the barrels and other metal parts of a double-barrel shot gun which
are quite rusty. Take the barrels from the stock, and put them in
clean cold water free from gritty matters. Attach the brush to the
washing-rod, and get out all adhering powder and residues; next
take tow and wash until the barrels are quite clean. If the parts
have rusted it will be necessary to use a little emery flour. Dry
the barrels with clean cotton rags, rubbing until the metal feels
warm. Plug the ports and muzzles securely, then cleanse the outside
parts with a strong alcoholic solution of caustic potash, aided, if
necessary, with a little emery flour and a soft rag. Rinse thoroughly
in water, dry thoroughly, warm, and while warm rub over every part
with the following preparation: pure (dry) zinc chloride, 1 oz.;
antimony nitrate, ¼ oz.; olive oil, 2 oz.; well rubbed down into a
smooth uniform paste. After ½ hour’s exposure, rub off excess of this
paste, and polish with clean soft rags. In warming the metal, avoid
overheating it so as to injure the temper.
(_b_) In the Volunteer service there are several fluids used, which
are composed of either turpentine, naphtha, petroleum, benzine, or
gasoline, about one-third, or according to fancy, with Rangoon oil.
But the instructions to the troops are--a damp rag, flannel or tow,
is all that is required to clean the barrel out; if much water is
used, it is liable to run into the action. The butt should be raised
when washing out. After washing out and drying, an oily rag or
flannel to be used. On many occasions the oily material will be found
to be efficacious, without the previous use of water.
(_c_) Easy method of cleaning guns and rifles when leaded.--If a
muzzle-loader, stop up the nipple or communication hole with a
little wax, or if a breech-loader insert a cork in the breech rather
tightly; next pour some quicksilver into the barrel, and put another
cork in the muzzle, then proceed to roll it up and down the barrel,
shaking it about for a few minutes. The mercury and the lead will
form an amalgam, and leave the barrel as clean and free from lead as
the first day it came out of the shop. The same quicksilver can be
used repeatedly by straining it through wash-leather; for the lead
will be left behind in the leather, and the quicksilver will be again
fit for use.
(_d_) If the barrels have become leaded, wet the tow on the rod with
spirits of turpentine, as the latter enjoys the property of removing
any leading almost equally with quicksilver. Newark’s gun-cleaning
composition also answers admirably for this purpose, and prevents
rust. Paraffin will also be found useful where neither of the
foregoing can be obtained. Never touch the grooves of a rifle with
emery, as it will dull their edges, and, consequently, affect the
shooting power. (_Land and Water._)
(_e_) Fill a stable-bucket one-third full of hot water. The water
should not be too hot--not hotter than the finger can bear. If
scalding hot, it is likely to cause the rib to start. Dismount
barrels from stock, and place breeches in the bucket. Pour some of
the water into the muzzles from a jug, and sponge the barrels out
with a woollen rag or tow until the water comes out perfectly clear,
both at the nipples and when jerked out of the muzzle by action of
cleaning-rod. Wipe the water off the exterior of the barrels, then
dry the interior with woollen rags; four or five changes of rag are
required. When the insides of the barrels are perfectly dry, pass an
oiled rag down. Remove fouling from nipples and adjacent parts by
means of a stiff brush or woollen rag. Any sharp instrument should
on no account be used. Oil out the barrels, being careful not to
miss the parts round the nipples, between rib and barrel, and ramrod
bands. Remove fouling from hammers in the same way as from the
nipples. Rub the hammers, trigger, trigger-guard, &c., clean with a
dry woollen rag, then rub them with an oiled one, which should be
passed all over the stock. Clean and oil the ramrod. The oil used
should be animal, not vegetable. Neat’s-foot oil (of the consistency
of grease) is excellent, never rusting the gun in the least. On
returning from a day’s shooting, if it is not convenient to clean the
gun at once, an oiled rag should be passed outside of the barrels and
stock.
_Floorcloths and Carpets._--(_a_) Oilcloths.--In buying an oilcloth
for a floor, endeavour to obtain one that was manufactured several
years before; as the longer it has been made previous to use, the
better it will wear, from the paint becoming hard and durable. An
oilcloth that has been made within the year, is scarcely worth
buying, as the paint will be defaced in a very little time, it
requiring a long while to season. An oilcloth should never be
scrubbed with a brush; but, after being first swept, it should be
cleaned by washing with a large soft cloth and lukewarm or cold
water. On no account use soap, or take water that is hot; as either
of them will certainly bring off the paint. When it has dried, you
may sponge it over with milk, which will brighten and preserve the
colours; and then wipe it with a soft dry cloth. (J. R.)
(_b_) Wash with a large, soft, woollen cloth and lukewarm or cold
water, dry thoroughly with a soft cloth, and afterwards polish with
milk, or a weak solution of beeswax, in spirits of turpentine.
(_c_) Oilcloth may be improved in appearance by rubbing it with a
mixture of ½ oz. beeswax in a saucerful of turpentine. After being
applied it must be well rubbed with a dry cloth; otherwise the floor
will be quite slippery.
(_d_) Cleaning New Linoleum.--Equal parts of salad oil and vinegar is
the best thing for the purpose, as it keeps it clean longer than skim
milk, which is commonly used. If dirty, wash the linoleum first with
soap-and-water. Soda rapidly destroys it, but soap or grease improves
the wear.
(_e_) Oilcloth made from Carpet.--The following recipe is
communicated to the _Cultivator and Country Gentleman_ by a
correspondent:--Nail the old Brussels carpet loosely to the floor,
in a large attic or wood-house chamber not in use. Then paint it
over with a thick coat of linseed oil and burnt umber. Let it dry
in thoroughly; add a coat of good varnish. Let that dry for a week
or two, and it can be washed with milk-and-water like any oilcloth.
Paint it on the wrong side, and nail it down closely, for it need not
be taken up for many years. As the varnish and paint wear off, renew
them, and thus it will last four times as long as common oilcloth. It
may be ornamented with a border of scarlet, green, or blue lines.
(_f_) Sweeping Carpets.--Before applying the broom, scatter over the
carpet the refuse tea-leaves from the teapot. These should be set
apart and saved in a pot kept for the purpose, squeezing the water
out thoroughly in the hand. First rub the leaves into the carpet
with the broom, and then sweep as usual. This will prevent dust,
and brighten the colours. Indian meal (maize flour) is recommended
for this purpose by many experienced American housekeepers. A small
sweeping machine, with a box to catch the dust, is now often used.
(_g_) Cleansing Carpets.--Put 4 tablespoonfuls ammonia to 1 bucketful
of water, with soap, scrubbing-brush, and cloth; scrub and wash the
carpet just as you would an unpainted floor, changing the water
frequently. Leave the windows open, and the carpet will soon dry.
In cities where bituminous coal is used, carpets are scrubbed as
regularly as wooden floors, and with happy effects. Instead of
taking up a carpet every 6 weeks during the winter, as some in muddy
districts think necessary, a careful wiping every week of the carpet
with a mop wrung from clean water will remove the dust and brighten
the colours. A thorough sweeping should precede this wiping-up.
(_h_) Carpets may be washed on tables or on the floor. In either case
they must be taken up and well beaten and swept. Grease is taken
out by rubbing hard soap on the spot, and scrubbing it out with a
brush dipped in clean cold water. Each spot must be rubbed dry with
a cloth as it is washed. Dissolve a bar of soap in 2 gal. water, by
cutting it into the water and heating to a boil. Lay the carpet on
the floor and tack it down, or have a heavy board, 3 ft. wide by
12 ft. long, laid on stout stands, or horses, and throw the carpet
over that, keeping a clean board or sheet underneath to receive the
carpet as it is cleansed. Provide brushes, and a quantity of coarse
cotton cloths, flannels, and a large sponge. Take 2 pails filled with
blood-warm water, put 2 qt. of the melted soap into one of them to
scour the carpet with, and use the other for rinsing. Dip the brush
in the soapsuds, and scour a square yard of the carpet at a time,
using as little water as possible, not to soak it through. When the
soap has done its work, rub it well out of the carpet with a flannel
or coarse sponge, sucking up with these all the wet and dirt left
by the brush, rinsing the article used in clean water repeatedly.
Have ready a pail of clean cold water, with enough sulphuric acid
or sharp vinegar in it to taste sour; dip a clean sponge in this,
squeeze and rub it well into the spot just cleansed. Afterward wipe
dry with coarse cloths, rinsing and hanging them where they will be
dry when the next yard is washed. Finish yard after yard in this way,
rubbing each clean and dry as you go. Keep a good fire in the room
to dry the carpet thoroughly. If scoured on a frame, nail the carpet
against the side of a house in the sun to dry. This is a tedious, but
thorough process. Hearth rugs may be cleaned in the same way, beating
and brushing them well, and tacking on a large board before washing.
Scrub one-sixth of it at a time unless you are expeditious, and dry
well with an old sheet. The secret of having carpets look well is
to wash and rinse them thoroughly, without soaking them through.
Ingrain, tapestry, Brussels, and Turkish carpets are all cleaned in
this way. Good authorities recommend a teacupful of ox-gall to a pail
of soapsuds, rinsing with clean water.
(_i_) Removing Grease Stain.--To take oil out of a carpet, as soon as
it is spilled put on plenty of wheat flour or whiting, to absorb the
oil and keep it from spreading. If the oil is near a seam, rip it, so
that the spot will not spread, and put whiting on the floor under the
carpet. Next day sweep up all the flour above and under the carpet
with a stiff brush, and put on plenty of fresh flour. To take out
grease spots, rub them with white flannel dipped in raw spirits of
turpentine. If they show after a while, rub again on both sides. If
there are grease spots on the floor, remove them with potters’ clay
before the carpet is laid down.
(_j_) Ditto.--Upon the grease stain lay a little damp fullers’ earth,
and, after standing for some time, rub it gently into the carpet,
and then wash off by using a little ammonia carbonate, and the colour
will be restored.
(_k_) Following are systems adopted by professional carpet cleaners.
All carpets and hearth-rugs, whether intended for dry or thorough
cleaning, must first be well beaten, and swept or brushed with a
hard broom. A carpet, to be properly beaten, should be hung on a
stout line, the wrong side outwards, and well beaten by two or more
persons, according to its size, some standing on one side and some
on the other. The sticks used should be pliable, and well covered at
the ends with cloth in the form of a knot in order to prevent the
carpet being torn or the seams split by the sharp ends of the sticks.
After being thoroughly beaten on the wrong side, the carpet should be
turned and treated in the same manner on the right side.
Dry Cleaning.--Have ready a number of dry coarse cotton or linen
cloths, some coarse flannels, and one or more large pieces of coarse
sponge; two or more hard scrubbing or scouring brushes, some large
tubs or pans, and pails, and also a plentiful supply of both hot and
cold water.
First take out all grease spots; this may be effected in several
ways. Well rub the spot with a piece of hard soap, and wash out with
a brush and cold water, and well dry each spot before leaving it.
Or use, instead of the soap, a mixture of fullers’ earth, gall, and
water, well rinsing and drying each spot as before. When this has
been done, the carpet may be cleaned by one of the three following
methods:--
(1) With Soap Liquor.--Cut up a bar of soap and dissolve it over a
fire in 2 gal. water. Put 2 qt. of this dissolved soap into a pail
of warm water. Dip a scrubbing-brush into this soap liquor, and
scour with it about 1 sq. yd. of the carpet; be careful not to let
the liquor soak through to the back. When this piece is thoroughly
cleaned, rub the soap well out of it by means of a coarse flannel or
sponge, sucking up all the wet and dirt made by the brush; rinse the
flannel or sponge frequently in warm water. Now take a clean sponge
and dip it into a pail of common sour, squeeze it out, and then rub
the sour well into the part just cleaned and rinsed. Rub as dry as
possible with clean, coarse cotton or linen cloths before proceeding
with the cleaning. The whole carpet is to be cleaned, spirited, and
dried in the same manner, a square yard at a time.
(2) With Gall.--Put a bag of very fresh bullocks’ gall into a pail
containing 2 gal. cold water, with 4 oz. pearlash dissolved in it,
and well mix it either with a stick or your hands. Have ready,
besides this, 2 pails cold water, a large sponge, a couple of
flannels, and some dry, coarse cloths. Dip the brush into the gall
and water, and scrub the carpet, a square yard at a time, as quickly
and as carefully as possible. Rinse, and suck up the gall and dirt
with a large flannel or sponge, which is to be frequently rinsed in
the pails of cold water. Well dry with cloths before beginning a
second square.
By adopting this simple process, any carpet, whatever its size, may
easily be cleaned on the floor; the process is especially useful when
the carpet is not very dirty, or when it contains delicate colours,
as the gall cannot possibly injure them. The only objection to this
method is that when cleaned with gall there is often a disagreeable
smell left in the carpet; but if the gall be obtained from a
fresh-killed bullock, and the carpet, after cleaning, be hung for a
few hours in a current of fresh air, the whole of this smell will go
off.
(3) With Ammonia.--Dissolve in a small pan 1 oz. pearlash in hot
water, and mix with it 1 gal. ammonia, which must be obtained from a
drysalter, not from a chemist. Dip a sponge or coarse flannel into
the ammonia, take it out rather wet, and well rub it into the carpet,
then dip the scouring-brush into the liquor and well scour the part
already sponged as quickly as possible. The dirt and ammonia must
then be sucked up in the sponge or flannel, and the part well dried
with flannels and cloths before proceeding with the next. Each
square yard will take about 20 minutes to clean and dry thoroughly.
This is another very simple method, the only objection to it being
that the carpet will smell of the ammonia for some time if it is kept
in the room in which it has been cleaned; it should therefore be hung
for 3 or 4 days in the open air or under an open shed, taking care,
however, that it does not get wet.
In dry cleaning, special care must be taken not to allow the liquor
to soak to the back of the carpet or rug; and also that, before
commencing, the floor or board on which the operation is conducted,
is perfectly dry. A good fire should also be kept in the room during
the whole time, as much of the success of the operation depends on
rapid drying.
_Floors._--(_a_) First sweep well. Have a small tub or bucket of warm
water; an old saucer to hold a piece of brown soap; a large thick
tow-linen floorcloth; and a long-handled scrubbing-brush. Dip the
whole of the floorcloth into the water, and with it wet a portion
of the floor. Next, rub some soap on the bristles of the brush, and
scrub hard all over the wet place. Then dip your cloth into the
water, and with it wash the suds off the floor. Wring the cloth, wet
it again, and wipe the floor with it a second time. Lastly, wash the
cloth about in the water, wring it as dry as possible, and give the
floor a last and hard wiping with it. Afterwards go on to the next
part of the floor, wet it, scrub it, wipe it 3 times, and proceed
in the same manner, a piece at a time, till you have gone over the
whole; changing the dirty water for clean, whenever you find it
necessary. For a large room, fresh warm water will be required 4
or 5 times in the course of the scrubbing. When the floor has been
scrubbed, leave the sashes raised while it is drying. For scouring
common floors that are very dirty, have by you an old tin pan with
some grey sand in it; and after soaping the brush, rub it on some
sand also. Always commence operations at the corner farthest from the
door and work towards the door.
(_b_) Take some clean, sifted, white or silver sand, and scatter it
on the floor. Dissolve 1 lb. potash or pearlash, in 1 pint water,
and sprinkle the sand with this solution. Have a pail of very hot
water, and well scrub the boards lengthwise with a hard brush, and
use the best mottled soap. Change the water frequently. The potash,
if applied as directed, will take out all stains. Ink stains may be
removed from boards by using either strong vinegar, or salts of lemon.
(_c_) The following will be found useful in cleaning and restoring
colour to wooden floors:--1 part calcinated soda allowed to stand ¾
hour in 1 part slaked lime; then add 15 parts water, and boil. Spread
the solution, thus obtained, upon the floor with a rag, and after
drying, rub with hard brush and fine sand and water. A solution of 1
part concentrated sulphuric acid and 8 parts water will enliven the
wood after above application. When dry, wash and wax the floor.
(_d_) Remove ink from floors by scouring them with sand wet with
water and a little oil of vitriol, mixed. Then rinse them with strong
saleratus water (potassium bicarbonate).
(_e_) Take ¼ lb. fullers’ earth and ¼ lb. pearlash, and boil together
in 1 qt. water, and, while hot, spread it on the greased surface,
allowing it to remain 14 or 15 hours; after which it may be scoured
off with sand and water.
(_f_) Procure some good light benzoline, scrub the stained portion
with a hard brush dipped in this, then wipe with a dry flannel. Make
a strong solution of common washing soda in hot water, place a little
unslaked lime, broken into coarse powder, over the stains, and pour
on sufficient solution of soda to wet the lime thoroughly. Leave this
mixture on for a short time, then scrub hard with plenty of clean hot
water, and wipe dry with clean flannel.
(_g_) A small quantity (say 2_d._ worth) oxalic acid (poison)
dissolved in ½ pint hot water; apply on a rag tied to a stick; wash
off with soda, soap, and water.
(_h_) Marks of tempera (whitewash) can be removed by a good scrubbing
with soap and water; oil stains require to be softened with
turpentine, and then scraped off. There is a soap called Philadelphia
Kitchen Crystal Soap, which removes oil stains rapidly; it must never
be put into water, but a damp flannel is rubbed on it, and the stains
are scrubbed with the lather. It also removes dirty marks on paint
quickly and easily.
_Furniture._--(_a_) Scratches on furniture may be removed by rubbing
with a woollen rag dipped in boiled linseed oil. The article must
then be varnished with shellac dissolved in alcohol.
(_b_) To clean and restore the elasticity of cane
chair-bottoms.--Turn the chair bottom upwards, and with hot water and
a sponge wash the canework well, so that it is well soaked; should it
be dirty, use soap; let it dry in the air, and it will be as tight
and firm as new, provided none of the canes is broken.
(_c_) Straw Matting.--Wash it with weak salt and water and dry it
well, or boil a small bag of bran in 2 gal. water, and wash the
matting with the water, drying it well.
(_d_) Ink Stains out of Mahogany.--Put a few drops of spirits of
nitre (nitric acid) in a teaspoonful of water, touch the spot with a
feather dipped in the mixture, and on the ink disappearing, rub it
over immediately with a rag wetted in cold water, or there will be a
white mark, which will not be easily effaced.
(_e_) Ditto.--Apply spirits of salts (muriatic acid) with a rag until
the spots disappear, and immediately afterward wash with clear water.
(_f_) Ditto.--To ½ pint soft water put 1 oz. oxalic acid, and ½ oz.
butter (terchloride) of antimony; shake well; when dissolved, it will
be very useful in extracting stains from mahogany, as well as ink, if
not of too long standing.
(_g_) Furniture creams or French polishes.--These are better bought
than home made. Nearly 100 good recipes exist, and maybe found in
‘Spons’ Mechanic’s Own Book.’
_Furs, Skins, and Rugs._--(_a_) Fur.--Soap or water will spoil it.
Get some clean common whiting--powdered, and plenty of it--put it
in a damp place for a day or so, but on no account let it get wet;
rub it into the fur with the hand, and don’t be afraid to rub it.
Now let it stop till next day, give it another good rubbing, then
shake out all the whiting you can, and give it a good brushing with
a clothes-brush. It will now be pretty clean, except the skin at the
bottom of the fur. To remove the dirt from thence get the fur over
the back of a chair, and use the point of the clothes-brush very
briskly, at the same time giving a short puff of wind every time
you give a stroke with the brush. With a little patience you will
remove every trace of whiting, grease, or dirt. Lastly, pour a little
spirits of wine on a plate, dip the point of the clothes-brush in
this, and lightly pass it over the fur; move the brush the same way
as the fur runs.
(_b_) Ditto.--Take equal parts of flour and powdered salt (which
should be well heated in an oven), and thoroughly rub the fur. It
should afterwards be well shaken, to free it from the flour and salt.
(_c_) Ditto.--Lay the fur on a table, and rub it well with bran made
moist with warm water. Rub until quite dry, and afterwards with dry
bran. The wet bran should be put on with flannel, and the dry with a
piece of book muslin.
(_d_) Ditto.--Thoroughly sprinkle every part with hot
plaster-of-Paris, and brush well with a hard brush. Then beat it with
a cane, comb smooth with a wet comb, and press carefully with a warm
iron; when dry, shake out all loose plaster-of-Paris.
(_e_) Hearth-rugs.--Hearth-rugs should never be cleaned on the floor,
but on a large scouring board, and should only be operated upon ⅙
of their length at a time. After being cleaned, they require to be
dried very quickly; as otherwise, on account of the thickness of the
pile, they are apt to sadden. Hearth-rugs may be cleaned by either
the first or second methods given for dry-cleaning carpets; with the
following exception, that when the first method is adopted, only 1
lb. soap dissolved in 1 gal. hot water will be required. After the
rug is finished, dip a clean sponge into a pail containing a little
common sour, and well rub it into the face of the rug.
(_f_) Sheepskin Rugs and Mats.--Dissolve 1 bar soap in 2 gal. boiling
water. Put 2 qt. of this into a tub or pan containing about 2 gal.
warm water. First rub out the dirt and grease spots with the strong
soap liquor, or, if necessary, with fullers’ earth. Then put the rug
or mat into the tub containing the weak soap liquor, and well wash
and punch it. Throw away this first liquor, and mix another lot with
the same proportions of warm water and dissolved soap, and again
well wash the rug; and so continue until it is perfectly clean. Then
rinse well in cold water to take out all the soap, and afterwards
in cold water in which a small quantity of blue has been dissolved.
This blue water will only be required for white skins. After this
has been done, the mat or rug should be wrung out, shaken, and hung
to dry with the skin side towards the sun, but not when the heat is
scorching, or the skin will become hard and brittle. It should, while
drying, be frequently shaken and hung up first by one end and then by
the other.