Useful Household Books
THE COOK BOOK OF LEFT-OVERS By Helen Carroll Clarke, former instructor
in cookery in Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, and Phoebe Deyo Rulon,
former instructor in invalid cookery and dietetics in Bellevue
Hospital, New York City. Illustrated with Photographs. 16mo, Special
Waterproof Cloth, Uniform with “The Expert Waitress,” $1.00 net.
SIMPLE ITALIAN COOKERY By Antonia Isola. A collection of recipes showing
how to cook macaroni, rice, soups, meats, vegetables, sweets, etc.
16mo, Cloth, 50 cents net.
HYGIENE FOR MOTHER AND CHILD By Francis H. MacCarthy, M.D., Attending
Physician to the Out-Patient Department for Children, Massachusetts
Homoeopathic Hospital. A manual for mothers and nurses. Post 8vo,
Cloth, $1.25 net.
THE BABY: HIS CARE AND TRAINING By Marianna Wheeler. (New and Revised
Edition.) Everything mother should know regarding the food,
clothing, and bringing-up of the baby. Illustrated. 16mo, Cloth,
$1.00 net.
MANNERS AND SOCIAL USAGES It covers the entire field of what to do and
what not to do in social affairs. Illustrated. Post 8vo, Cloth,
$1.25.
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HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
------------------------------------------------------------------------
_HARPER’S
HOUSEHOLD
HANDBOOK_
A GUIDE TO EASY WAYS
OF DOING WOMAN’S WORK
[Illustration]
HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS
NEW YORK AND LONDON
MCMXIII
------------------------------------------------------------------------
COPYRIGHT, 1913. BY HARPER & BROTHERS
──────
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
PUBLISHED MARCH, 1913
B-N
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
I. WASH-DAY WISDOM, NURSING, AND 1
SICKROOM
II. INSIDE A ROOM 24
III. EQUIPMENT AND RENOVATORS 41
IV. CHINA, GLASS, AND FURNITURE 56
V. MAKING WHOLE 74
VI. MAKING AND MAKING OVER 95
VII. REMEDYING SPOTS, STAINS, AND 113
TARNISH
VIII. FOOD: CHOOSING AND KEEPING 129
IX. HOUSE PLANTS, WINDOW BOXES, 145
CUT FLOWERS
X. DISINFECTANTS, INSECTS, 163
INSECTICIDES
XI. CARE OF PETS 179
XII. IN EMERGENCIES 192
INDEX 201
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HARPER’S
HOUSEHOLD HANDBOOK
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HARPER’S
HOUSEHOLD HANDBOOK
I
WASH-DAY WISDOM, NURSING, AND SICKROOM
=Water=: Soften hard water with either washing-soda or lye, taking care
not to use too much. Turbid or milky water can be cleared to a degree
with alum. Dissolve a tablespoonful in a pint of boiling water, and add
a cupful to a tub. Ill-smelling water should be dashed with clear lime
water—using likewise a cupful to the tub. A teaspoonful of carbolic acid
to the tubful is also advisable with wash water under suspicion.
=Soap=: Save money and strength by getting soap in boxfuls, piling it
cobhouse fashion on a dry shelf in the air. Borax soaps chap the hands
least. Naphtha soaps do the best work with cold water. Cheap yellow
soaps, having much resin in them, answer very well if the clothes are
well rinsed. Any sort of soap is best made into a jelly. Shave a bar,
cover with boiling water, and simmer until soft. If there are very dirty
things to wash, add a teaspoonful of borax in powder, and as much
washing-soda to the cake of soap. This is for rubbing on dirty spots.
Other things had better be washed in suds, made by putting a handful of
jelly in a tub of water.
=Washing Fluids=: Use for boys’ clothes, working-men’s shirts, and
overalls turpentine, kerosene, and lime water, equal quantities, shaken
well together. Wet thoroughly, let stand an hour, then wash in warm
suds. Turpentine and spirits of ammonia, half and half, shaken hard
together, will make easier the cleansing of colored woolens.
=Bleaching=: Clothes that are yellow from lying should be wet in boiling
water dashed with oxalic acid (see section Renovators), putting two
tablespoonfuls to the gallon. Wring out, dry in sunshine, and wash as
usual. To bleach faded things white, as prints, lawns or linens, wash
very clean, using extra-strong suds, then boil in a solution of cream of
tartar, a heaping tablespoonful to the gallon. Boil half an hour; lift
up; if not white, boil as long again. Keep the boiler filled and the
garments well under water. Rinse in two waters after boiling, and dry in
sunlight before ironing.
=Temperature=: Keep the water temperature reasonably even throughout a
wash—violent alternations “full” every sort of fabric more or less. Very
fine flannels washed in cold water throughout with naphtha suds—soap
must never touch them—and dried quickly, hardly shrink at all. Flannels
generally are best washed in blood-warm suds, with rinse water the least
bit hotter. Yet the beginning of wash-day wisdom is to wet everything
thoroughly with cold water before washing. Also put clothes to boil in
cold water.
=Mordants=: Set colors before washing new garments. Most of the aniline
colors require acid—either alum water or vinegar. Put four ounces of
alum to a large tub of water, or add to it a pint of strong vinegar.
Soak things for ten minutes, then wash. Set madder colors with sugar of
lead, putting an ounce to a gallon of hot water. Soak twenty minutes.
Soak blacks, black and whites, and grays in strong salt water, but only
a few minutes. Buff, tan, and gray linens keep fresh longer if well wet
before washing with strong black-pepper tea.
=Wash Frocks=: Put no soap on wash frocks—suds suffice after spots have
been removed (see section Spots and Stains). With delicate colors use
bran water instead of suds. Tie wheat bran loosely in thin cloth, and
rub the clothes with it. Use lukewarm water, and work quickly. Rinse
instantly and hang to dry in shade, but opened out so the drying will be
quick. Hang carefully—pulling while wet ruins lines, besides weakening
the fabric—especially if it is starched.
=Table Linen=: Wash in suds, first removing stains and grease (see
section Spots and Stains). Boil only occasionally. Wash first. Never
starch. Hang out very straight, warp threads across the line. Take down
when barely damp, fold, keeping threads true, roll smoothly, iron dry,
first on the wrong side, then on the right. Use irons below scorching
heat. In ironing napkins do not pinch the folds with the iron—also iron
them first the warp way. Instead of folding table cloths roll them after
ironing upon heavy cardboard mailing-tubes that have been covered with
white stuff and furnished with wash ribbons at the ends for tying. Tie
napkins by sixes with ribbons matching those of the table cloths.
=Doing Up Shirts, Cuffs, and Collars=: Soak in blood-warm water until
starched parts are soft, wash clean, shake out, pull all double surfaces
straight, pat bosom, collars, and cuffs so the various plies will lie
together, hang to dry, straight. When bone-dry fold the bosom lengthwise
down the middle, dip in hot starch reinforced with gum water, rub the
starch well into the cloth, wring, hang straight, slip a hand underneath
the bosom and wipe over with a damp, clean cloth, then pat well
together, pin-pricking any blisters. Starch collars and cuffs the same.
Let dry, then spread sheets flat, sprinkle lightly, fold tails upward,
sprinkle again, then, beginning at the neck band, roll up tight and
smooth and let stand an hour.
Fold lengthwise down the middle of the back, iron body, back, and front;
iron sleeves from the sloped seam back; press wrist bands first upon
wrong side, then on right. Do the same with the yoke and neck
band—fasten it, put in bosom board, spread bosom smooth upon it, keeping
threads exactly square. Wet lightly with starch water; wipe over with a
damp cloth. Have an iron just below scorching heat, begin work in the
middle, at the bottom, hold the bosom taut with the left hand and iron
toward the neck. Go all over; if any smears come wipe off with tepid
water. Do the same for wrinkles or warped spots. Hold hard along the
edges—the stitching draws. Polish with a special polishing-iron, a
little cooler than the others.
Iron collars and cuffs upon the wrong side until half dry. Press hard
over the right side and polish. Curl collars around the iron as it
moves. Finish the band before ironing the outside. With cuffs the main
thing is to prevent blisters and wry corners—do that by ironing the
edges first and holding them taut.
=Clear Starching:= For fine lawns and laces. Dip in gum water (see
section Renovators) a cupful to a quart of boiling water, squeeze
without wringing, and hang smoothly to dry. Take down when barely damp,
roll tight and smoothly, loosen a smallish space, and pat between the
hands until dry. Sprinkle lightly—with an atomizer if possible—and iron
on the wrong side with moderate heat. Laces need not be ironed—in fact,
should not be.
=Starches:= A heaped tablespoonful of raw starch to a gallon of water
makes rather stiff starch—if wanted very stiff use a teaspoonful
additional. Bring the water to a bubbling boil in rather a wide kettle,
wet the starch smooth, and thicker than cream, in cold water; take the
boiling water from fire and stir the wetted starch into it. Stir hard—it
will form no lumps, hence need no straining. A little lard put in while
hot and stirred well makes things iron smoother. For starching tinted
things—as écru linens or brown or buff lawns—color the water with clear
coffee or hay tea before putting in the starch. Use the black starch
sold in the shops for mourning prints, or any black-grounded ones. Never
dip a blueing-rag in starch of any sort. Make blue-water as deep as
possible, strain, and add to the hot starch. Even with liquid blue it is
well to strain—specks of blueing, once dry, are hard to get out.
=Curtains:= Dip cream net or madras in hay tea or weak coffee water,
after rinsing—this keeps the color. Make the tea by boiling a handful of
bright hay in two gallons of water for twenty minutes. Strain, and add a
pinch of alum in powder. Most curtains should not be starched. Many are
better not ironed. Real lace curtains should be dried on sheets spread
on the floor, every point pinned smooth. Or they can be clapped dry as
though clear-starched. So can net ones. Frame drying is quickest and
easiest, therefore to be chosen for all but the finest sorts. Very
stretchy net should be dried on sheets, lying lightly crumpled. A very
little gum in the rinse water gives it more body. This applies also to
madras. Iron madras on the wrong side, taking pains not to warp or
stretch it. Tucks in curtains, or anywhere, need to be held taut before
the iron. Sewing of any kind puckers for wetting. Put the least bit of
starch in muslin ruffles to be fluted. Hold insertions the same as
tucks. Iron cretonne on the wrong side, when it is barely damp. Chintz
is exceptional in requiring a thin starch and in looking best when
ironed on its face.
=Knitted Woolens:= Knitted things like scarfs, sacks, sweaters, capes
must be washed quickly in white soapsuds, lukewarm, else in cold naphtha
suds, rinsed, blued if white, and dried in a crumpled heap in the sun.
Hanging ruins them. Very fluffy things had better be dry-cleaned or
washed in gasolene. Do this also with knitted silk hoods and neck
scarfs.
=Lace and Embroidery:= If very much soiled put in a glass or earthen
vessel, cover with white soapsuds, and set all day in full sunshine.
Rinse in cold water, press lace smooth between the hands, and wind it
while damp about a glass jar covered with old linen. Let dry, but do not
iron. Iron embroidery on the wrong side, upon its special padded board
(see section Equipment). Made-up lace, as fichus, collars, and so on,
must be spread smoothly upon a hard cushion, pinned, and dried in air.
Things lightly soiled can be dry-cleaned by lying buried a week in corn
starch mixed equally with calcined magnesia. Shake out, brush gently,
and press under light weight. Moderate soiling is best remedied with
gasolene, changing it as it grows dirty. Hang several days in air, under
a thin cover—this takes away scent and prevents collecting dust. Silk
embroidery on all grounds demands gasolene-cleaning. Spots must be taken
out (see section Spots and Stains) before cleaning. Press very lightly
on the wrong side. Treat wool embroidery the same way. Embroidered
cushion covers must be taken off, well brushed and shaken, also turned
inside out before cleaning. But clean them right side out.
=Laundry Aprons:= Make laundry aprons of strong stuff, but sleazy—crash,
denim, or colored linen. Cut kimona shape, with roomy sleeves, and to
slip on over the head. Set a deep pocket on each side, within handy
reach. Set a smaller pocket across the front just below the waist. Carry
clothes pins in the big pockets, safety pins, a handkerchief, and
wiping-rags in the other. Make wide enough for free motion, but not
enough to sag under foot when the wearer stoops. Let come almost to the
instep.
=Ironing-tables:= Make board or table suit your height, so you need
neither stoop at the work nor hunch your shoulders. Set a table too low
upon bricks or blocks—if it is too high, have something stable to stand
on. Make tight-fitting covers for the table of unbleached muslin, sewed
double at one end, to be slipped over the table edge, and with the other
end long enough to lap over and safety-pin firmly in place. Have a
double blanket under the cover, laid very smooth.
In using a board, set it high or low, as your height requires.
=As to Soaking:= Long soaking of clothes is undesirable—it loosens dirt
but passes it throughout the fabric. An hour is sufficient. Cover things
that must stand overnight with cold water rather than hot. Nursery wash
in need of soaking must be kept to itself. So should things from a
sickroom that are badly fouled.
=As to Boiling:= Boiling is not absolutely essential to clean clothes,
still a means of grace toward them. Have separate boiling-bags for table
linen, for handkerchiefs, for fine things like caps and collars. In
boilers the best is the costliest—namely, copper. Next ranks the
cheapest—a deep iron pot. Copper-bottomed tin answers with good usage.
Iron pots will crack if allowed to get very hot before water is put in.
Any boiler should have at least an inch of water in it before going over
the fire. Likewise it must be kept clean, dry, and wash-worthy by
constant vigilance for holes and cracks.
=Irons:= Test by pressing your cheek against the face—if rough, reject.
Five to six pounds is a good weight. Half a dozen will be none too many.
Keep clean and dry. Beware of setting them face down upon live coals or
red-hot iron—heat pits them microscopically, but enough to make them
stick. Polishing-irons are somewhat lighter and rather different in
shape. Have an asbestos pad or wire trivet to set irons on. Have several
holders, if you lack a patent handle, and shift as they grow hot.
=A Sickroom:= Disfurnish of every unessential. Leave nothing that can be
knocked off or over, or that clatters or rattles. Remove rugs from a
bare floor, but keep a small one handy for the patient’s feet. Cover a
carpet with a smooth sheet of something washable. In case of contagion
take away draperies and pictures. Have the bedstead light and
firm-standing, not too low, single or of three-quarter size. Set it so
there is free passage all round it, but not so light glares into sick
eyes. Place the head at least six inches from the wall, and set beside
it a small solid table. A couch or single bed, a spacious dresser, a
bigger table, and at most three chairs are complete equipment. Give up
the dresser to the patient’s clothes, bed clothes, towels, table covers,
and so forth. Have three changes of clothes, a dressing-gown, a light
shawl, slippers, many clean handkerchiefs. A dressing-room attached is a
godsend—next to it a bathroom easily reached. Lacking either, a
washstand fully furnished is necessary, also an alcohol or oil stove for
hot water.
Toilet ware of white enamel is lighter and safer than china. Have in
addition a foot tub and a deep covered bucket. Soaps, powder, scents at
discretion—insist, though, upon clean wash clothes, a good sponge, also
bottles of grain alcohol, aromatic ammonia, lavender water, and camphor.
Insist also upon a demi-john of disinfectant solution—chloride-of-lime
for ordinary illness, bichloride of mercury in cases of contagion (see
section Disinfectants).
=A Sickbed:= Should have a good spring and a light, elastic mattress.
Lay upon the mattress a pad of cotton tacked between cheesecloth, and
change it daily. The mattress should have a white cover. Over the pad
stretch smooth a sheet big enough to tuck in all round and be fastened
underneath with safety pins. Pin the upper sheet only across the bottom,
and lay a fold three inches wide in it there, to save cramping the toes.
Do the same with the blankets. They should be light, not heavy. Down or
puffy cotton comforts should supply extra warmth at need. Lay blankets
so the upper edge will come a foot below the headboard. The sheet must
be turned over them half a foot at least and be met by an outer spread
light and smooth. Have a bolster rather hard, and three pillows of
varying softness. Change slips daily. Change sheets likewise, save in
desperate cases where the patient cannot bear moving. Space permitting,
such cases should have two beds, fitted alike. Shifting can be done by
setting them together and easing the sufferer on the fresh couch.
=Heat and Ventilation:= Open fires help mightily toward keeping a
sickroom fresh. Burn wood that does not snap nor give out any pungent
smell. Coal should be free-burning. Put it in small paper bags—thus it
can be laid in the grate without noise or dust. Dampen ashes before
removing, and keep hearth and fixtures clean by a daily washing. Keep
the heat steady—the temperature that is ordered. Where there is distress
of breathing, keep a clean kettle simmering on the fire, the spout
turned outward—vapor softens air. Furnace heat coming through a floor
register should be softened by setting on the register a small pan of
water. With a wall register, fasten in front of it a big sponge, and wet
it every hour or so. Radiators should have water on top, in something
wide and shallow.
If windows must be opened at top, set an extra shade at the bottom with
a hook to hold it in the middle of the upper casing. Roll up the top
shade, lower the sash sufficiently, then raise the lower shade till the
edge is level with the edge of the sash. Thus air has free ingress
without rattling the upper shade. A window which must be raised ought to
have a light board pivoted into the casing, so it can be turned outward
at need, letting in air but preventing draughts. With a board a foot
wide raise the window about ten inches. One window open at top, another
at bottom will be far more effectual than a single window spread wide.
Note what is outside; if at any time smoke or the smell of food comes
in, shut the window. Allow no odors in a sickroom—neither fruit,
flowers, spiced food, nor scented visitors. This in severe cases; mild
ones and convalescence demand no such rigors.
=Care and Keeping:= Keep floors clean by wiping with cloths wrung out of
hot water barely dashed with carbolic acid. The smell passes quickly—and
is wholesome. Take off dust with damp cloths—litter must be prevented.
Keep a waste basket handy, also a bigger basket for soiled things. Have
them removed at once. Put half a cup of disinfectant in any vessel
before using it, adding enough to cover discharges as soon as it has
been used. Remove as quickly as possible. Do not keep such things in a
closet. Rather ambush them behind a light screen set across a corner.
Have a table outside to receive trays, cups, glasses, uneaten food. Let
nothing stand inside the room. The bigger table is for medicines, clean
spoons and glasses, alcohol stove, and a supply of ice. Gas light fouls
air so quickly, avoid it if possible. Electric light has the drawback of
being hard to graduate. Oil lamps require the nicest care. Candles are
better. Beware of lighting or extinguishing either inside the room.
Strike no matches there if possible to avoid it. Even in lighting a
fire, do it from a candle lighted outside. Keep filled candlesticks on
the outer table with matches in plenty, and extinguishers handy. Take
lamps there to put them out.
=Ice=: A nursery refrigerator is well worth its cost. Since it is not
always to be had, here is a good substitute. Set a high wire trivet
inside a deep agate pan, lay a lump of ice on it, then turn over it a
clean flower pot. Plug the hole in the flower pot, and cover thickly
with a folded blanket if in haste. Time permitting, make a cozy of
cheesecloth thickly padded with cotton batting and big enough to come to
the table outside the pan. Empty the pan several times a day. With an
awl and a toy hammer slivers of ice can be broken as needed.
=Contagion=: Filth diseases—diphtheria, typhoid, etc.—spread through
effluvia. Discharges of all sorts should be deluged with bichloride (see
section Disinfectants). Even bath water needs a dose of it before
emptying it. All manner of soiled things—towels, sheets, clothes—must be
sunk in a tub of it as soon as taken off, and soaked several hours
before washing. They need to be well boiled and dried in wind and sun.
Eruptive ails—measles, smallpox, scarlet fever—have two periods of
danger—in the fever stage before eruption, and when peeling. Measles and
smallpox are most dangerous in fever; scarlet fever at the beginning of
convalescence. Rub a patient in that stage well over with vaseline at
least twice a day, bathing afterward with warm suds and putting on fresh
clothes. Change bed linen the same; disinfect with extra thoroughness.
Put bichloride in the water that wets the floor cloths, and be sure no
dust is allowed to blow outside the room.
=Disinfection=: Wet everything well with bichloride solution, remove
furniture, burn mattress and comforts, boil and sun blankets. Scrape
walls and ceiling, wash well with bichloride, wash floor and woodwork
likewise, then scour with carbolic soapsuds. Fill cracks of all sorts
with fresh putty, shut doors and windows tight, and paste strips of
paper around them. Take off closet doors, but leave inside. Tack a strip
of tin on the door of egress so it will lie flat against the casing. Put
three bricks in the middle of the floor, set an iron skillet on them,
put into it a pound of flowers of sulphur, wet it with alcohol, stick in
a short length of fuse, light it, go out quickly, close the door for a
minute, look in—if the sulphur is burning, all is well. Shut the door
and leave undisturbed for twenty-four hours. Sulphur fumes make an end
of germs. They also bleach out colors of all sort.
=Poultices, Hot Cloths, Mustard Plasters=: Keep in stock bags of old
linen or muslin, with drawstrings at top, for poultices. Fill them three
parts, draw up, and flatten. If they must be hot, have three, keeping
two in a steamer, with the water underneath barely simmering. Keep
cloths likewise steam-heated, take out with a fork, wrap in a thick
towel, and apply over thin flannel to prevent scalding. Wet mustard
poultices with white of egg to prevent blistering. If severe burning is
needed, wet with pepper vinegar. Make soft and lay thin net or muslin
over the face of the poultice. For a slow, gentle burning mix the dry
mustard one-half with flour.
=A Bandage Jar=: Tear old linen into strips two to four inches wide, lap
ends two inches, and sew together. Make many lengths—half a yard to
five. Pull away ravelings, roll smoothly, and fasten. Put a few clean
pebbles in the bottom of a glass jar, lay paper over them, pack in
rolled bandages till half full, then fill with absorbent cotton, and
stand on a plate in a kettle of cold water, which is set over the fire.
The water ought to reach the neck of the jar and be kept at a
temperature of a hundred and eighty degrees for three hours or more.
Take from fire then, screw on jar top, let cool in water, wipe, and set
away.
Finger stalls in variety, with narrow tapes for tying, thus sterilized,
are a help to mothers. Teach children to suck wounds or bites or stings
instantly—it abates pain and takes out dirt and poison. Wash the hurt
clean, unless a blood clot has formed—it is nature’s own remedy, respect
it. Put on a stall, hold the hurt finger up, and pour upon it either
arnica, witch hazel, or turpentine. Draw the edges of a cut together,
clap on adhesive plaster, and hold until the plaster sets.
=Stanching Blood=: Blood spurting in bright-red jets means a severed
artery—and great danger. A steady, dark-red stream means a cut vein. For
either, knot two handkerchiefs hard together, trace the course of the
blood vessel, put the biggest knot over it, thrust in a stick, and twist
until the knot presses deep into the flesh. In case of an artery, put
the knot between the hurt and the trunk. For a vein set it between the
wound and the extremities. Work fast—a minute may mean life or death.
=Clothes for Nursing=: Wear nothing that cannot be washed; this is the
first commandment. Wear nothing that rattles, rustles, or clings; this
is the second, even greater. Light colors are refreshing to sick eyes,
violent figures distressing. Have sleeves that can be pushed easily
above the elbow, self collars, and trim fastenings. A single pin may
scratch your patient. Eschew hard, starchy edges even on an apron. Wear
a cap—a sweeping-cap is excellent—and change it daily. A long kimono
apron slipping on over the head is useful for such work as bathing,
giving alcohol spongings, or massage. One-piece frocks are imperative.
The simpler and easier the better all round.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
II
INSIDE A ROOM
=As to Floors—Scrubbing=: Sweep clean, take out grease spots and smudges
(see section Spots and Stains). Have a light knee pad, clean brush, a
bucket of warm water with a clean, soft cloth in it, and plenty of
either sand soap or a good soap powder at hand. Scrub well with a wet
brush, putting soap or powder before it. Do not slop—too much water
swells boards and warps them. Scrub a strip, rinse with a cloth
moderately wet, then wipe with the cloth wrung as dry as possible.
Wiping thus quickly takes up the wet dirt clean. Work from each side
toward the center, finishing at the door. Never use a wiping-cloth after
it sheds lint.
=Staining=: Sweep twice—the last time with a damp cloth pinned over your
broom. Give new boards a coat of filler (see section Renovators). Let it
dry, sandpaper rough spots, then give one or two coats of oil stain,
using a soft brush and working with the grain of the wood. Keep both
filler and stain well stirred while applying, otherwise neither filling
nor color will be even. Finish with shellac.
=Shellac Floors=: Sweep, dust with a cloth-wrapped broom, moving it the
way of the grain. Fill any cracks or crevices; then give a coat of
filler, and when it is full dry two coats of shellac. Let the first coat
dry for twenty-four hours before adding the second.
=Waxing Hardwood Floors=: Sweep and dust, rub rough spots with
sandpaper, take out spots or smears—if faded spaces are left, rub them
with sandpaper till a new surface appears, or touch with stain, and let
dry. Go over in long strips, working from opposite sides with whatever
wax you like, then rub until hot with a wooden floor pad (see section
Equipment). A coat of very thin shellac makes cleaning easier, but does
not rub to so handsome a surface. Put on the shellac after the wax has
stood a day.
=Removing Stain or Varnish=: Use very strong lye, either from wood ashes
or commercial potash, with a lump of washing-soda in it. Grease the
hands well, so the caustic liquor may not eat them. Apply with a big
sponge or coarse soft cloth, following with a damp cloth wrung hard out
of warm water.
=Removing Paint=: Metallic paint whose bases are white lead, zinc white,
and oxides of chromium, iron, and copper mixed in oil hardens to a very
adherent surface, hence differs from water colors, and has to be either
burned off with a special torch or planed off. Both processes demand
skilled workmen. It is better to bring old paint to a taking surface by
wetting it first very well with turpentine, then, after an hour, going
over it with wood alcohol and a thick, crumpled cloth. Follow the
alcohol by washing with lye or strong soda water. Let dry, sandpaper
rough places, then put on new paint—which it will be the part of wisdom
to have at least as dark as the old.
=Filling Cracks:= Cracks large or small must be filled before either
painting or staining, knotholes likewise. If a crack can be seen through
either, fit into it a sliver of wood before filling, or drive in fine
brads, leaving the heads projecting across the opening. Bend the heads
below floor level, and set the brads alternately, several inches apart.
Make putty or paper dough (see section Renovators). Fill small to medium
cracks with putty mixed soft enough to squeeze through a paper tube.
Make the tube by rolling cornerwise a square of tough waterproof paper,
fastening it, and snipping off the pointed end a very little. Use the
same as a pastry bag. Else roll lumps of putty between the palms to form
rather fat worms, lay the worms end to end along the crack, press them
down with a putty knife, or any blunt, broad-bladed one, making the
surface smooth and level. If the putty is very soft, sift a little dry
whiting upon it and press it lightly. Put in paper dough with a knife or
a blunt chisel or screw-driver; smooth the surface by laying on a board
and beating it with a hammer. If the dough smears under the hammering,
scrape away before it hardens. Plug knotholes with the dough, then drive
brads through it, bend down the heads, and put a thin layer over them.
=Cleaning Waxed Hardwood:= Dust daily with a soft old silk duster, sweep
with a soft broom in a clean bag once a week, following by hard rubbing
with the weighted brush. Every three months go over with a flannel wet
in turpentine, working very quickly, and following with a very little
boiled linseed oil, applied with a clean, hot cloth. Once a year—not
oftener—wash clean with weak warm borax soapsuds, wetting only a yard or
so at a time and wiping dry immediately. Wax or oil afresh after the
washing, and rub till very hot with a clean pad.
=Cleaning Stained Floors:= Wipe over hard and quickly with soft cloths
wrung very dry out of hot borax soapsuds. Wipe dry and rub with a
flannel slightly moistened with crude kerosene. Beware of using too
much—it will streak the stain.
=Tile Floors:= Tile, the same as brick, stone, and mosaic floors, should
be washed in warm soapsuds, taking pains not to slop, rinsed well, and
rubbed dry with a thick cloth fastened firmly over a flat mop. Be sure
no water is left standing—it will destroy the setting.
=A Matted Floor:= Sweep twice, the last time with a bagged broom. Then
wipe quickly with salt water, and as quickly rinse with fresh. Both
waters should be tepid. If there is grime, use borax water instead of
salt. A yearly wiping with fresh, sweet milk, followed by a tepid
rinsing, makes matting last longer by keeping the straw pliant. Rinsing
is, however, imperative; without it the milk draws a pest of flies.
=Carpeted Floors:= Damp with a fine sprinkler before using a sweeper, or
dip the broom tip in warm water and shake very dry. Then wipe with a
thick towel pinned tight over a stubby broom, washing it out if it gets
very dirty. A little borax dissolved in the sprinkling-water brightens
the carpet. So does fine, dry snow sprinkled on and swept off so quickly
it has not time to melt. But the best thing to renew color and freshness
is clarified ox gall dissolved in blood-warm water. Wash the carpet with
it, after sweeping as clean as possible, using the solution the same as
suds and taking pains against slopping.
=Rugs=: When possible, sun rugs before sweeping, beating, or
vacuum-cleaning them. Spread smooth and wipe over with warm, weak borax
soapsuds, followed by a tepid rinsing. Go over both sides, and let dry
well before putting down. Half yearly wipe them over either with the
ox-gall solution or fresh sweet milk. Rinse after either, but wait an
hour to do it. The animal matter makes the wool more alive. Beware of
stretching rugs cornerwise. Hang them always with the warp threads
across the line or the pole.
=Walls, Windows, Ceilings—Walls=: The first thing is to make them sound
and firm. Fill breaks great or small with plaster (see section
Renovators). Fasten loose trim neatly in place, spread tarpaulin or
paper well over the floor, then with a broom or long-handled stiff brush
go over everything—walls, ceiling, woodwork, and molding. Painted walls
must be washed clean before repainting. Whitewashed ones need to have as
much as possible of the old whitewash swept off. Old paper must be
sprayed with boiling water, let stand till soft, then scraped off. Paper
will not stick to either hard-finished or whitewashed surfaces unless
they are washed over with strong vinegar or strong alum water, and let
dry, then sized either with glue or vegetable size (see section
Renovators). Put windows in repair before touching the walls, and, of
course, freshen the ceilings. Remove all the litter before beginning on
the walls—the less dust there is under your new coverings, the longer
they stay fresh.
=Wall Hangings=: Paper-hanging is so simple and easy it needs few
directions. Strike a plumb line before beginning it. Suspend a compact
weight by a chalked cord from the ceiling to the floor, hold it taut
there, pull out the cord and let it strike back on the wall. With a
beginning absolutely perpendicular you can make your figures run
straight. Have the paper trimmed in the shop, cutting the left-hand
selvage. Measure in generous lengths, taking care, if there are figures,
that they match exactly. Lay the lengths, face down, a dozen or so
together, flat upon a table or scaffold, and cover thickly on the wrong
side with paper-hanger’s paste (see section Renovators). Beware of
pasting too many at once—lying makes paper tender. Fold back each length
on itself, pasted sides together. Open up as you apply to the wall, with
the edge true with the plumb line. Smooth the middle first, taking care
to leave no blisters, then work toward the edges, using a soft, clean
cloth in each hand. Put on three or four lengths, then trim along the
baseboard. With a border, the top is not a matter of concern, but with a
molding finish it must be extra neat and firm in place. Make door and
window casing serve as their own patterns, by pressing wet paper around
them on the wall. If a corner out of plumb starts your paper askew,
strike a new plumb line beyond it, about half a foot, split a length of
paper, trimming it so the figures shall fit those in the length already
on the corner, lap it from the plumb line over the skewed length, then
go on keeping the seams straight.
=Choice of Paper=: Here dogmatism is worse than idle. But, in a general
way, remember blue in all its tones, blue-gray, and granite-gray are
cool, that yellow warms a north light and goes beautifully with oak
finish, that red should be eschewed except for rooms used mostly by
artificial light and furnished in very dark wood, that green in all save
most vivid shades is restful, that soft wood-browns are excellent indeed
to soften a glaring light, that white-enameled papers, with the faintest
relief of gilt in the picture moldings, make the finest possible
backgrounds for old prints and etchings, and, most important, that only
plain papers will bear having pictures hung upon them, unless indeed the
pattern is so soft as to be indistinguishable. Bedroom papers ought to
be light and cheerful, but not staring. A plain ground with a border,
deep or shallow, makes a wall that does war with furnishings. A painted
wall with a cut-out border matching the ground tone is a very excellent
choice for bedrooms. It gives the color value of paper, and is more
sanitary and more secure against invasion.
=Burlaps, Cretonne, Linen, and Silk=: All are easily and quickly applied
to walls, but the fitting which goes before may be a bit bothersome.
Strike a plumb line same as for paper. Measure lengths, cutting so as to
match figures. Aim to have the cutting, top and bottom, strike exactly
in the middle of the pattern—this obviates any waste. Allow an inch for
turning under top and bottom, unless the finish is to be molding—for
that tack single. Have your gimp on reels so it will not snarl, and
provide a great plenty of tacks. Sew lengths together on the machine,
using flax thread, but not too coarse, a moderately long stitch and
tension that does not draw. Take pains to match figures and fit the
lengths to the wall as several are sewn together. This is trouble that
may save worse, as a boggle discovered quickly is half remedied. Burlaps
can be pasted on, the same as paper. Other things must be tacked on, and
the edges covered with molding or narrow gimp matching their colors.
Tack loosely at first, holding the cloth smooth but taking care not to
stretch it. The threads in it must run true. At inequalities of wall, as
in corners, take a tuck on the wrong side, press it flat, and put a line
of fine tacks in the seam. Use barely enough tacks in the wall cover to
hold it firmly in place—those in the gimp, which must be set evenly and
not too far apart, will secure it. Burlap, even when pasted, looks
better with a line of brass tacks at top and bottom. Cloth is a fine
wall covering for halls, parlors, dining-rooms, even living-rooms, if
they are never slept in. But in bedrooms, no matter how careful the
housekeeping, it is not desirable.
=Painted Walls=: To paint a clean wall requires nothing beyond a brush,
a step ladder, a can of ready-mixed paint, and a right good will. Stir
the paint well before taking out any, and keep it stirred well to the
end. Otherwise your wall will be like Joseph’s coat of many colors—earth
paints have a trick of settling, no matter what they are mixed in. Begin
at the top, use steady strokes of the brush, join them well, and rub
back and forth to an even, smooth surface. Paint as far as you can reach
handily, then step down a rung, paint below, and repeat. A new wall will
take two coats; one already painted, unless very much defaced, needs but
one. The paint can be varnished after it is dry; but the self-finish is
pleasanter. Calcimine is put on exactly the same as paint, but the first
coat must be very thin, the second thicker than cream, and the color if
any, stirred well through the last coat. Remember, with either paint or
calcimine, the dry wall will show much lighter than the paint in the
pot.
=Whitewashed Walls=: Brush off loose particles, wash grimy spots clean,
take out grease spots (see section Spots and Stains), have your
whitewash ready, keep it hot, do the work, if possible, in dry, sunny
weather, hot or cold, and provide several brushes—long-handled, short,
and medium. Have a bucket of water to stand them in when not in use. In
whitewashing above your head, wear glasses and stand upon something
stable. Wear also a light hat with a narrow brim, and loose, soft,
wash-leather gloves. Save strain by having the whitewash pot of handy
size, refilling from the main supply at need. Use either milk whitewash
or indoor whitewash (see section Renovators). Wood takes up less
whitewash than other things—two-thirds as much as plaster, half as much
as brick or stone. Whitewash well dashed with carbolic acid is the best
and most sanitary finish for the inside of cellars, stables, and
outhouses generally.
=Window Glazing=: Take out sash, break away panes, and remove old putty.
If there are whole panes guiltless of putty, take them out carefully and
scrape the sash clean, the same as with a broken pane. Lay the sash face
down, and fit in new panes. Set a tiny tack on each of the four sides so
as to hold the panes. Then put in glazier’s points—to be had at any
shop. Small tacks will serve instead. Press in the points, letting them
lie flat on the glass. Then lay a worm of putty over glass and points,
and smooth it in place with a blunt knife. Dip the knife now and then in
cold water—and keep it wiped clean of adherent putty. Smear the glass as
little as possible, and wipe away smears as quickly as made. Let lie
until the putty hardens a trifle. Paint it as soon as it is firm.
Otherwise it will weather and crumble. Indeed, it is the part of wisdom
to paint putty over once a year.
=Ceilings=: Papering a ceiling it not easy, still not impossible to
amateurs. It demands a tall stable scaffold almost the length of the
room—boxes set upon an extension table will answer very well. Cut
lengths of paper, matching the figures, paste, fold, and apply quickly.
Begin work in the middle of the ceiling—thus it is easier to keep the
seams true. Fasten an end lightly to the ceiling, then press lightly
along the middle till you come to the other end. Sight, and if this
first length is bias or crooked, loosen it and put it on straight. Press
on very hard and be sure there are no blisters. Small blisters can be
pin-pricked and patted down, but big ones require to have the paper
lifted bodily, the air pressed out, then the paper patted back. Ceiling
paper ought to have very small figures and delicate tones, much lighter
than those of the walls.
Fabrics of any sort are best applied to ceilings in separate lengths and
the joins covered with heavy moldings put on with brass-headed nails.
This gives much the effect of a beamed ceiling at lower cost. A ceiling
that crumbles badly should have strips of smooth deal nailed fast to it
at even distances. The fabric can then be tacked to these with no fear
of falling.
If a ceiling is too high, never put anything striped on the wall. A
heavy border apparently lowers a ceiling—all the more if it is put on
several inches below the ceiling proper, and the wall space finished to
match overhead.
=Calcimine and Whitewash=: Both are applied the same way—with soft,
broad brushes slapped back and forth until no grain shows. The surface
must be clean and free of loose particles. Wash off old calcimine with
strong soda water and let dry before applying fresh. Put on three coats,
the same as for walls. The prepared cakes are cheap and handy, but there
is more certainty and more satisfaction in home-mixing (see section
Renovators).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
III
EQUIPMENT AND RENOVATORS
=Equipment=: These things will make house-work easier by saving strength
and temper. Being neither costly nor cumbersome, the simplest home may
well find room for them or such part of them as it needs.
=A Knee Pad=: Make of stout cloth twenty inches by twelve, stuff two
inches thick, tack in lines to hold flat, and sew oilcloth upon the
under side.
=A Foot Pad=: Make two feet square, stuff an inch and a half thick, and
tack flat. Stand on it when ironing, washing, or preparing food. It
saves strength and prevents cold feet.
=A Floor Pad=: For rubbing waxed hardwood or stained floors. Get a block
of wood, brick-shaped, hollow the upper edges on both sides so it can be
grasped, put a strap across, then cover the lower face with many
thicknesses of flannel and chamois skin. Alternate them and have leather
outside. Keep dry and away from dust.
=A Water Wagon=: Screw castors to the corners of a board a foot square.
A pail set on it can be pushed about much easier than lifted.
=Broom Bags=: Have a set of six—two each of crash, Turkish toweling, and
outing flannel. Keep clean, and be sure the drawing-tapes are not left
knotted or broken.
=Brooms=: Have at least two brooms—one stiff, one pliant. Choose fine
straw of a greenish cast rather than yellow. Eschew painted handles;
sandpaper is the remedy for rough places. Put a screw eye in the tip of
the handles and hang the brooms from hooks. Wash before hanging up.
=Floor Brushes=: A weighted brush needs to be kept dry and clean and so
set that the bristles do not crush. Choose it light rather than heavy.
See that the handle is set at the angle to suit your height and that the
bristles are of the very best quality.
=Dust Cloths=: Make of many sorts and sizes, from a foot square to half
a yard. Cheesecloth, flannel, old silk, and crash—all answer well.
Overcast edges loosely instead of hemming. Keep clean and dry in a box
or drawer.
=Dust Swabs=: Tie a handful of cotton, excelsior, or even crumpled paper
inside a soft cloth and about the end of a light rod. Use to dust walls,
floors, and ceilings, changing the cloth as it gets dirty. Sprinkling
the cloth with alcohol, turpentine, or gasolene makes it more effective
where the dust is grimy.
=A Silk Duster=: Crumple soft old silk into a big floppy rosette and
fasten to a rod. Use upon pictures and picture moldings, also on waxed
floors newly polished.
=Ironing-boards=: Shape the blanket, sew up, and fit smoothly, letting
the small end of the board project bare an inch or two. Draw taut over
the wide end and sew with flax thread. Make shaped covers of unbleached
cotton, open at the small end, rounded to fit the other and hemmed. Draw
on a cover and pin tight at the broad end. Let the seams come along the
edge of the board. Change covers after use. Have a smaller board,
similarly covered, to use when sitting down—it is laid on the knees.
Have also a covered bosom board if shirts are home-ironed, and a smooth
straight board of handy size, covered with two thicknesses of flannel
and one of clean cotton, for ironing embroidery or anything raised.
=Sprinklers=: Keep a tin sprinkler with a fine rose for dampening clean
clothes or sprinkling floors or carpets. If ammonia or alcohol is put
into the sprinkling-water, rinse the sprinkler well before putting it
away.
=A Tool Box=: Fill cracks with putty to keep out dampness, hinge on a
cover, and furnish with a padlock. Keep in it a sharp fine saw, a
hatchet, tack hammer, brace and assorted bits, chisel, monkey wrench,
screw-driver, and gimlets. Also assorted brads, tacks, wire nails, screw
hooks, screw eyes, and picture wire. A putty knife is useful. A T-square
and foot rule are indispensable. Keep the box stationary, and insist
that whatever is taken from it shall be put back in good condition.
=A Wax Board=: Cover a small clean board with flannel, sewing it firmly,
rub the flannel well over with softened—not melted—paraffine, and keep
for smoothing irons.
=A Laundry Cabinet=: Have a laundry cabinet if it is no more than starch
boxes set one on the other. Keep in it starch, soap, blueing, Javelle
water for stains, soap powder, washing-soda, irons and holders, the wax
board, and sandpaper, which is sovereign for roughened irons. Keep also
a filled pin cushion and a bundle of clean rags. Close with a roller
shade instead of door or curtain.
=A Clothes Drainer=: Tack coarse burlap over a big wooden hoop so
loosely it sags smartly. Nail stout legs to the hoop, spreading them so
a tub can be set underneath. Drop clothes sopping wet from the rinse
into the hoop, and save time, strength, and wear.
=A Lead Swab=: For use on marble, brick, or stone—especially good for
removing smoke and rust stains. Sew a pound of buckshot rather tightly
inside stout canvas, tie the canvas in chamois skin, and change the
leather as it grows soiled.
=Sawdust=: Get a peck of clean non-resinous sawdust, sift, and sun or
oven-dry. Keep dry. Use on floors, also for drying and polishing
intricate surfaces. Heat for use, but do not scorch.
=Pine Needles=: Clean pine needles, if available, should be kept for
polishing floors, either hardwood or stained. Heat very slightly and
strew them in front of the weighted brush or broom.
=Brick Dust=: Beat a soft brick to powder, sift it and keep dry. Use
with a chamois dipped in oil, else upon the cut surface of a raw potato.
Especially useful for spots on steel or for polishing pewter and copper.
=A Wall Mop=: Cut washed cheesecloth into even strips, tack as many as
can be firmly fastened to the end of a light rod, and shake free of
lint. Clean by dipping up and down in soapsuds or gasolene after use.