The midland journal., 1941-04-25
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by RosetB| Whitman
Types Of Heat.
70 Roger b. whitman-wNu Service,

is to operate than fuel oil? Is the
maintenance cost about the same
on each? Which system would you
advise?
Answer: The efficiency of heat
ing system is not gauged by the
type of heat, but by the quality and
design Of the equipment that is in
stalled. Steam or air conditioned
heat will keep the house warm, if
the heating plant is sufficiently
large. The air filtering and humidi-
flying features in air conditioning
systems are favored by many home
owners. These features are desir-
able, providing, of course, the sys-
tenn is installed by reliable firm
having thorough knowledge of
this type of heating. Comparative
costs depend entirely upon local gas
rates and fuel oil costs. Your local
gas company and oil burner man
can help you on this better than I
can. The maintenance cost may be
slightly higher on oil fred units.
Cracked Plaster.
Question: The walls of my house
are of unfinished plaster, and were
recently decorated with casein paint.
There is one particularly bad crack
in the wall. How can it be re-
paired?
Answer: The crack is probably
from settlement, and may grow
worse should settlement continue. If
so, you will be wasting time and ma
terial to do any patching until settle
ment is over. If you feel sure that
the crack has reached its limit, you
can repair it with patching plaster,
to be had at hardware store.
Widen the narrow part of the crack
with a knife to admit the patch,
and for the entire length of the
crack, make it wider at the lath
than it is on the surface, SO that in
hardening, the patch will lock itself
into place. Directions for using
patching plaster are on the label of
the box.
Cleaning Wood Floors.
Question: What can I apply to
hardwood floors to remove marks,
such as scratches and spots, as well
as several layers of wax? The floors
are almost new, and / do not want
to have them scraped.
Answer: To remove scratches
from shellacked floors, wipe with
turpentine. Or, small scratches can
be treated with a little denatured
alcohol, put in with soft camePs
hair brush, and deep scratches with
a little thin shellac. Vanished floors
should be treated with varnish. You
can clean the floors by wiping with
liquid floor wax and plenty Of clean
cloths. Polish by applying good paste
floor wax in thin coats, rubbing well.
Floors that are badly scratched
should be scraped, preferably with
an electric sanding machine.
Papering Rough Walls.
Question: The walls throughout
my house are textured plaster. Can
this be smoothed to make good
surface for wallpaper?
Answer: Go over the walls with
sandpaper wrapped around block
of wood to take down the highest
points of the texturing. Then, us
ing the same kind of plastic paint,
that was originally used for the
walls, fill the remaining rough
nesses, using a brush or trowel.
Final smoothing of the wall can be
done with trowel, or with rub
Der squeegee, such as is used for
washing plate glass windows.
Cleaning Silver.
Question: Sailed nuts were left
in two silver dishes, and have made
black spots that no amount of pol
ishing will remove. How can I clean
them?
Answer: When silver has been
spotted in that way, the only sure
method of cleaning is to have the
job done by silversmith. Salt
should not be allowed to remain in
contact with silver. - =
Squeaky Spring.
Question: A bedspring has be-
come loose, and every twist of the
beds occupant causes the spring to
squeak. Can this be remedied?
Answer: Using a small camel's
hair brush, try the effect of putting
q little oil at every point where two
or more pieces of metal come to-
gether. If this does not cure the
trouble, the best answer is to get
new spring.
Putty.
Question: I have been making my
own putty with white lead, whiting,
and linseed oil. My hardware man
says that I should use only whiting
and linseed oil; no lead. Which mix
ture is better?
Answer: Ordinary putty contains
no lead. The addition of about one
fifth as much white lead gives the
putty greater hardness and perma-
nence.
Cracking Plaster.
Question: Can you tell me how
to prevent white plaster from crack
ing? Is it too thin coat? Also, can
you suggest good method of COW
ering If replastering is not desired?
Answer: Plaster cracks for sew