Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-05
CLEANING. FLOORS.
Scientific Way of Polishing and Re-
moving Stains.

Although the advent of hardwood floors
in the modern houses have somewhat les
sened the labors of scrubbing. so that the
I5gular old fashioned work with pail.
hot water, brush. cloth and soap is be-
coming a lost art. still the tops OF the
tubs, kitchen tables. shelves. etc. need
this vigorous treatment once week to
he kept in proper condition.
Anyway. all white boards, that is. those
unvarnshed. require Il soap and water
wash if one wishes to keep them in proper
condition.
The choice of a scrubbins pail seems
only very small detail in this work,
but if one OF the paper fiber buckets is
selected the work will be lighter. for the
galvanized pails-and indeed those or
wood-arc much heavier and If large
floor space has to be gone over, SO much
lifting will soon tire the worker. Again
pals other than the fiber. are apt to
leave a denied rins on the floor.
For moppinS the water wooden Is the
best fabric. and old winter underwear is
splendid for this purpose. Summer un-
derwear makes excellent rubbing cloths
for the final finish. Wooden does not give
so good a gloss the latter, for 1t usual
ly leaves lint.
For the scrubbing a hair bristle brush
should be provided. and soap containing
naphtha is perhaps the best kind for this
purpose. Use only warm water, not hot
and thus avoid 'washerwoman hands.
that are the result of working i'll very
hot water.
Naphtha is a good agent in removing
grease spots. Common washing soda, too.
is equally active in the treatment. but
this calls for very hot water. and so US
ing these two wrinkles and ShrivelS the
hands.
To eradicate a spot a good plan is to
cover the stain with soda. moisten with
boiling water. Leave it on some time,
hafo hnsyi in
ming the regular scrubbing. Hot sand will
absorb grease spots. and so will hot ashes
The latter must not be too hot, of course.
and should be watched. or the result may
be a scorch on the boards.
Being in readiness the process is as fol-
lows: The wooden cloth is half wrunS out
of the warm water andF the space to be
cleaned is wet with it. Too large a space
should not be taken at once, certainly
rot an arms reach, or the result may be
a dark outline to each patch. No more
should be taken than can receive the full
strength of the arm in rubbing. Now
wet the brush andsrub soap on 1t: Scrub
the boards by the grain of, the wood and
where there are spots to be removed, by
rotary motion also. Partly wiring the
wooden cloth and wipe off the dirty water
Then wiring dry. wiping out every trace
OF soil and finally rub with the dry cloth
Go on to the next patch. using the
same process. all that is necessary being
to'make quite sure that there are no dark
ridges between the spaces.
Hardwood floors are best kept in good
condition by wringing a wooden cloth out
of warm water. wipinG the floor with it,
then rubbing with dry rag. A. little
crude oil may be used occasionally, but
too much. or too often. is mistake.
Linoeum and oicloth should not be
scrubbed unless absolutely necessary,
neither should soap ever touch either
Warm water. floor cloth and a little rub
bling is all that is required to keep these
in good condition.
l was told by an expert on 1inoleums
and oilclotlrs that hot milk is excellent
for cleansing these floor coverings. He
said that while the appearance was no
better than if washed with water. the
milk took away grease or any very bad
soils that water would not remove.
In scrubbing shelves or any places where
there are crevices, it will be as well not
to make them too wet for moist heat has
a tendency to bring ants, reaches and
similar insects. The shelves should be
wiped as dry as possible always and then
left to thoroughly air before the dishes.
etc. are replaced. the aim being to avoid
even the slightest dampness.