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House-Cleaning

When mother earth summons the stirring winds to help clear away the dead leaves and winter litter for the coming grass and flowers, every housekeeper has a feeling of sympathy, and begins to talk of house-cleaning. The first bright sunshine of spring reveals unsuspected dust and cobwebs, and to her imagination even the scrubbing-brushes and brooms seem anxious to begin the campaign. In northern latitudes it is best, however, not to begin too soon. Do not trust entirely to appearances, for spring is almost certain to break her promises of pleasant weather, and give us a good many days. when it will be any thing but pleasant to sit shivering in a fireless room,.. while the children become unmanageable and husband growls. So for the sake of health, peace, and comfort, do not remove the stoves before the middle of May.

Devote a week, at least, to preparations. See that all needed repairs are made about the house, and have all necessary tools on hand and in good order. Provide lime for whitewashing, carpet-tacks, good soap, sawdust,. carbolic acid, copperas, and spirits of ammonia. Have closets, bureau drawers, etc., all thoroughly renovated. Reorganize sewing table, arrange bags for the odds and ends that have accumulated during the winter, having different ones for each article, and marking the outside in some way; for instance, for the button-bag, sew one on the outside, and so on. Put pieces of ribbon, velvet, lace, flowers, etc., in a box, and have it in readiness for the spring "fixing up." While this renovating is being done, have "the boys" cleaning the yard of the winter rubbish and debris, as this is far more important in a sanitary point of view than inside house-cleaning. When you begin, do not upset all the house at once, driving your husband to distraction, and the children to the neighbors. By cleaning one or two rooms at a time, and using a little womanly tact, the whole house may be renovated. with little inconvenience.

If you are a "lone woman" you will need the help of one stout girl at the least, unless you are stouter than the average American woman, or your house is very small. Hire her at least the week before, so that she can get accustomed to the house and your way of doing work. Be sure you wash and iron every thing you can find that is soiled. Then, on Saturday, do an extra. large baking, so you will have sufficient bread, cakes, etc., to do you the most of the next week. (Make Sunday truly a day of rest.) Then, on Monday, be up early; after breakfast leave the girl to wash the dishes, sweep, and put things in order up stairs, and you take a man and go to the cellar; first have every thing taken out of the cellar that does not actually belong there. The reason for cleaning the cellar first is, that it is generally left to the last when all are tired and nearly worn out, and is apt to get what is called a "lick and a promise." The cellar should be one of the most particular places about the house; therefore, do it first while fresh and strong. After all the surplus things are taken out, move the rest to one end, then give the end a good weeping overhead, down the sides and under foot. Every particle of vegetable remnants should be removed, and the spot which may have been moistened by their presence thoroughly swept, and, if necessary, it should be scrubbed or sprinkled over with copperas water to sweeten it and to prevent malarial exhalations. Boxes, barrels, etc., should be removed into fresh. localities in the cellar, so that the places which have gathered dampness beneath them may become dry. All the gatherings of earth from stored vegetables, and all the bits and shreds of things that grow, must be cleared away, or they will become dangerous enemies when exhalations that always rise from such things upon heated days shall find their way up into sleeping apartments to poison the family with malarial gases. (The cellar should always be aired as early as possible after the intense cold is gone, and all summer long too much fresh air can not reach its dim recesses.) Now wash the windows, and then whitewash every nook and corner with common whitewash made yellow with copperas. Don't be saving, and all vermin will bid your cellar a long "good-bye." Now move the things back to that end and treat the other end the same way; when all is done, dust or wash out all boxes, barrels, etc., and return to their places, which should be arranged as handily as possible. Carry out all trash, wash down the steps, and you are ready to leave the door and windows open and go to the garret. Open the windows, gather up all papers and place in a box; next, if rags are lying around, pick them up and sort them, putting in sacks (paper sacks are best for woolen; if not torn, will keep out moths), tie each sack with a strip like the rags it contains, clean up all other trash and take down to burn, if of no other account. Now sweep good overhead, hang up sacks and other articles, sweep floor, moving all boxes, trunks, and bundles, then wash floor up lightly, just to remove the dust. If you have seen any signs of moths they must be attended to, as they will be in the cracks of the floor; it is no use to try to get rid of them down stairs while the garret is kept for a breeding house. Benzine is sure death to moths, but do not use it if there is fire in the house near, for it is very dangerous. If no fire, sprinkle the floor freely with it. The odor will soon escape at the open windows. Or take common lamp-oil and wash the floor all over; it "smells loud," but will all be gone in about two days and so will the moths. Now wash down the steps (other *wood-work and windows should have been washed before the floor was), and you are done. The time taken will be in accordance with the size of the rooms and number of things to handle. Now for the bed-rooms. If there is a hall, move all the furniture out in it from the rooms, and put the bed out to sun. (Never clean house except in sunny weather; if cloudy in the morning, try to put it off till clear weather.)

Take down all pictures, ornaments, etc.; clean them and put them away in the closets. Clothes, carpeting, and "trumpery" stowed away, must be thoroughly dusted and aired in sunshine and wind. Take up carpet, fold it up by lifting one side, carrying it over to the other, and laying it down carefully, thus preventing straw and dust getting on the upper side. Carry it out and lay it on the grass or hang it on a clothes-line and beat it on the wrong side with canes-taking care that the canes have no sharp points. Then spread the carpet out and sweep well on the right side. There is more art in sweeping a carpet than a novice is apt to suppose. An old broom should never be used, and a new one should be kept especially for the carpets. With Brussels and velvet carpeting there are two ways to the pile, just as in velvet, and they should always be swept with the pile. If a carpet is swept against the grain, it soon looks rough and scratched up. Wash out all grease spots with a little gall soap and clean water, after the dust is entirely beaten out. Take one or two pails of sawdust, wet thoroughly and scatter well over the floor; a very little dust will arise when you sweep it off, and it will not be necessary to clean the floor before washing wood-work and windows. If you can not get sawdust, use moist earth instead. After Wash and polish the windows, and if the walls are hard-finish, they may be washed off lightly with soap-suds, and wiped dry. Wash wood-work and floors with hot soap-suds, and rinse with strong, hot brine, or hot water with a strong mixture of cayenne pepper in it, to drive out mice, rats, and other vermin. Now take some clean old calico and put around a new broom and rub down every part of the paper; if it gets dirty, get a clean one, and wash that ready for the next room. If well rubbed, will make the paper look clean and bright. If new paper is needed or whitewash overhead, it is better to hire a man who makes that his daily work. The great secret of good floorwashing is never to do the whole room with the same water; change it two or three times in a small room, and more frequently in a large room. washing, wipe with a flannel, wringing it frequently. In washing woodwork, do not slop water enough about to run a mill, for it can be done just as well without making any slop. Do not use soap if the paint is good; with rain-water, a soft rag, and a brush if there are any fancy moldings, give it time to soak, and you will find all dirt comes off, leaving the paint looking like new. Glass should be washed, wiped nearly dry, and finished with tissue paper. (Always save tissue paper for that purpose.) In washing the floor, do not forget the closets. If moths are in them, use benzine on the floor; also sprinkle the room floor with benzine, remembering that there must be no fire. When floor is dry, blow cayenne pepper into every crack and crevice, using a small pair of bellows for the purpose.

Now we are ready to go to the next room the same way. Then return to number one and put the carpet down. A carpet wears better if put down well, and it is better to have it done by experienced persons when the expense can be afforded and such help can be had. Moth-proof carpet lining is best, but several thicknesses of newspaper come next as a carpet preserver. The printer's ink is an excellent moth preventive, and the newspapers keep the carpet from rubbing on the boards. The good old-fashioned way of putting under good clean rye or oat straw is again in favor, for the reason that dust, so destructive to them, will pass through both carpet and straw to the floor. Begin at one corner, and nail down one of the sides at the cut ends of the breadths, continuing round the selvage side, and stretching it evenly and firmly without straining the fabric. When two sides are nailed, take next the other selvage side. The last side will require the most stretching in order to get rid of puckers.

For stair carpets, make a pad of coarse cotton cloth, nearly as wide as the carpet, and the full length of the stairs; fill with two or three layers of cotton-batting, sewed across to stay it about nine inches between seams. This is best because not displaced so easily as paper. Have half a yard more carpeting than is needed in order to turn the carpet upside down, and change the positions of the places where the edge of the steps make a mark. When the carpet is new, leave it uncovered, and put down stair cloth after it begins to show wear. Linen over-carpet in the summer is both cool and pleasant; besides, it helps to keep away moths. After being swept and laid down on the floor, the carpet should be wiped. Have two pails, one of clean soap-suds, the other with lukewarm water, a clean flannel cloth, and two clean, coarse towels. Take the carpet by breadths, wring the flannel out of the lukewarm water and hold it so that you can turn and use it up and down three or four times on the same place. Rub both with and against the grain as hard as if you were scrubbing the floor, then throw the flannel into soap-suds, and rub the carpet dry with one of the dry towels. If you leave the carpet wet, the dust will stick to it and it will smell sour and musty. Wash the flannel clean in the soap-suds, wring it out of the warm water and proceed as before. If the carpet is very dirty or has much green in it, use fresh ox-gall in the lukewarm water in the proportion of a quart of gall to three quarts of water, and rub the carpet dry as already directed. This rubbing a carpet raises the pile and freshens the colors. When the carpet is nicely down and swept the room is ready for its customary furniture, unless the more thorough renovation of kalsomining and painting is to follow the cleaning. Before replacing, every article should be thoroughly cleaned, every button and tuft of the upholstered goods receiving its share of attention from the furniture-brush. Sofas and chairs should be turned down and whipped then carefully brushed, and all dust wiped off with a clean cloth slightly damped. Clean the pictures and hang them back. If photo or engraving, and dust under the glass, take them out and rub off with a clean cloth. Clean the glass by washing in weak ammonia water and wiping dry. If gilt frames, wash with a little flour of sulphur and rain-water; if rosewood or other dark wood and varnished, rub with furniture polish made as follows: Alcohol, eight ounces, linseed oil (raw) eight ounces, balsam fir, one-half ounce, acetic ether, one-half ounce. Dissolve the fir in the alcohol, then add the others and apply with a flannel cloth, and rub until dry. If oiled (not varnished), rub with a cloth wrung out of lamp (kerosene) oil and they will look like new. Go over all the furniture with the above polish or oil, according as they are oiled or varnished. If ever troubled with bed bugs, go over every part good with lamp-oil. Clean all the other rooms the same way, leaving the hall until the last. Wash the oil-cloth with water in which some borax is dissolved, and wipe with a cloth wrung out of sweet milk. Follow the above directions for the rooms down stairs; do not have more than two rooms torn up at once. Clean out all moths as you go, for they will soon ruin carpets, chairs, sofas, etc., if not killed. Polish the furniture as above, and do not raise any dust where it is for a few days. Ink stains can be taken out with oxalic acid. Wash in cold water, then in a solution of chloride of lime, than in water again; if white goods, warm them up in salted milk, let them lie some time, and then wash in water. In cleaning paint, use water in which ammonia has been added, till it feels slippery, or use fine whiting-to be had at the paint or drug-stores. Take a flannel dipped in warm water, squeezed nearly dry; dip this in the whiting, and rub the paint with it; then wash off with warm water. For windows, use either of the above, or Indexical soap. For the natural wood, or grained work, use clear water and wipe off quickly, or cold tea. Paint can be taken off where not wanted, with turpentine. Apply with a sponge, after a little time it will rub off; if cloth, rub between the hands and it will crumble off. White spots can be taken off varnished furniture by rubbing with a rag wet with spirits of camphor.

It should be remembered that ammonia, especially the stronger kinds, is dangerous, a few drops being enough to injure a person. When used for cleansing purposes is should be handled with great care, that the gas which is given off freely in a warm room, be not breathed in large quantites, and do injury to the delicate lining of the nose and mouth. Benzine is a liquid, in the handling of which much caution should be exercised. It is very volatile, and its vapor, as well as the liquid itself, inflammable. When employed for removing grease, or other stains, from clothing, gloves, etc., it should never be used at night, nor at any other time near the fire. Alcohol must also be used with great care, especially at night.

When the kitchen is cleaned, all the bake-pans, sauce-pans, tin-kettles, etc., should be plunged into a boiler filled with strong soda water; or, add to clear hot water some of the following fluid, which you have already prepared, as follows: One pound of sal-soda, one-half pound stone lime, five quarts soft water; boil a short time in copper or brass kettle, stirring occasionally; let settle, then pour off the clear fluid into a stone jug, and cork for use. After this, they are really purified, even if they are not scoured with sand, sapolio, or whatever burnishing material happens to be a favorite with the housewife. This process of cleaning the pots and pans is often performed by the tidy housewife, but it is especially appropriate at the time when the whole house is being purified of its half year's accumulation of soiling. A kitchen should have a painted wall that can be washed with a scrub-brush and water, or it should be whitewashed with lime. To clean the kitchen, kettleclosets and pantry, is usually the greatest dread of the spring campaign, but it need not be if the formalities of boiling the tins is going on while the walls and shelves are being scrubbed. Papers should be cut and fitted to the clean shelves. Try to have wire screens at all outside doors and all windows, and the one leading from the kitchen to the dining room, also the lower half of all windows. Keep plenty of husk mats and foot-scrapers at the doors, and learn to stop and use them. Have a place for every thing and always put it there; it will save work. Do not work so hard as to make youself sick; better be a little dirty than have a spell of sickness. A kitchen and pantry need cleaning several times in a year, being used the most and should be kept the cleanest.

Sinks, drains, and all places that become sour or impure, should be cleansed with carbolic acid and water. This, or some other good disinfectant, should be kept in every house, and used frequently in warm weather. Another good disinfectant is copperas; ten cents' worth, dissolved in water, will deodorize your sink and other bad smelling places about the buildings. Probably there is nothing better for the purpose than copperas; it possesses no bad odor. Do not place carbolic powder boxes, nor sprinkle chloride of lime, etc., where your drain openings exist, merely to distract your nose's attention from the sewer gas, which is issuing from some leaking pipe or choked trap; by so doing you but ignore nature's warning, that like the premonitory smoke and rumblings of a volcano, advises you of the eruption of the disease to come. While house-cleaning, brighten up old furniture by rubbing well with kerosene oil; should it be marred or bruised, use the "Magic Furniture Polish" page 385. Take bedsteads to pieces, and saturate every crevice with strong brine; nothing is better to purify and cleanse, or to destroy bed-bugs. To clean mirrors, take clean warm rain-water, and put in just enough spirits of ammonia to make it feel slippery. If very dirty, rinse, if not, wipe dry and you will be surprised at the effect. Do not polish stoves until fall if you are going to put them away during the summer, but to keep them or any iron utensils from rustiug, rub over with kerosene. When polishing, six or eight drops of turpentine added to blacking for one stove, brightens it and makes it easier to polish. To remove mortar and paint from windows, rub spots of mortar with hot, sharp vinegar; or, if nearly fresh, cold vinegar will loosen them. Rub the paint spots with camphene and sand. To remove spots from gray marble hearths rub with linseed oil.

Fall house-cleaning deserves no less attention, except that white-washing and painting can best be done in the mild days of spring, when the house may be thrown open to wind and sunshine. The best time is in the constant weather of October; and before beginning, all the dirty and heavy work for the winter, such as getting in coal and wood, should be completed, and the cellar made clean and sweet.