The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-07-22
Efficient Housekeeping
PAINTED FLOORS?
ByIAURA A. HERMAN,

'1 would so love to get rid of car pets and have rugs. in my living room," write so many readers of this column, ''but the floors of my house are only spruce. and they wouldn't look very well painted, would they"
 To such letters I always reply, ''Of course they'll look well painted!" And I then proceed to give directions for painting and finishing them. I believe that many of my readers who have not thus written to me for aid, may neverth eless be glad to have the following suggestions regarding their old floors.
 The beautiful part about a painted floor is that almost any kind of wood , at all may lie beneath the paint Soft woods are close-grained, and there fore do not require a filler" as some of the open-grained hardwoods do, so they are not as difficult to fin ish as the hardwood floors
 After you remove the carpet from your floor proceed as follows: first apply a coat of ground color" paint to all holes and crczaks; let this paint dry, then apply a regular crack filler There is a special crack filler now | made for filling cracks, crev1ces and knot-hoies and this is much more sat isfactory than putty would be if used i; for the same purpose, for the crack B filler will not shrink and dry out. paint to the entire floor, let 1t dry thoroughly, and apply a coat or two of varnish Ga good spar varnish VIII wear besD-. If one does not care for. a shiny varnished surface, she may rub down the high polish AS hours after it has been put on, with powdered punice and water; then, when dry. apply Hnseed oil and tur- pentine in equal quantities, mixed.
 Many housekeepers of my acquaint- ance who have attempted to do over their old floors in this way, have tried ''graIning'' them This gives an arti- ncian grain to the wood, and is done as follows: Buy a coat of graining paint and apply 1t directly over the fround-cplor paint while the ground color paint Is still wet; then proceed to grain at once, with H grafnfns tool, to suit your fancy. Of course only Q small space can be grained at once, and for this reason only n small DOT tfon at @ ttn1e should be painted with the graining paint, After the grain ing is finished, the entire floor is var nished when dry.
 A pretty lustre is given q varnished floor by mixing oil and turpentine in equal proportions and applying this with a cloth, then rubbing down with a dry cloth just before 1t is dry; this rubbing down while the oil and tur- penine Is stin wet, removes the scum from the oil. and if 1t Is not done the result will be a dirty. dull are not as dangerous for people to walk upon (elderiy people and ehii- dren particularly will be benefited) as a waxed floor.
 A floor that Is merely painted. and has no coat of varnIsh over the paint, will not wear as we'll as though the varntsh had been applied, the paint will crack and peel in time, and ex- pertence has taught houseiSeepers that only in bedrooms where there is not much traffic, a painted floor surface is in the least satisfactory. All inquiries addressed to MiRs ! AKirkman in care of tho "Effieient Housekeeping department win be answered in these coiInns in their turn. This requires considerable time, however, owing to the great number received. So if Q personal or quicker reply is desired. a stamp ed and se1f-addressed envelope must be enclosed with the question.-The Editor.
 Jackie Saunders Is also supporting Alice Lake
 Mr. mad Mrs. AIzenkHale haxs a tzazMdzuEhtsr