The Washington herald., 1914-12-27

complish the greatest house cleaning in
/ the world. The woman who is driven
to the verge Of nervous prostration by
of dust and moths in a small house or
apartment would probably stand aghasr
at the task Of hotel manager who
must clean and refurnish his hotel, and
/ yet be ready to receive the traveller who
may appear at this inopportune time.
\ On the fifteenth day OF June every
year at q paIatial hotel in New York
the annual inventory OF this great hos
telry is taken, or more properly speak
ing, the force begins to take inventory.
How many new curtains, carpets and
rugs will be required? How many thou
and linen and china must be purchased?
What rooms must have new furniture?
These are a few of the many questions
which confront the management OF such
q hotel
The housewife who discovers that one
of her precious spoons has been stolen
by a dishonest maid. or some Of her
finest dishes have been nicked, sheds
few futile tears The manager Of a
hotel loses thousands of dollars every
year in silyerware and table furnish
ings. which are taken. not by help. but
by guests of the house. who carry them
of as souvenirs. Spoons. forks. salt
shakers, small individual breakfast cas-
tors, tete-a-tete sugar bowls. creamers.
after dinner coffee cups and saucers, all
these fall prey to the tourist who thinks
1t is clever to carry away hotel SOU
venirs. and the proprietor of the hotel
has come to regard Il as another ave-
nue. Of expenditure.
When the inventory is completed and
the managers OF the hotel have given
orders and o. KID the specifications,
: estimates and contracts Of the various
tradespeople. their work in the house.
cleaning is finished. And here lies the
difference between the housewife and
the hotel manager during the domestic
upheaval The housewife tries to run
everybody, from the paperhangers to the
man who comes in to black her stove.
cleaning force, each section OF which
/ is under a head who knows all the de-
tails OF his department from the ground
: up.
The floor space of this hotel IL laid
: on a common level would cover $4,000
rooms into a uniform width of ten feet.
: and running them side by side. the
would stretch fifteen miles. All Of this
floor space, with the exception of the
ballroom. must be covered with carpets.
rugs. mating. etc.
A fashionable hotel must always look
fresh and well-groomed; hence carpets
can seldom be made over save as they
can be changed from a very large room
to a small one. with the faded part of
the carpet taken out. The American
public which can afford to stop at a
, high-priced hotel has gone luxury-mad.
4 and carpets must be thick and veIvety
under foot. so there is no turning of
, the economical ingram. The carpets must
E be disposed of either by selling to smaller
!. hotels or private parties. or through aac-
!, tion rooms. The replenishing OF linen
/, costs $4,000 a year. and as much more
Is required to purchase new china and
silver service. New furniture and car
pets. together with the wages paid to
help, will bring the cost up to $4,000.
The house-cleaning force is called in
: about the middle Of June and works un-
: ! til the middle OF September, which pre-
sumably Is a slack season for hotels
a in large cities. The hotel has it's own
u L.
: shops. Carpets are sent out to be clean
ed. but are resewn and laid by the no.
tel force The rooms are torn up in
sections, so that some parts of the house
I are always ready for guests. The dec
Z orations, papering and oiling of the
= woodwork are done by contract. The
a furniture is removed to the cabinet
{ makers shop in the basement. where
( IL is all done oyer.
The mattresses are recovered or filed
e according to the need, and pillows are
a treated in the same way. Curtains are
g taken to a different department, where
j expert darners take them in hand
which accounts for the long life OF q
I. good lace curtain, "a, II properly hand
= led, II will wear several seasons. Tap
estry hangings and Oriental rugs are
treated the same way.
In the linen room the new supplies,
which come direct from the looms in
Ireland, are sorted in sizes, marked
and dated. One Of the little extrav-
Il agances n an individual cake Of SOAP
marked Made for you Thousands OF
= these cakes are kept on hand, so that
q fresh cake IL found in the dish by
each quest The silver and china are
largely made to order, that the hotel
: may have individuality.
The servants work like union men al
!. regular hours, and there Is none OF the
hurrying, long-hour atmosphere OF the
ordinary domestic housecleaninE. The
hotel house cleaning must move on SO
q quietly that 1t will not interfere with
the comfort and pleasure Of summer
o tourists who are stopping at the house
: Neither can maids be taken from their
= regular work to supplement the house
: cleaning force, as the service OF the no.
: tel must not be permitted to show any
r sign Of the annual cleaning.
d In the meantime the managers Of the
hotel have gone on their annual jauntt
g to Europe or to some mountain resort
= the famous chef is of on his yacht for
q q brief respite from the onerous duties
of catering to millionaire appetites, and
Il midsummer finds the heads OF the vSri-
e Gus departments, such as the housekeep-
er, the head Of the linen room and the
E steward, left to carry the house-cleanins
e to q successful and satisfactory issue.
| By September Is every room must be
8 finished. and the hotel must be In re1di-
s ness for the flood Of incoming tourists
from Europe who stop in New York on