Evening star., 1914-04-26

"1HEN buying a rug remember that
w Il dark rug shows dust and lint,
and a green rug fades to a dirty
color. Most good weaves have small pat
terms. whereas cheap fabrics have big.
bold designs. Tans wear well, and some
reds are lasting. Blue rugs are suitable
for bedrooms. and red. brown and mixed
colors to halls.
To clean rugs, take them into the yard,
beat them. and then scrub with gasoline.
This treatment brightens colors. removes
blenishes and kills insect life, should
there be any in the rugs. Air them well.
for they will be in use many weeks out
of the sunshine.
A badly soiled carpet can be made to
look almost like new by this process:
Dissolve four ounces each of sal soda and
of powdered borax and a large cake OF
some good white soap in four gallons OF
warm water. Add four OUNCES of alcohol
Let this mixture stand over night, then
rub il well into the carpet with a cloth,
and scrub with a scrubbing brush, doing
a small space at Il time. Wash II out
with clean warm water and wipe as dry
as possible.
After a rug is shaken and placed on the
pan of warm water. put a cup of vinegar
and a tablespoonful of ammonia into it.
Wiring a wooden cloth out of the water
and wipe the rug al over. Both acid and
ammonia have a tendency TO restore fad
ed this. and the rug Will look huch
cleaner after this process.
Before sweeping a carpet. sprinkle II
plentifuliy with cornmeal. then sweep it
thA
steep quarter pound OF smoking to-
bacco in a gallon of water for twelve
hours. strain. and add to the water three
tablespoonsful of ammonia Wiring u
over the carpet with 1t. The tobacco
acts like magic in restoring and bright
ening the oolors.
IL you suspect that moths in the
carpet take it up, have it beaten thor
oughly then iron il on the wrong SIDE
with n hot iron. Before putting the car
pet down again. wash the floor with tur-
pentine and saturate the cracks thor
When cleaning house. if you find your
rugs slightly worn don't be discouraged
II they are not worn through. get little
dive of the color desired and small
brush and go over the worn places as
YOU would paint floor. While il does
not bring back the nap. II gives the ap-
pearance that the carpet has never been
worn. and will carry II through for an
other season. The treatment is mex
pensive
Cheap faded rugs and carpets that are
not too badly worn should be dyed all
over To do this successfully it is first
necessary to scrub the rug. then rinse it.
Mix the dye and keep it well stirred in
the vessel, SO that the color will be even.
While the rug is still wet apply the dye
with a clean whitewash brush. 1t colors
evenly this way. If the rug is dyed on
the floor. place a great many newspapers
under II to absorb the moisture. IT
should be thrown double over line to
dry. or else allowed TO dry on the floor,
IL will shrink slightly. For a cotton rug
(which turns q dirty white, use such
colors as dark green. mahogany, red and
delft blue. Jute rugs may be dyed In
a similar manner. but the dye in this
case should be applied to the dry rug.
II a carpet is ,-,ost all wool, the color
may be hrigh sd. or wholly restored
il washed with pail of water contain
ing three giIls of ox-gali. If necessary
to use fresh ox-gal. procure ii at the
butchers. cut II into small pieces, cover
with warm water and allow it to soak
for several hours. Dilute the liquid and
wipe the carpet off with 1t. 1t makes
q lather. and should be rinsed of with
clear water. Wet salt thrown over q