Tests For A Housewife

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 201, 26 August 1939, Page 4

Tests For A Housewife

A WEEK-END at home is a grand opportunity to clear out at least one littered • drawer, to explore one untidy cupboard, or to cleah up one particular piece of furniture which has long been neglected for:,' lack of the time to give to it; -' Check with yourself whether yotr know all these cleaning hints. ' A wise housewife should know them. Lacqucrcd' wood «tit-faces are best cleaned with warm flour applied sparingly on a pad of cottonwool, then polished with a very soft duster or lambswool brush. Sticky fingermarks will remove easily by washing with a solution of vinegar added to warm water and using a wrung-out leather. Dry with a duster. Then apply boiled linseed oil or beeswax or h furnitttre cream with a soft pad. Polish finally with a duster. White mark* rntised by heat on a po|l« lied surface can bo removed by applying tt metal polish lightly, always e Brain, and rubbing /' . off the polish with warm ♦ horl r>T a u er ' lriHe once more, dry, then polish. If the white marks are

■pirit stains, first apply a spirit remover in the way of the grain, wash off with warm soapy water, rinse, dry, and then polish to restore surface. Neglected metal ti'ays caa be made serviceable again like this: Firat remove the grease with brown paper. Boil in a zinc bath with one table*poonftil soda, having enough water to cover the tray. Cleanse thoroughly aa 70a would for daily use. The outside eaa be improved with aa applicatioa of dry whitening. Flower vases will be put to mere frequent use from now onwards. To remove stains from the insides of flower vases, prepare this solution: One dessertspoonful ordinary vinegar. One dessertspoonful household salt. One dessertspoonful used tea leaves. Fill up vase with cold water, and leave for at least 12 hoars. Empty the vase, wash ia the usual way and dry outside, then stand inverted on ledge or table until quite dry, before refilling with flowers. If you are bringing out wicker or cane furniture'for the summer, freshen it up this way: First remove loose dust. Wash in a solution of one dessertfpoonful of salt to one pint warm water. Rinse with cold water, then dry. Dyed wickerware or cane furniture is best cleaned with paraffin, then polished—it should not be washed first.

If you happen to be stripping a colourwashed or white-washed room for some home decorating, first remove the loose dust with a dry duster or mop. Then remove the wash with warm water and rock ammonia applied with a scrubbrush. Allow the wall to dry after rinsing in clear, warm water, and rub down the whole of the surface.with glasspaper before attempting to add a fresh paint or wash ... Warm soda water will effectively remove old and faded wallpaper if frequently soaked and scraped. Blistering' on the wall should be your sign for scraping. Always work from the ceiling downwards when removing paper. Allow the wall to dry after rinsing, and rub down with glasspaper before applying fresh paper. Grease marks on cellnlosed surfaces will remove without fuss with this simple procedure—dust, remove marks with a metal polish applied to a pad of cottonwool. Wash with a soapy solution, using leather cloth, and -work always from the base of the article, upwards. Rinse with warm water and polish with soft dusters. A sycamore surface reacts well to warm milk applied after the initial dusting. Allow it to dry, then polish with soft duster. If this is done once weekly, sycamore retains its high surface polishing.