Dickenson County herald. [volume] (Clintwood, Va.) 1939-195?, 1942-05-28
FIRS.I|A AID
H11IIHIl'fsssk l|lsslIIHHIIggH
AILIIll |I|II I'1l'tJSE
by RogetIIlBEi vhitnon
Released by Western Newspaper Union.)
CLEANING SOILED
UPHOLSTERY

n SnOuld be We'll W1tn1n the aDlllLy
of a housewife. The first step must
be to find out whether the fabric is
colorfast, which can be done by wip-
ing it in some concealed place with
wet cloth, to note whether or not
the color comes off. If it does,
cleaning must be with a spot remov-
ing liquid. For safety, this should
be of a non-infammable kind, to be
had at a department or house fur
nishing store, and often at gas sta
ton. If the color is fast, the job
can be done with soap jelly, to be
made by soaking four cups Of soap
fakes or chips in one cup Of water.
In an hour or two a jelly will form.
A portion of this is put in a mixing
bowl and beaten with an eggbeater,
which will raise dry suds as thick
as heavy whipped cream. This Is
applied to the upholstery with soft
brush. The work should be in spaces
aot more than Is inches across.
The loosened dirt is taken up by
wiping with clean cloths damp with
clear water. With one space
cleaned, the next should be worked
on, being sure that no soiled places
are left between. No more water
should be used than is necessary;
tor if the upholstery is soaked, col
ors from the stuffing may bleed"
into the upholstery. Also, drying
may be very slow. For best results,
however, upholstery should be
cleaned by a professional. Home
methods may be uneven and
streaky.
Floor Board Cracks.
Question: The floors in my old
house are of wide boards with large
cracks between them. How can
.hese cracks be filed? would like
painted floor with scatter rugs.
Answer: No ordinary crack filler
can be used; for it would be dis
edged by the swelling and shrink.
ing of the wood through changes in
the seasons. For permanent results,
be sure that the boards are solidly
nailed to the supporting beams, then
clean the cracks and in each one
put a strip Of wood cut to make
snug fit. Glue the strips in place
and plane or sand the exposed edge
even with the floor. If this JOB is
carefully done, it should last indea-
nitely.
Cleaning Rough Plaster.
Question: How can rough finished
tinted plaster walls be cleaned? How
about painting them?
Answer: The best that can be
done in the way of cleaning is to go
over them with a stiff brush fol-
lowed by vacuum cleaning. Plaster
that has no finish of any kind can.
not be washed, for the water would
soak in and take the dirt with it,
which would make smeary effect.
When a rough plaster wall can no
longer be cleaned by brushing and
with a vacuum, the next best thing
is painting. For this, casein paint
is usually satisfactory.
Drilling a China Vase
Question: I would like to turn a
china vase into a lamp. How can
drill a hole in the bottom? Is there
a special drill for such work?
Answer: The hole can be made
with a twist drill having the tip
ground off. You might be able to
get a drill for this purpose at
large hardware store. Use turpen'
tine as the lubricant. If the vase 10
expensive, have it drilled by a pro.
fessional, which would not be an ex.
pensive job.
Blackened Brass
Question: Our new fire CRATE has
q brass plated front. When we Lit
a fire, the brass became blackened,
and have not been able to clean it.
Will I have to replate It?
Answer: You can probably clean
it by dissolving common salt in ci.
der vinegar until no more will be
taken I'D, and stirring with -four to