Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1921-01-28
Health and Thrift in the Home

| towel give the dishes a swift rub. OF
course. in both baskets the dishes rise
| above the rim. but in the big Kettle
| they are entirely submerged. Ivory
or pearl handled knives should not be
! placed in the hot water. The less
greasy dishes, those in the second
| basket, should be washed first. Loops
of wire or strong Irvine make con-
venient handles for the baskets.
The Care Of Floors.
Sweeping is q task that takes a
large part of every housewives en-
ergy. A floor of soft wood with wide
,, cracks between the planks and with
square corners requires as much care
as whole houseful of floors built
with view to saving work. 1t is not
always advisable to lay q new floor.
but at least the old floor can be i'm
proved. A covering Of oilcloth or
linoleum and q molding that makes
curves of the corners will save great
deal Of work. Sweeping a stairway.
the hardest work that comes under
the head Of sweeping. can be simpli-
fed at very little cost and trouble. A
few dozen brass or wooden corner
filters. that can be bought at any
hardware store, will keep dirt from
lodging in the angles Of the steps and
There is way to sweep carpet
that really removes the dust without
scattering it. Dampen a broom and
shake off all the water possible. Now
&C after some dust catchers round over
the carpet These dust catchers are
made either from wet newspaper torn
and twisted. dampened shavings or
sawdust. Sweep with pulling mo-
ton, using short, overlapping
stroke and stopping it on the floor
Beein at the edges and sweep toward
the middle. In room where there is
a fireplace sweep in that direction In
about half an hour wipe the carpet
again with the broom coNereo Will q
damp cloth.
MANY housewives take care OF their
own floors, and. with no outside as
sistance, spread the paint, stain. var
nish or wax-finish themselves. but
there are times when even the most
the expected results. For the best
results the temperature of the room
and of the materials used should be
between 20 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit
II the floor is greasy wash 1t with not
washing soda and water. othe a;.hse
soak into the floor nor wear salts
factorily. An old floor should frst
be thoroughly scrubbed and afterward
washed in clean, warm water. other
wise the soap that has entered tne
surface of the wood may prevent the
paint or varnish from spreading prop
erly. This is especially true Of an
old painted floor. which will not alb
sorb the soapy water; the water
evaporates and leaves q Aim Of soap.
Never paint or varnish floor ex-
cept when it is perfectly dry: damp
ness will prevent the finishing ma
terial from taking a good hold. Some
times the finish will not spread easily
II every apparent condition seems ia
vorable you can perhaps remove the
difficulty by going over the floor with
a cloth .moistened with turpentine or
gasoline. If a painted or vanished
floor is to be refinished it should first
be thoroughly scrubbed. and after it
has become perfectly dry should be
well sandpa pered and then, win d
with a cloth dampened with turnen-
tine or gasoline in order TO remove
the dust caused by the use Of the
sandpaper.