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House Cleaning: Clean

How to Clean Rooms. - Clean one room at a time, doing everything thoroughly. Settle each room before going to another. This avoids upsetting the whole house, and is much better than cleaning by floors and having all the bedrooms or all the living rooms upset at the same time.

First take up the carpet and scrub the floor; then beat and clean the carpet and hang it on the line, so that both the carpet and the floor from which it is taken may have all day to dry and air.

Or, after the floor covering is taken up, the ceiling may be first cleaned, and papered or whitewashed, if necessary, and the walls papered before the floors are scrubbed, this being reserved for another day. Lastly, any necessary painting and varnishing may be done and the windows and woodwork cleaned.

In cleaning paint use but little soap, as the alkali tends to injure paint and varnish. If paint is kept in good condition by being rubbed occasionally with a cloth moistened in kerosene, it will need little scrubbing at housecleaning time. Last of all, stain or paint the floor, or relay the floor covering, and return furniture and pictures to their positions.

House-cleaning Hints. Split open two short pieces of rubber hose and fasten them on the lower end of the stepladder. Turn them up on the HOUSE CLEANING sides of the supports, and nail them there. This prevents the stepladder from slipping on the bare floor.

Use a stiff bristle brush, preferably of wood fiber, to clean the cracks and crevices of woodwork, iron beds, and the like. Lay the brush when wet with the bristle side down. This prevents the water from soaking into the wood and loosening the bristles.

Or use a damp whisk broom that has served its time as a clothes brush to take dust from cracks and corners, carvings of furniture and woodwork, and to clean windows. If rinsed frequently it removes every particle of dust with little trouble and no injury.

Have at hand a small stick 3 or 4 feet long and 1 inch in diameter, with a screw hook screwed in one end. This is always handy to reach for articles that have fallen out of the window, behind furniture, or into the water pail or barrel, to hang or take down pictures, pull down escaped window shades, and for many other purposes.

CLEANING THE CHAMBERS To Clean Bedrooms. -Take down all curtains and draperies, if not already removed, and carry them to the laundry. Put the bedding on the line, shake and beat it, and leave it to air.

Take the mattress out of doors, and beat and air it.

If the bed spring is exposed and of metal, take it out of doors and turn the hose on it or dash water on it from a pail. Let it dry in the sun.

If the bedstead is of wood, wash it with water containing borax or ammonia, but do not use washing soda or soap, as the former will spoil the paint and the latter will leave a disagreeable odor. If the bedstead is of metal, wipe it with a cloth dipped in kerosene.

Or brush it over with gasoline and wipe off with a dry towel.

Rub the paint of wooden bedsteads with a cloth dipped in paraffin. This both cleans and freshens it.

Remove extra blankets and quilts to the laundry.

Take up carpets and rugs to be beaten and shaken, or if there is matting on the floor and it is not necessary to take it up, sprinkle dry salt over it and wipe with a cloth wrung out of warm water.

If the floor is of hard wood, wash it with gasoline as you would with water, and ventilate thoroughly before admitting a light. Polish with wax and suitable furniture polish.

If the floor covering is drugget, scatter moist bran over it and let remain several hours. When swept up the bran will take the dirt with it.

Then scrub the drugget with hot water and ammonia by means of a stiff scrubbing brush, and afterwards wipe off with a soft cloth until the rinsing water is perfectly clear.

To Renovate Metal Beds. - If the enamel is worn from a white enameled bed, go over it with an additional coat of white enamel, or obtain gilt enamel "Go Over It with Enamel." and gild it. This gives the appearance of brass. The gilding wears better than white enamel and can be washed with gasoline.

Or, if desired, give the white bed that needs renovating a coat of black enamel.

Cotton Blankets. In summer, cotton blankets and spreads, which are much cheaper than woolen ones, are to be preferred to woolen blankets or old-fashioned cotton quilts. They can be easily washed and are more sanitary. The aim should be in summer to have the bed coverings as light and easy to handle as possible.

Eiderdown. - With use an eiderdown quilt becomes compacted together and loses its elasticity. Take it out of doors, shake and brush it, and expose it to sunshine for several hours. Spread it on the lawn and work over it with a stiff whisk broom to loosen the nap. Thus its elasticity may be restored, and it will again feel soft and downy. - To Clean Mattresses. - Stains on mattresses may be removed by covering them with dry laundry starch and moistening this with enough soap or soap jelly (made by melting scraps of hard soap in about their own bulk of boiling water) to form a thin paste, which will dry on, but not soak through into the mattress. Let dry, and brush off with a stiff whisk broom. Repeat if necessary. Afterwards sponge with ammonia and water.

To Purify Feathers. - New feathers quickly become foul as the grease contained in the quills decays. Hence they require a thorough cleansing to remove the animal oils and other greasy substances. Old feather beds may also be renovated.

First, dry the feathers in the sunshine or by a fire, and put them in a sack. Moisten two sheets of burlap, lay the feathers between these, and beat them to loosen the dirt, which will adhere to the wet cloth.

Prepare a solution of limewater at the rate of pound of quicklime to 1 gallon of water. Stir vigorously, allow to settle, and pour off the clear liquor. Soak the feathers in this for 3 or 4 days.

Or use instead cooking soda at the rate of 1 teaspoonful to 1 quart of water. Take a large piece of cheese cloth and pour the limewater or soda water and feathers upon this so that the water will pass through, leaving the feathers in the cloth. Now pour cold water over them and rinse them well. water, and add a cupful of powdered borax. Put the feathers in this, bring them to a boil, and again pour them on cheese cloth. Drain and squeeze dry.

Tie the corners of the cheese cloth together and hang it over a clothesline, shaking occasionally until dry. Several days may be required to dry the feathers thoroughly. Do not use soap to wash feathers.