Electricity Keeps the House Clean

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 40, 17 April 1930, Page 27

Electricity Keeps the House Clean

New and Economical Ideas

N these enlightened days we do not consider it necessary, in order to be clean, to indulge in a general upheaval once or twice a year. Nor do wé consider it desirable to be continuously clean. There are, however, times such as when taking over or giving up a furnished house, re arranging the scheme of things, that a sort of stocktaking or overhaul is called for, and the more labour-saving appliances that are used, the easier will accomplishment be and results more satisfactory. First, of course, among the laboursaving aids for the housewife must be

placed the electric vacuum cleaner, for by means of it, dust in carpets and hangings, chairs and settees, and in hidden places all over the house, can be not only removed, but "captured" in the dustproof bag and emptied straight into the dustbin, instead, of being simply disturbed and allowed to settle again. For the cleaning down of walls, the vacuum cleaner is invaluable, its long arm doing away with the necessity of mounting high steps. If the walls are finished with washable distemper or paint, and are still soiled after all dust has been removed, a soft cloth should be wrung out in warm water, and, beginning at the top, each section should be gone over and carefully dried before passing on to the next. Soiled wallpaper can be cleaned with dough or dry bread, working downward with light, even strokes. Warm bran is most effective, but has the disadvantage of being loose and powdery, and difficult to handle. Grease spots are best treated by a paste of Fuller’s earth mixed with water (as stiff as possible) and brushed off when dry. The bathroom walls, which are certain

to be finished with washable distemper, paint or "sanitary" wallpaper, should be washed with warm water and a neutral, soap. Hints About Walls. IT connection with paint-work, a'word of warning must be given, for good paint is often ruined by the oveizealous cleaner. Soda must not be used in the water, as it will remove the paint as well as the dirt; neither should an abrasive cleaning-powder be employed. The latter is especially fatal to paint with a high gloss, rendering it dull: and rough and much more liable to get soiled again. Soft cloths should be used with a little fine powder, and a smooth paste made of whitening and water to which a few drops of kerosene have been added will facilitate the removal of any. bad marks. Finally wash off with clean water and rub dry. Varnished paint requires only tepid water and a little borax applied with a chamois leather, for varnish quickly softens under the —

influence of hot water. Splashes of lime-wash on woodwork (done when the ceiling has been re-whitened) should be removed before they have time to harden. Around the Floors. , TH treatment adopted for floors must, of course, depend upon their surface. Linoleum should be well scrubbed and afterwards treated with a good floor polish, The wax must be applied hard to every inch of the material, and for this application and for polishing afterwards, nothing equals the apparatus supplied with all good makes of vacuum cleaners. When linoleum is used as a surround, in a bedroom especially, an effective treatment is to varnish it, using a hard floor varnish for the purpose. _An ordinary wood floor with a stained border will need to be scrubbed over and then touched up with stain in worn places, or the whole border may need to be given a fresh coat and then wax-polished. There are several excellent fioor stains available, some being simple stains intended to be followed by varnish, others combining the varnish with the stain. Combinations of stain and wax. can also be obtained and painted floors are often very effective. ; Carpets and Curtains. (CARPETS should, in the every-day upkeep of the house, be maintained (Concluded on page 27.)

Home Cleaning a (Continued from page 25.) in a clean condition, and there is nothing to equal the vacuum cleaner as a means of doing this. There should be no struggling into the garden with a dusty carpet, hanging it over the line, and then proceeding to beat it, "exhausting oneself and inhaling much dust in the process. The surface can be freshened if it has begun to fade, by washing over with a carpet soap. Heavy curtains need not be taken . down if a vacuum cleaner is employed, but where lighter curtains of washable materials have become soiled, they can easily be washed at home, and it is in connection with this and similar work that the washing machine proves such a boon. Good soap flakes are @ great help in the washing process and dyes’can be added to the last rinsing water if desired. As regards upholstery, taking out and beating it is wholly to be condemned. Not only is this an ineffectual method of dust removal, but it involves a considerable risk of damaging the material. Here again, the vaccum cleaner comes to the rescue, for with the suitable attachment, all the embedded dirt can be dra out of the chair, settee, or whatever the upholstered piece of furniture may be with absolutely no risk of damaging the most delicate fabric. With upholstered chairs and settees that are-much used, a common trouble is soiling at the places touched by the head and arms. Here also a carpet soap can be used, or the material cleaned. with hot bran, two bowls being used alternatively, reheating one whiie the other is being handled. Grease marks need either a patent remover, or the application of benzine, The latter should not be used near a light or fire as it is highly inflammable, 2ven _ the vapour thatis given off. It shouid be applied with a clean sponge or rao {round the grease mark over a larger Area, and. rubbed inward, to prevent ‘spreading the'soil. If in adition te being soiled, the upholstery is worn through where most of the rub occurs, then the piece will either have to he recovered or @ loose cover made fo