WHEN CLEANING HOUSE.
THE season of house-cleaning is greeted with different degrees of
welcome, or horror, by the several members of the family. Some people
appear to think there is no good reason for this annual thorough
cleaning of the house; others, however, are really glad when the time
comes round again, because it furnishes an opportunity to take account
of stock, as it were, discarding the worthless, and renewing wherever it
is necessary. When the cleaning is finished, pride and content come with
the feeling that rest and comfort can be taken with a clear conscience
in a house that one knows is in good condition from top to bottom.
System Absolutely Necessary.
Every house certainly should have a thorough cleaning every year, that
there may be a check put upon the accumulation of dust or dirt which
might breed disease, even if no other reason influenced the housekeeper.
This yearly cleaning need not be a season of discomfort to the family.
If possible, a little extra help should be engaged; but even if this be
out of the question, the work can be done in such a way that every one
shall not be worn out by the time the cleaning is finished. Too much
should not be attempted at once. If one room be taken at a time, and be
finished before work is begun in another, the whole house can be cleaned
without any great difficulty. It is always wise, if possible, to wait
until the necessity for furnace or stove fires is past. If the house be
heated by stoves, and there be some rooms in which a fire is needed only
in the coldest weather, such rooms may be cleaned first, the stoves in
the other rooms being removed later. There should be a perfect system in
doing this work. Housekeepers differ in regard to the part of the house
where the cleaning should begin, some starting with the attic and others
with the cellar. Since the furnace must be cleaned some time, and dust
may escape through the pipes into the various rooms above, it seems to
me that the proper place to begin is down-stairs.
Cleaning the Cellar.
In no part of the house is it so important that the cleaning be
thoroughly done as in the cellar. Not a corner should be slighted. Begin
with the furnace. Have the registers closed in every room. Remove all
the cinders and ashes, and clean out all the flues and pipes. Many
housekeepers have the pipes removed, but the smoke-pipe is really the
only one that it is necessary to take down. This pipe is liable to rust,
because of the moisture it gathers from the chimney; nevertheless, if
there be no way of heating and drying the house during a cold, damp
period in summer except by building a fire in the furnace, it would be
cheaper to renew this smoke-pipe every few years than run the risk of
having the family made ill from receiving a chill. While the men are in
the house to clean the furnace, it would be economy to have them clean
the flues in the range, and also the chimneys. Open the cellar windows
to bring everything into the light. Have the coal bins cleaned. Brush
everything free from dust. Now sweep the ceiling and walls as well as
the floor. Brush the walls once more. Wash the windows and any closets,
shelves, or tables there may be in the cellar.
Do not Omit Whitewashing.
Now have the walls whitewashed. Before the various articles stored in
the cellar are put back in place, brush them again. Sweep the floor once
more. Paint with black enamel varnish the iron parts of the furnace, and
also any iron pipes that may be exposed to moisture. An excellent
whitewash may be made by putting eight quarts of unslaked lime into a
large tub, and pouring over it enough boiling water to make a paste.
Stir well, and cover until cold, stirring occasionally, that the wash
may be smooth. Dissolve one quart of salt in two quarts of hot water.
Dissolve also half an ounce of indigo in about a pint of hot water. Add
these substances to the slaked and cooled lime. Now beat well, and add
enough cold water to make the mixture the consistency of thin cream. The
wash will then be ready to use.
A tub of charcoal and another of lime are excellent things to keep in
the cellar. They make it sweeter and dryer, and the charcoal is, of
course, very convenient to have on hand for fuel. The unslaked lime
should be put in a tub or barrel, with space for it to expand to twice
its bulk. It slakes in the air and expands rapidly during the process.
From Cellar to Attic.
After the cellar is cleaned, the next move is to begin at the top of the
house and work down. It is not safe in these days, when houses are kept
almost as warm in winter as they become in summer, to take it for
granted that anything is perfectly free from carpet-bugs, moths, and
other insects. Every article in the storeroom should be examined,
brushed, and shaken. All the boxes, drawers, and closets should be
brushed, wiped, and lined with new paper. As a measure of safety all
receptacles should be saturated with naphtha just before their contents
are replaced. Woollen goods, furs, and feathers should be wet with
naphtha and folded in old cotton or linen sheets. They will be perfectly
safe for a year or more, provided they have been thoroughly shaken and
brushed, so that no insects’ eggs remain in them. Pieces of carpets and
other large articles should be hung out of doors, on lines, before being
put away.
Having taken care of the closets, drawers, boxes, and stored goods, the
next thing will be to clean the room. Brush the articles of furniture
and set them outside the room. Brush the walls, ceiling, and windows.
After sweeping the floor wash the windows and woodwork, and also the
floor, wiping very dry. Let the room air for an hour or more; then
return all the articles to their places.
Taking up and Cleaning Carpets.
Have two strong sheets made of unbleached cotton. Remove the carpet
tacks with a tack-lifter, being careful to put every one of them in a
box or bowl. It is not only extremely painful, but also dangerous, to
step on a rusty tack, and the housekeeper should make it a matter of
conscience to see to it that none are left lying about. When all the
tacks have been removed fold the carpet carefully, lengthwise; then roll
it up and put it in one of the sheets, tying this. Put the linings in
the other sheet. Take both sheets into the yard or some field near by,
and after spreading the linings, sweep them on both sides, pile them up,
and cover with the sheet. Spread the carpet and beat with a rattan or
long switch. Sweep it, and then turn it over and beat again. Let it lie
on the grass, wrong side up, until the room is ready.
The small yards in city houses are not the proper places for cleaning
carpets, as the dust rises and enters all the surrounding houses. There
is in some cities a law against beating carpets in such narrow quarters.
Sweeping and Dusting.
When the carpet and linings have been removed from the room, sprinkle
the floor with either moistened sawdust, fine sand, or bits of damp
paper; then sweep up the dust. Go over the floor a second time. Brush
the ceiling and walls of the room and closets, being careful to get
every crack free from dust. Clean, with a small brush, the tops of the
doors and windows, the window sashes, the ledges and blinds, and all the
grooves in the woodwork. For the walls and ceiling use a broom covered
with Canton flannel, or any old flannel. Let the strokes on the walls be
straight downward. If there be a fireplace in the room spread thick
papers on the hearth and clean both the grate and fireplace. Take the
bedstead apart and lay each piece on the floor, grooved side up. Be
careful that there is not a particle of dust left in it. Pour naphtha
into every groove. Be generous, for it is not expensive and will hurt
nothing. Have near by a bowl of naphtha, into which dip the ends of the
slats. If there have been any indications of insect life in the bed or
room, spray all the cracks in the floor, walls, and woodwork. Now sweep
the floor for the third time and wash it with hot diluted lime water,
which is made by pouring four quarts of boiling water upon one quart of
quicklime, and letting the mixture stand covered for several hours; then
pouring into another pail the clear water. Put one quart of this water
to two gallons of hot. The boards will be made whiter and sweeter by the
use of the lime water.
Washing Painted Surfaces.
Next wash the paint. If it be white do not use ordinary soap. Wring a
flannel cloth out of hot water and dip it lightly in whiting. Rub with
this, and then wash off all the whiting; next wipe with the cloth wrung
out of hot water, and finally rub with a dry flannel until the surface
is perfectly dry. Have a pointed stick for all the grooves and corners.
If the woodwork be grooved a great deal, as is now the fashion, a small
scrubbing brush, such as is sold for cleaning kitchen boards, will be
found helpful, as a few strokes the length of a long grooved panel will
clean it perfectly. If soap be preferred to whiting, use the white
castile, as this will not turn the paint yellow, nor will it soften it,
as is apt to be the case with soaps in which the alkali is strong. Now
wash the blinds, then the window casings and ledges, and finally the
glass of the windows.
When cleaning paint it is well not to have the cloth so wet that the
water will run on the paint, as it will leave streaks. Wash only a small
place at a time. Wash the blinds with clear water. When you come to the
window ledges do not use so much water that it will run down on the
outside of the house, marring the appearance of the walls. Always rub
with the grain of the wood.
Take the covers from the furniture, and dust again, washing the mirror
in the dressing-case. Clean and polish the furniture.
Laying the Carpet.
Lay the carpet linings on the floor, putting a small tack here and there
to keep them in place. Put the carpet on the floor, unrolling it in the
direction in which it is to be laid. Begin to tack it at the end of the
room which is the most irregular. If there be a fireplace or bay-window
in the room, fit the carpet around these places first. Use large tacks
to hold the carpet temporarily in place; they can be withdrawn when the
work is finished. When the carpet is fitted to a place, use small tacks
to keep it down. Tack one end of the carpet, stretching it well; then a
side, then the other end, and finally the other side. Be careful to keep
the lines straight, and to have the carpet fit tightly; for if it be
loose, it will not only look bad, but will not wear well.
When the carpet is laid, pour a little naphtha on any soiled places, and
rub with a piece of flannel until the spots disappear. Always have a
window open at such times, to allow the gas to escape. Put about six
quarts of warm water in a pail and add four tablespoonfuls of household
ammonia. Wring a woollen cloth out of this, and wipe the carpet.
Put the furniture and other articles in place. When all the chambers are
finished, clean the hall and stairs. All the chambers and upper halls
are to be cleaned in the same manner, one room at a time. If the stairs
be carpeted, take up the carpets and have them cleaned and put away
until all the front part of the house has been cleaned.
Rooms on the First Floor.
The rooms on this floor nowadays are generally shut off by portières,
over and under which the dust sifts into the adjoining rooms when one of
the series is being cleaned, unless the housekeeper provide the proper
screens. Have for this purpose sheets of strong, unbleached cotton, a
yard longer and wider than the height and width of the openings. If you
take down your portières and tack these sheets on the top and at the
bottom of the casings, the other rooms will be well protected. Now dust
and remove the small ornaments. Beat and brush the upholstered
furniture. Remove from the room as much of the furniture as possible.
Take down the window draperies and shake the dust from them in the yard.
Have the dining-room table made its full length, and lay an old sheet
over it. Spread the draperies on this, one at a time, and wipe them with
a clean piece of cheese-cloth; then fold them carefully, if they are not
to be hung again until fall, and, pinning them in clean sheets, put them
away in boxes or drawers. Next take down the shades, and after wiping
them with a clean cloth roll them up and put them aside until the room
is cleaned. Cover the large pieces of furniture, and if there be carpets
to be taken up proceed in these rooms as directed for the bedrooms. If
there be brasses, take them to the laundry or kitchen to be cleaned.
Take down the shades of the chandeliers and wash them. If the carpets
are to be taken up, they should be removed at once, and if they are not,
brush the ceiling, walls, woodwork, windows, blinds, and ledges, and
then sweep the carpet. When the dust settles sweep a second time; be
careful to brush the corners and edges thoroughly with a small broom.
After the carpet is thoroughly swept, saturate the edges and corners
with naphtha, leaving the doors and windows open, of course. Now clean
the paint and windows. When the room is clean put three tablespoonfuls
of household ammonia in about six quarts of water, and, wringing a clean
cloth out of this, wipe the carpet. Change the water as soon as it
becomes dark. Replace the furnishings. Of course, if the floors be of
polished hard wood, half the burden of house-cleaning is removed.
Kitchen, Pantry, and Closets.
Last, but not least, on the programme comes the back part of the house.
Beginning with the china closet, remove and wipe all the dishes. Brush
the walls, ceiling, and shelves. Take the drawers to the kitchen and
wash and wipe them, afterward drying them in the sun or before the fire.
Wash all the woodwork and the floors before replacing the dishes. Clean
the kitchen closets and pantry in the same manner. Wash and scour all
the wooden, tin, and iron utensils, getting them perfectly dry and sweet
in the sunlight, if possible. Line the shelves and floor of the pot
closet with thick brown paper, and put the utensils in place. Take down
the kitchen shades and wipe them with a clean cloth. Brush the ceiling
and walls. If the walls be painted, wash them in warm ammonia
water,—four tablespoonfuls of ammonia to six quarts of water. Have ready
a second pail of clear hot water and a clean cloth. Go over the washed
space with the clean cloth and water; then wipe dry. If the woodwork be
hard or grained, wash it in the same manner; using, however, only half
as much ammonia. Wash the windows, scour the tables and sink, clean the
pipes and faucets, black the stove, and wash the floor. When all this is
done go over the woodwork with a flannel dampened with linseed oil and
turpentine,—half of each; then rub with a dry flannel. The laundry and
back halls should receive the same attention. Then the piazza and yard
should be put in order.
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