoothing iron
quite hot and iron the floor. or rub
with bag filed with bot sand This
viii cause the oil TO absorb at once.
and VIII leave the boards dry and
clean Then rub thoroughly with
thick cloth. and the room may be used
e. pleasure