Evening journal., 1909-06-08
CARE OF
FURNITURE
Ways In Which It May Be
Treated to Preserve
Its Beauty
" " Urn its brilliant surface

MB unscratched. FREQ from
W " bruises and stains. its
beautiful tones and ever
changing lights and shadows. fine fur
niture IS an absolute Joy to those on
the alert for wood effects. on the other
hand. to the eye OF the careful observer
Il may become a constant annoyance.
and this from nothing else than pure
neglect. Furniture. however well de-
signed and made. however valuable
from association, Is ruined in appear
ance by dirt scratches. stains. Ink
marks, white water marks and the like.
Every ono knows or ought 70 know
that these are remediable defects. But
not every ono knows how TO cure them.
All can learn. however, and I am going
10 give In this story the results OF my
own and other peoples experience IN
keeping good furniture in condition
and restoring 10 beauty that which has
been neglected
Supposing the furniture TO be sound
and clean, as things go. the ordinary
maids idea OF cleaning Is 10 give a
good rub up" or 20 use some kind OF
polishing paste or liquid. After this
treatment the furniture viii look
bright for awhile unless ono should
peer into the corners and find the
white dust hiding IN crevices and por-
tions Of holdings or carved work.
All rubbing and polishing arc labor in
the wrong place unless the first proc
ess Of cleaning has been thoroughly
carried out There are many ways OF
doing this. Some housekeepers use
cold tea, vinegar and water IN equal
parts. Either application IS good. all
though my preference IS for the cold
tea. which seems 10 cleanse more ef-
fectually than anything else. What
, ever is used Il must not be swabbed
all over the piece Of furniture as II a
ships deck were being treated to its
{ morning bath. but with soft clean
cloths. dampened with the tea or what
ever is used, and then rubbed all over
the surface and dried carefully at once.
The crevices and crannies are best
, reached by a tiny pad Of cotton on the
end Of an orange stick or an old PEN
A holder. II there IS much dirt to van
. quish, IL means very hard work. much
Y rubbing. much renewing Of the tea
q water. Thus free the article from
!. dirt and greasiness and subsequent poll
h ishing viii be an easier task and the
h final result a very great satisfaction.
r slight scratches may be removed by
{ being anointed with linseed oil Cboiled)
s at night and then rubbed next day
r with linseed oil and turpentine in
equal proportions II they are very
deep they require professional treat
ment
~. when the surface has not been
scratched. but bruised or indented. the
4, bruised part can be dampened witt
warm water first and then a pad o
"A brown paper folded many times. 81
that II conducts heat only slowly q
- the wood below. Is laid on the part 1
y be restored. the paper being s0aiOe
Ia thoroughly in warm water before ap
- plication. Now comes the critical par
Of the operation. for an iron. warm
but decidedly not hot, must be held
!, over the damp paper. The pressure
a. must not be hard, but the iron should
"a be kept IN position until all moisture
- has been evaporated. II this is done
I. directly a brulse Is observed. one ap-
- plication IS almost sure TO raise the
;. surface OF the wood up again. but old
bruises require several treatments.
Immediate removal Of ink stains is the
obvious first aid TO the Injured wood
but there are stains Of this nature that
of are never detected until they have at
a tanned a good old age. and then they
l. need careful management. A small
a quantity Of niter applied with a cam
n. els hair brush will remove very OBJ
70 stlnate and hardened ink stains. Six
ne drops Of the inter 10 4 teaspoonful OF
IN water is sufficient, applied until the
m ink has dissolved and disappeared
IN Then rub the place with a damp cloth
OF and polish with a soft duster.
sh Worms In wood are almost impossi-
Of BILE TO cure. but they may be kept down
by the use OF parafln applied TO the
holes by a small brush. Badly worm
eaten furniture should be drenched
with paraffin out of doors. Still. this Il
ed dangerous process. and the besi
er method, after all, IS 10 get II treated
n- by a professional cabinetmaker-eithe
ok that or get rid Of It.
re To restore very badly neglected fur.
e. niture. especially OF the inlay variety
ps the first process is 20 remove all tn
Ike polish with methylated spirit. Mex
on rub with fine sandpaper until th
CO original wood Is reached. I have al
old bureau that for years inhabite'
the attic and looked I'm its disgrace,
state as II 1t were ornamented with din
be black scrolls. After II was treatel
TN with methylated spirit and sandpape
h the lovely old tints of satin inlay wer
Cd found. and when polishing was don
he the ramshackle looking inhabitant @
the lumber room came down to be ad
an mired and loved in a place of honol
Ire but II involved much hard work. tn
nd polishing was done by wiping IN
Is whole surface with boiled linseed o
IN which a little mastic varnish ha
been dissolved each night and rubbin
~ II I'm and polishing it on each day 70
a long time. Doubtless a professions
u., man would have done Il IN a shorte
~ time ard by some occult method O
,oe bis own, but no shop polished burea
~ could have made the owner pur wit
!. satisfaction as did this restored dere
nd nse, sllu San ol,y s.iu ssii9 slo,s Z
st. aueis.s o',''e.0 y. - s,,,'slis a. nss'1''
"a DAPHNE DEAN.