Milford chronicle., 1912-02-02
TO FINISH THE FLOOR
HOW ROUGH AND DIscoLoRED
SURFACE WAS RENEWED.
Careful sandpaperIns ls Essential In
Finishing Hardwood FIoor-Room
Kept Clean Without q
Carpet.

The living-room In q farmhouse
especially where there are q number
Of children, soon becomes a harbor
for dust; and no matter how particu"
lar one is in sweeping, this dust is
simply shifted about, some settling on
the furniture, more sinking into the
depths Of the carpet, to be started up
again at the next sweeping.
The waxed or vanished floors
which spot If a drop Of water touches
them are not practicable on the farm;
but the room may still be made pre-
sentable without a carpet clean, and
more easily kept in order.
In our own case. the problem was
to finish a hardwood floor that has
been used some years. and was rough
and discolored in places. Perhaps
some OF the prepared floor wakes
would have given more pleasing re-
suits. If mere beauty was the motive.
But we wanted durability, and a floor
not too slippery.
It was first sandpapered until
smooth. And this part of the work
must be thoroughly done; for on It's
completeness depends much of the
future beauty of the work, as well
as the ease Of keeping It in order.
II not perfectly smooth the dust is
bound to stick; while If the SURFACE
is properly reduced the dust wipes on
very easily.
There were some cracks to be filed.
We had read of a paper pulp filling cas-
fly prepared by tearing newspaper into
small bits and cooking It In pasty
water until soft. then kneading it into
a pulp. This may answer with very
large cracks.
It IS difficult to work smoothly Into
small ones, and on the whole rather
an expensive makeshift # time is val
liable. It is better to invest in a pre-
pared crack filler.
This spreads smoothly and evenly.
but Is white when dry. It also erum-
bles when in contact with moisture.
To obviate this difficulty ordinary yell
low paint was darkened with burnt
sienna until IL nearly matched the
color OF the floor, and the cracks
given a coat of 1t after the filler had
been in twenty-four hours and be-
come hard
Allowing another day for the paint
TO dry, the floor was treated to a coat
OF boiled linseed oil, applied hot. It
takes comparatively little oil to cover
floor, application being easily made
with a flannel cloth.
Now comes the work-fun If there
are little folks in the family. It must
be well rubbed into the wood; this, next
to sandpapering, being the secret OF
success. Pieces of burlap serve nicely
for applying the friction. OF course
II one has a floor brush the work Is
still better accomplished. At the end
Of a week a second application Of oil
should be given. Then once in
month or six weeks will be found
sufi Client
Make several bags Of canton flannel
with the nap side out, or OF outing
flannel. One of these can be slipped
over the broom and held in place by
q drawstring.
Sweeping done by this method not
only leaves the floor shining and free
from dust but saves much dust from
settling on furniture.
II there is need Of t. the door can
bo easily cleaned By WTinging q mop
out Of cold water.
Soft wood floors viii require a diff
ferent treatment. But by filling
cracks and treating the floors In some
manner that will be durable, and US
ing rugs instead Of carpets one Will
End the problem OF keeping clean
more easily solved.