CREAKING FURNITURE

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 367, 30 May 1928, Page 6

CREAKING FURNITURE

SEASONABLE COMPLAINT REMEDIES DISCUSSED This is the time of year when hearing strange noises in the still watches of the night is a common experience. The wind rattles the windows, changing temperature causes basket chairs and wardrobe doors to creak, and damp days rust mattresses and produce beds that announce one's every movement. But "why let these things scare children and drive adults to the point of nervous prostration? Windows and doors are deqJt with, by means of wedges. There are several kinds, wooden, adjustable metal and rubber. I have found the latter the most efficient—and they are only a few pence, so it is not a great outlay to tighten up all the loose frames. Then for the audible bedstead. Take a look at the spring mattress: all it may need is a slight tightening np Otherwise, the oil-can and an application of pariffiii to deal with rust will generally put matters right. And what of noisy furniture? Frequently this trouble can be eliminated by a liberal use of the polishing duster. Us© a wax or an oil polish, and apply it every day for a week. By the end of that time the probability is that the trouble will have disappeared. But if it persists and the wardrobe in particular continues to make noises in the night, then it is a job for a carpenter, who must remedy the defect, which is caused by warping. Wood is particularly sensitive to changes in temperature, expanding and contracting with the degree of cold and damp. For that loudest of creakers, the basket chair, I know no remedy at all, except to move it out of the room. It is the only way. Cleaning Rugs. —After rugs have been cleaned and relaid they are often found to be faded, while they still retain their weight and nap. The colour can easily be restored by using a good dye, applying it to the figures w*ith a small, stiff paint brush. Lay the rug flat on the floor, and while the dye is hot go over each figure very carefully, applying one colour at a time. Only the most prominent colours need be retouched to give the rug a fresh appearance. The same treatment is very satisfactory in carying out a one-colour scheme on faded Brussels or velvet pile carpets.