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House Cleaning: Repeat

Or, if the stain is obstinate, cover with baking soda and hold a hot iron close to the spot, taking care not to scorch or burn the wood. Repeat if necessary.

Or apply olive oil or sweet oil, and polish with a cloth moistened in alcohol.

Or apply essence of peppermint with a cloth. Wipe dry and polish.

Or use a mixture composed of equal parts of vinegar, sweet oil, and turpentine.

Or rub with a cloth wet in spirits of camphor or camphorated oil or turpentine.

Or use a cloth saturated with any of these.

After using any of the above, wipe the spot dry, apply furniture oil, and polish with damp chamois or silk or linen cloth. Do not allow alcohol, turpentine, camphor, or similar detergents to remain on a polished surface. HOUSE CLEANING To Remove Ink Stains. -To remove ink stains, first test the ink by applying water to see if it contains coaltar products, as eosin or nigrosine. If these are present the ink when wet will run. In that case use an alkali, as baking soda mixed with water to form a paste, and let it dry on. Repeat if necessary. Or, if water does not cause the ink to run, it is probably an iron-gall or logwood ink; hence apply an acid, preferably oxalic acid, dissolved in an equal quantity of water. Saturate a cloth with the solution and lay it on the spot to soften the ink. Then wash with the solution until the ink disappears.

Or apply salts of lemon.

Or a mixture of 6 parts of spirits of salt (diluted hydrochloric acid) and 1 part of salts of lemon.

Or use 1 part of nitric, muriatic, or sulphuric acid diluted with 10 parts of water. Apply by dipping a cork in the mixture and touching the stain, or by means of a feather.

But remember that all of these acids are poisonous, and that all except oxalic acid will burn or blister the skin. Also, if used in too great strength, they will remove paint and varnish and themselves stain the surfaces they are applied to. Hence use no more acid than is necessary and immediately sponge off with clear water containing a little ammonia, wipe dry, oil, and polish.

To Remove Bruises from Furniture. -To renovate furniture that has been bruised or scratched without injuring the fiber of the wood, apply moisture and heat. Wet a cloth in warm water, not hot, and lay it over the parts.

Hold near a hot iron, but not near enough to scorch or char the wood.

Repeat until the bruise comes up. If the varnish is discolored, apply any of the above remedies.

Or use, instead of cloth, several thicknesses of brown paper moistened in water.

Or, if the bruise is small, omit the cloth or paper. Wet the spot and hold near it a hot iron. Then lay over the scratched or bruised surface a cloth dipped in linseed oil. Finally rub with a mixture of equal parts of turpentine and linseed oil, and polish.

Oils for Wood Furniture. - Furniture polish containing oil or wax will not be needed if the wood is washed occasionally with clear warm water, not hot, without soap, and rubbed dry with chamois or a soft cloth.

But if furniture polish containing "Oil Must Be Rubbed In. fixed oils is used the furniture must be rubbed vigorously and kept in condition by daily rubbing to prevent oil accumulating so as to be felt or seen. Furniture oil should be sparingly used and the wood rubbed to a high polish or until it does not have any greasy feel.

Soap for Furniture. - Soap should not be used on wood finished with shellac or varnish or treated with furniture wax or oil. Soap has the property of destroying oily and resinous substances, and thus tends to eat away the coating, destroy the polish, and expose the wood.

To Remove Furniture Scratches. -Go over the articles with a soft rag dampened in kerosene oil. This will cause all light scratches or surface bruises to disappear. Or, if the scratches or cracks are deep, melt a little beeswax, and thin out with turpentine to the consistency of sirup. Apply with a soft cloth, and polish with flannel or velveteen.

To Restore the Color of Furniture. --Apply raw linseed oil by means of a flannel cloth to restore the color, and let stand over night.

Or, for highly polished surfaces, as rosewood or mahogany, apply a cloth moistened with alcohol. Afterwards polish with a soft cloth moistened with turpentine. Linseed Oil for Furniture.-Apply raw linseed oil as a restorer, with or without an equal quantity of turpentine.

Care of Piano. - The back of the piano should be protected by a dust cloth of denim or other suitable material tacked or pasted lightly to the frame. In moist climate the wires will be protected from rust by sprinkling them with unslaked lime.

The keys should be wiped with alcohol once a week on cleaning day to prevent them from yellowing, and the varnish may be kept in good condition by wiping once a week with a chamois wrung out of cold or warm water, or by wiping with a cloth moistened with turpentine, kerosene, or cold-drawn linseed oil, or a mixture of these.