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Sweeping Day: Waxed

Steel Wool for Waxed Floors.- To scour a hard-wood floor when scratched or marred, or to remove dirt that is ground in, use steel wool, which comes by the pound for this purpose. It can be used in the same fashion as cotton waste, and is a very effective scourer, which will not injure the finest surface. Polish for Waxed Floors. - Substances recommended for polishing waxed floors are beeswax or rosin, thinned with turpentine, or paraffin wax. Stearin and even tallow candles are sometimes used for the purpose, but are much less suitable. Pure beeswax thinned with turpentine is the simplest and perhaps most desirable polish, but the following are recommended; Rub through a coarse grater 64 pounds of beeswax. Add 3 pounds of pearlash and a little water. Bring to a boil and stir well until they cease to effervesce. Now stir in 3 pounds of dry yellow ocher and pour all into a tin pail, having a tight cover, in which to preserve it for use. Thin when required for use with boiling water to the consistency of cream, and apply while hot with a soft cloth.

Polish with a weighted brush and wipe up with a coarse flannel.

Or place in a tin pan 5 ounces of powdered rosin, 24 ounces of yellow beeswax, and rub through a coarse grater. Add 1 pint of turpentine, and place the pan in a larger pan, surrounded by boiling water. This should be done at a distance from a stove or open flame, and matches should not be lighted in the vicinity, as the turpentine gives off an inflammable gas. Stir until of a uniform consistency, and pour into glass fruit jars or tin pails having tight covers to preserve for future use. When required for use, thin with turpentine to the consistency of cream, and apply as above.

Spots on Waxed Floors. Apply a little benzine or turpentine on a soft cloth to remove the wax. Rub clean with a dry cloth, and let the benzine or turpentine evaporate before waxing.

To remove dirt that is ground in, scour with steel wool. After the spot has been removed, rub over the spot and adjacent surface with a cloth moistened in a solution of wax and turpentine or other polisher. Rub dry with a weighted brush to a fine polish, otherwise it will be sticky.

Avoid the use of water, as it will turn the wax white. Never use soft soap, sal soda, or other alkalies, as they tend to cut the oil in which the shellac is mixed, strike through and darken the floor beneath.

Oil for Floors. - Do not use crude petroleum oil on oak or similar hardwood floors. The crude petroleum contains a dyestuff which, with the addition of tannin, is the basis of black ink. All oak and some other hard woods contain tannin, which unites with certain constituents of crude oil and some other petroleum products to form in the fibers of the wood an insoluble black inky dye.

Thus, in a short time the floor will be turned jet black, and its appearance ruined. To remove this stain, wash the floor with sal soda or caustic potash lye, rinse, dry, and apply a solution of 1 pound of oxalic acid dissolved in 10 or 12 quarts of warm water. Wet the floor with this solution and let it dry without rinsing. Let stand, if convenient, over night. But remember that oxalic acid is an active poison. Hence care must be taken to keep pets and children out of the room, and not to breathe in the dust that rises from the dry crystals. Pour out the rinsing water into a pit and cover it with earth. Oxalic acid will not injure shellac or interfere with any subsequent treatment. -- Care of Hard-wood Floors. To prevent furniture from scratching or marring hard-wood floors, get pieces "And Rub Down with a Weighted Brush." of thick felt or soft rubber or obtain from a cobbler a sheet of rubber soling. Cut these to the exact size of the table and chair feet. Cover them with glue, and when the glue becomes "tacky" lay them on. Put newspapers under the chairs to protect the floor until the glue is quite dry.

The floor will be kept in much better condition if the members of the family wear rubber heels on their shoes.

To Restore Wax Floors. -Old wax may be removed from a hard-wood floor by mixing equal quantities of sal soda and slaked lime, and using about 1 pound of the mixture to a pailful of water. Apply this with a mop, and afterwards scrub the floor with sand soap and water. If necessary apply dilute sulphuric acid, 1 part of acid to 10 parts of water. Afterwards rinse in water containing a lit< tle ammonia and wipe dry.

Remove any remaining traces of wax by means of turpentine. Otherwise shellace will not adhere. RUGS Care of Rugs. - Before sweeping, rugs should be removed from the room and thoroughly cleaned before they are returned to the floor. If rugs are caught by the ends and shaken they soon tear out and unravel.

A better way is to hang them on a line and beat them with a carpet beater.

Or lay the rug on a clean floor and sprinkle table salt over it. Sweep it hard with a broom until it is clean; turn it and sweep the other side the same way.

If rugs must be beaten indoors lay a damp cloth over them. If they are very much soiled, rinse the cloth in hot water and repeat until the rug is clean.

To Lay Rugs. - To prevent rugs from curling at the corners fasten under each corner a triangular bit of corrugated rubber. Let these extend 8 or 9 inches along the rug. Bore several small holes in the rubber and sew through holes in the fabric. This not only keeps the rugs in place but makes them last longer.

SWEEPING DAY Or sew dress stays or whalebone under the corners to keep the rug from curling.

Or turn the rug upside down and apply a liberal coat of cold flour paste with a brush to the corners and edges.

Let the rug dry flat on its face, and when dry turn it over, and the weight of the paste will keep it in position.

Care of Oriental Rugs. - Oriental rugs, if genuine, are in fast colors, and the top or right side is practically indestructible. The threads at the back, however, are very easily damaged. Hence Oriental rugs should always be beaten on the right side. When beaten they should be hung on the line or laid over grass or other soft surface.

If much soiled, they may be washed or scrubbed by means of a stiff brush with soap bark dissolved in boiling water, and afterwards wiped off with a clean sponge and dried with a dry cloth. In winter lay an Oriental rug on the porch or other flat surface out of doors, sprinkle it with snow, and brush it off with a stiff broom or heavy whisk broom.

To Brighten Colors. - Slightly moisten salt with kerosene. Sprinkle this over the rug and sweep it off. Kerosene will leave no greasy effect. The dirt will soon pass off and the colors will be freshened.

Or substitute corn meal for salt.

MATTING To Clean Matting. First sprinkle matting with bits of wet newspaper or similar substances, as with carpets, and sweep the way of the weave, but not across it. Wash with strong salt and water to strengthen the fibers.

Or wash with skim milk, rinse in warm water, and dry quickly with a coarse cloth.

To Brighten Matting. - If lightcolored mattings become stained and faded, wash with strong soda water.

This will give them a uniform solid cream color, harmonizing the different tints.

Or with a water-color brush apply suitable dyestuff to the pattern to revive and restore it.