BANISH BUMPS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 2 March 1940, Page 8

BANISH BUMPS

AND AVOID BREAKAGES. Many a shilling is spent every year in repairing breakages in the home, and removing signs of wear and tear. And yet you would be surprised what a difference a few minutes’ thought and the outlay of a few pence" can make in this respect. Most actual breakages occur, of course, in the kitchen, and crockery is the chief victim. Yet just think how a section of rubber matting, of the right size, placed on the drainingboard. would reduce the number of articles cracked or chipped when washing up. A careless knock against the hook as cups or jugs are hung up and there go the handles. But a length of cycle valve tubing slipped over each cup hook will prevent many of these accidents. Damp the tubing first to make it slide easily over the hook.

A rubber tap-spout slipped over the end of your tap will prevent china being cracked or broken by those accidental knocks against the metal. Then try tacking a length of rubber or felt —such as is sold to keep out draughts—along the front edge of your shelves and see how it safeguards your crockery, against knocks as you put it into place. And if it is wide enough to project about half an inch above the edge of the shelf it will prevent many articles from slipping off, or being knocked off when something else is taken down. Those articles you are using constantly should be kept on shelves well within reach. It is so easy to knock things over when you are reaching for articles on high shelves that can only just be gripped with the tips of the fingers. In the older houses, where shelves are high, it is a grand idea to keep a small, solid stool, about a foot high, to help you reach up to the top shelves. So much handier than the smallest pair of steps. Your wireless, of course, stands on a rubber or felt mat ,or small rubber feet. Try the same notion for such things as clocks, gramophones, sewing machines, statuettes, and see how it saves your polished surfaces.