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Sweeping Day: Sweeper

Sweep the stairs with a short-handled brush or stiff whisk broom, holding a dust pan to catch the dust at each step. Triangular blocks, or brass fixtures made for this purpose, tacked into the corners of the stairways will assist in keeping them clean by preventing dust from accumulating.

After a room has been swept, open one or more windows, if possible, before beginning to dust. UTENSILS FOR SWEEPING Carpet Sweeper. -The ideal method of sweeping is by means of a carpet sweeper. This goes over the surface of the carpet with a light and even pressure, and takes up all dust and dirt with the least possible friction and consequent wear upon the carpet, and raises practically no dust at all.

It saves strength and time, and probably saves money by outwearing the Sweeper "The Ideal Method of Sweeping." brooms that could be purchased for the same price. Hence a good carpet sweeper may be regarded as a necessity rather than a luxury in every household.

How to Sweep. -The old-fashioned brooms, however, are still commonly used, and are needed for some purposes in every household. To sweep well with a broom is an art that calls for quite a little skill and intelligence. There are wrong ways in sweeping as well as the right way, and the former are perhaps more often practiced than the latter.

It is wrong to lean on the broom, or dig into the carpet with great force, as if trying to dig down and get the dirt out of it. This cannot be done except by taking up the carpet and beating it. All the dust and dirt that can be removed is that which lies on the surface.

It is wrong to push the broom forward so as to drive a cloud of dust into the air.

It is wrong to sweep the whole length of the room toward the door in order to sweep the dirt into the next room. This carries the dirt over a larger surface of carpet than is necessary.

It is wrong to sweep always on one side of a broom so that it will get lopsided and have to be thrown away.

The right way to use a broom is to keep the handle always inclining forward and never allow it to come to the perpendicular; much less incline backward. The stroke should be rather long, the sweeper standing on the soiled portion of the carpet, reaching back, and drawing the dust and dirt forward as if pulling or dragging it over the surface. A skillful sweeper will lift the broom before it becomes perpendicular so as not to raise the slightest dust, and will tap it gently to shake the dirt out of it before reaching back for another stroke.

Begin in one corner, and work along the crack between the baseboard and carpet, as this is where moths and carpet bugs do their most destructive work. Work around the room, sweeping toward the center, and when that has been reached take up the dust with pan and brush. It is obvious that this process moves the dirt over a smaller surface than sweeping toward one of the doors. The practice of sweeping the dirt from one room into another, even if the latter room be the kitchen, is certainly inadvisable.

Both brooms and carpets will wear much longer if sweeping is done in proper fashion, and the dust in furniture, draperies, and bric-a-brac will be reduced to a minimum.