CLEANING MADE EASY

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 935, 31 March 1930, Page 5

CLEANING MADE EASY

SOME GOOD HINTS < j For cleaning white enamel, paint, ■ brass, copper, plate and furniture of I i any description, dandelion water is 1 invaluable. Take half a dozen roots, \ j leaves and tendrils, clean them, add : . i three pints of water and boil all to- ! j gether till the liquid becomes brown ! | j and is reduced by half. When it is , | cold, wash the article with the dande- j I lion water, leave to dry for about two hours, and polish with a leather. Papier-mache trays and bowls j , should be cleaned thus: Sponge the j articles with cold water, dry them, j | and sprinkle on a little dampened flour. Rub dry with a soft flannel, j 1 and give a final polish with a piece of old silk. Windows are easily cleaned with a , cloth moistened with methylated i spirit, followed by a rub over with a i clean duster. This gives them a ! I beautiful polish and the spirit is use- j 1 ful in preventing flies from settling on the glass. Tapestry curtains and upholstery ! may be renovated with a mixture oi j equal parts of salt and powdered orris , root mixed with a little water. Brush ; the fabric, place a damp sheet over : it and beat it gently with a cane, i Wring out a duster in the solution, go j over the material with this, and fol- j low up with a cloth wrung out in j warm soapy water. Rusty steel should be rubbed with I a cut onion, left for 24 hours, and then polished in the usual way. Copper and brass that has'been allowed to go black should be given a coating of whitening and lemon juice, after which ordinary metal polish will bring about good results with a minimum of effort. The kitchen stove will want a polisli and for this few things are equal to a mixture of turpentine, powdered blacklead, and furniture cream. A queer mixture. But you have to try it in order to appreciate it. If the linoleum is beginning to look shabby, add half an ounce of hot glue to the warm water when you wash it. It will give it a smooth, glossy surface, equal to new, CHOOSING CUSHIONS No longer do women furnish thenrooms in an indiscriminate fashion. They decide on a decorative scheme j and have even the smallest details to tone. Lamp-shades have long been 1 the subject of special attention, and j now one designer is making a partieuj lar study of cushions. She makes j them.as distinctive as pictures, for she ) never repeats her designs.