Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1915-04-06
Daily Cleaning
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The installation of hardwood floors
and small movable rugs in our homes
has totally changed and simplified
much of the daily cleaning, writes
Christine Frederick in the New York
Press. The long handled, so-called
"yacht'' or oil mop has come to stay,
and we have it in every form. Where
formerly woman Frustrated herself
to wipe up the hardwood floor with a
rag, she now fastens her rag on
handle or uses one of the specially pre-
pared long-handled mops. The best
of these are made of black fiber fitted
into a soft head, which will not mar
the furniture. Perhaps the very best
is triangular-shaped mop with soft
padded edges so that nothing will be
scratched
The scrubbing brush fastened into a
long handle is even more effective than
the scrubbing brush as formerly used,
because pressure from the arm at this
height is more powerful than when
exerted from the wrist. Then there
are various improved mops and clean
ers for all surfaces Ike tile, hardwood,
linoleum, etc. A good one OF these mas
an extremely long wooden handle, to
which are fastened number of rub
Der teeth. A specially prepared 20
inch cloth is used with this handle,
and the rubber teeth serve to hold the
cloth tight as it is moved across either
the wet or dry floor.
In the array of small brushes, too,
we have the greater choice, and SUCH
helps as radiator brushes, pointed but
ton brushes and the many improved
wall mops and cleaners. The best OF
these come of the same fiber material
as the oil mops, but are angle-shaped.
so as to fit exactly the wall surface.
Others are of soft felt and various alb
sorbing materials, and all of them Tar
preferable to the old way of cleaning
a wall by rubbing it over with bags
of corn meal.
Some housekeepers still do not care
to use the long-handled oil mop, or 40
not need it, and for these there Is q
better way to wipe dust from the hard
wood floor than the old method of ty-
ing rag over the broom. This not
only bent the broom out of shape, but
the cover slipped off and never did
successful work. Such housekeeper
may now have carefully shaped bag
of unbleached muslin, with lower
section made of cotton plush, the
whole bag fitted with tapes SO that
the cover stays in place and enables
the housewife easily to get up the dust.
The same dust-scattering method OF
olden days prevailed formerly in that
always unpleasant task of cleaning sill
yer and other metals. 1t was almost
a halliday job to clean the weekly sill
yer with the old-fashioned powder.
brush and various rags" But this,
too, has changed, and now we have
been using for some time the so-called
silver clean pan, and various specially
prepared cloths for cleaning metals.
One bright woman discovered by acct
dent that the placing OF silver IN any
aluminium utensil, adding to 1t hot
water and teaspoonful OF salt anu
baking soda, would clean her silver
ware almost instantly. There is also
a modification of the silver clean pan
on the market in the form Of simple
piece of zinc, which can be placed IN
any pan and used similarly. Many OF
the specially prepared cloths for clean
ing metal are most excellent and far
surpass the old, mussy, dust-fying
method.
The new order of cleaning means,
then, absorbing dust rather than scat
tering it, and in every branch OF clean
sing, whether it be carpets, furniture.
walls, metals or ornaments, there Is a
new method and new tool lying at
the door of the housewife, which will
make cleaning an easy task.