BUILDING AND HOMES

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 288, 1 September 1931, Page 6

BUILDING AND HOMES

ANNUAL OVERHAUL Time for Spring Clean SYSTEMATIC METHOD House Work “By Numbers” The next two months are generally chosen by most households for the annual overhaul, and are therefore regarded as “black” ones In the housewife’s year. Much of the discomfort and general upheaval associated with the yearly clean could be avoided, however, If the work were carefully planned and organised beforehand, and, if necessary, a certain, amount of laboursaving equipment were purchased. This article (prepared by D. D. Cattington Taylor, in “Good Housekeeping”) gives the general method of procedure for the cleaning of a small house, briefly tabulating the directions as far as possible so that they may be easily followed when the work is actually in progress. Before setting to work the cleaning equipment, polishes, etc., should be inspected, and any deficiencies made up. Nothing can be more annoying than to And the next tool required is out of order or that there is insufficient furniture cream, abrasive cleaner, or other necessary things. What To Do First. The general method of procedure should be as follows: — 1. If there are any chimneys to be swept arrange for the sweep to call early in the morning or the night before the room is to be spring-cleaned. Before he comes the cai-pets, rugs, and as much of the furniture as possible should be removed from the room and the remainder covered with dust sheets. 2. Clean the top floor of the house first and gradually work downward, finishing with the kitchen. 3. When possible dismantle, clean, and complete one room at a timeTaking each room separately, operations should be carried out on the following lines-: — 1. If a vacuum cleaner is available clean carpets, rugs, upholstery, curtains, etc., before removing from the room. ■, It might be remarked here that It is often possible to hire a cleaner for a small sum. If no cleaner is in use the carpets, etc., must either be beaten in the garden or ~ sent away to be cleaned. Pictures and Breakables. 2. Take down and dust the pictures, afterward stacking them up neatly outside the room. 3. Remove all china and glass ornaments, lighting fittings, etc., and take them to the kitchen or scullery to be washed. All brass and silver ornaments should also be removed for cleaning. 4. Remove as much as possible of the lighter furniture and place in the adjoining room or landing. 5- Clean the stove and hearth. 6. Clean the walls and ceiling, using the attachment of a vacuum cleaner if available, or if not, with a soft, clean brush, covered with an old towel or clean duster. 7. Wash the paint. 8. Clean the floors. If they are of bare boards, or linoleum, scrub with hot soapy water containing a little disinfectant. 9. Clean the windows and open wide to air the room and dry the boards. 10. —Polish mirrors, clean picture glasses, and polish frames. 11. Polish the floor surrounds or the entire floor if it is of parquet or linoleum. If the floor has been scrubbed wait until it is quite dry and then replace the cleaned carpet and other articles of furniture, including the pictures, etc. Polished furniture should have been previously cleansed by washing' with warm soapy water, or, if necessary, with a cloth dipped in turpentine and then polished with furniture cream. Task of Paint Cleaning. White and pale-coloured paint should be washed, using warm soapy water, afterwards rinsing with a cloth wrung out of fresh water and drying with a clean soft cloth. If the paint is very soiled the cloth may be rubbed with soap and dipped in a fine abrasive, such as whitening, or a little abrasive cleaner can be used for any very obstinate marks. The last-mentioned should, however,, be used judiciously, and care taken only to rub lightly, otherwise the surface of the paint is likely to be impaired and become worn in the course of time. Dark paint should also be washed with warm soapy water. Careful rinsing is essential, and it is important to avoid using any cleaning powder, as it is often very difficult to,remove it completely in the rinsing, white marks and smears appearing when the paint is dry. After cleaning, dark painted and enamelled woodwork is improved considerably by applying a little furniture cream and rubbing up well with a soft cloth. Dealing With the Floors. A floor covered with good inlaid linoleum only requires to be washed very occasionally, provided the wax polish is regularly applied, but at spring-clean-ing time floors can with advantage be scrubbed with soap and water, or, if necessary, with an abrasive powder for any particularly soiled parts. In the kitchen rust marks are apt to appear in the vicinity, of the stove. These can be removed by sprinkling a few crystals of oxalic acid immediately over the marks and then pouring boiling water On them. Oxalic acid being very poisonous, must be used and stored with great care, and all traces carefully rinsed away after use. When the linoleum is clean and dry any good make of wax polish can be applied. Immediately after washing, it is likely that the floor will/absorb more polish than usual, but when too much is used the floor is apt to become greasy and smeary in appearance, and show every footmark. Small House Equipment. The following equipment is required for the work outlined above: —Vacuum cleaner, if possible, electric or weighted polisher, long-handled scrubber (such as can be obtained for about 2/-), brushes,' dusting mops, bucket, enamel bowls, papier macho or wooden bowl for washing delicate china and glass, kneeling mat, good stock of dusters, one or two leathers, dust sheets, floor cloths, soap and soda, furniture polish, wax floor polish, metal polish or special polishing cloths or wool, silver polish, whiting, abrasive cleaner (to be used judiciously), emery paper, fine steel wool, -oxalic acid (for removing rust and ink stains), hydro-chloric acid (for removing cement marks from tiles or for cleaning sinks or brass), turpentine, linseed oil for exposed or stained woodwork. good carbolic disinfectant, and a generous supply of hot water.

(by

JACK PLANE)

MODERN BATHROOMS New Ideas in Equipment UTILITY PLUS COMFORT The practical fundamentals of every bathroom are a floor that is reasonably waterproof, and walls the surface of which are capable of withstanding steam and constant washing. In addition, where a bathroom Is being built, there are one or two further points that we may usefully bear in mind, says “Decoration.” The position or run of pipes should be planned to save these from being unsightly, and If at all possible the bathroom should be arranged with cupboards immediately adjoining, in which the pipes can be run, and in which access doors to traps and stop-valves can be provided. A hot towel rail is so convenient a luxury that we may ease our conscience by calling it a necessity. Wherever possible it should have a permanent air-vent discharging over the main supply tank, or towel-rails may sometimes tend to diminish their efficiency through the collection of air discharged from the heated water. Problem of Condensation. A common bathroom trouble is condensation. Far the easiest way to deal With it is by adequately heating the bathroom, which in these days of innumerable small heaters and radiator installations, makes this problem a simple one of solution for almost any outlay we care to earmark for the purpose. On the other hand, we can lessen the condensation difficulty by having an absorbent ceiling or by discharging the water into the bath through a mixing valve, either above, cr preferably below, the water level. The modern practice of sinking the bath below the floor level is certainly very attractive, but it usually requires the raising of the bathroom floor or the lowering of the ceiling below, points which add materially to building costs. . . . Floors should be as near jointless as possible, or should be laid on an impervious sub-floor. The cheapest and one of the best materials for this purpose is undoubtedly cork carpet. Rubber makes an impervious floor covering, which can usually be made up in one piece to fit the floor, and is obtainable in a variety of bright colours. Vitreous tiles are also used for floors, especially where the walls are lined with the same material. Those who can afford a marble floor and walls are generally also able to afford to warm the floor itself from the underside. Paint, Tiles, and Glass.

For the walls, white or coloured glazed tiles may be chosen, or paint may be applied to the back of plate glass, or we may use some of the patent wall linings now on the market. Plate glass and other linings of a similar character need careful fixing to perfectly true backings to make them serviceable in wear.

Delighftul colour schemes of the utmost brilliance are possible with plate glass. A good enamel paint, on the other hand, can be as effective, if not as permanent, as a marble-lined wall. Much consideration will in future be given, however, to the new washable wallpapers—that really are washable.’ In the past the so-called bathroom sanitary papers were presented in a dreary series of mosaic or pallid tiled effects, too commonplace for appeal for good-class houses. To-day this is most certainly not the case, and for economical work as well as attractive designs they can compete favourably with any other treatments. > The usual alternatives for taps and traps are chromium plating, stainless steel, or white metal. Glass, either clear or coloured mirror, is increasingly used for shelves and kindred details.” TORNADO’S EFFECT Birmingham Observations WALLS WHICH FELL OUT The tornado which, accompanied by a violent thunderstorm, swept over Birmingham during the afternoon of June 14 was probably the strongest which has ever occurred in Britain. It completely wrecked about one hundred buildings—houses and shops—and many other buildings suffered more or less serious damage. In addition a large number of trees were uprooted. The area affected was an arc of a circle about ten miles long and a mile wide, but the greatest effect was felt over an area of about one square mile in the Small Heath and Sparkhill districts, states “The Illustrated Carpenter and Builder.” In this small area nearly one hundred houses and shops were completely wrecked, so that entire rebuilding is necessary, and many more received severe damage. Collapsed Outward. Most of the buildings seem to have collapsed outward, and it is supposed to be characteristic of a tornado that the greatest damage is done by a sudden cessation of the wind, or by a sudden change of direction, and the consequent reduction of pressure on the exterior walls causes the walls to collapse outward under the violent reaction. No exact figures of wind speed and pressure were recorded in the area where the full force of the tornado was felt, but. it is probable that the wind exceeded hurricane force—SO to 100 miles an hour. On this assumption the wind impulse would be some 301 b a square foot. The wrecked buildings appear to be between 25 and 40 years old. The brickwork of most is of pressed red facings and common bricks of a hard, sound type, and the bonding of most is orthodox Flemish, while some are of Old English bond —the strongest bond used. Thick, Olil-fashioiietl Walls. Nearly all the exterior walls were 91n. thick, though some were 14in. below the ground floor. The bricks had /been laid in ordinary lime mortar, and investigators saw no collapsed brickwork which had been put together in cement mortar. The mortar in'most cases was in a weak condition, but it is doubtful if cement mortar would have prevented most of the collapses. Brickwork in cement would probably have collapsed in large slabs, the walls overturning near the base* But it is also likely that cement mortar would have saved some buildings which were wrecked by lacking a small margin of resistance. Roofs were in some cases wrecked while the walls were but slightly damaged. In most cases the wind seeni'to have lifted the roof bodily and carried it some distance. Many windows were blown in where the building was otherwise unaffected.

INDOORS AND OUT The use of wood pulp boxes for the export of New Zealand butter has several champions. The views of Mr. A. Hanson, managing director of a North Auckland dairy company, are published in the latest Issue of “The Timber Growers’ Review.” He says that the best New Zealand white pine box costs 1/5, whereas the wood pulp container can be landed for lid. Mr. Hanson says that In quantity manufacture this price might be reduced to Bd, and that a saving of 9d a box would mean £142,500 annually to the dairy industry of the Dominion. Open drains can be kept fresh and free from unpleasant smells with a device by which liquid disinfectant is supplied constantly. Take a tin, preferably with a lid to keep out dust and to prevent excessive evaporation, and make a hole in the bottom with a fairly stout nail. Through this thread a piece of flannel or a cotton wick. The tin should be fixed above the drain, and the liquid will drip constantly, but not too quickly, through the wick. If a lid is used, a small airhole must be punched In it. It is also wise to renew the wick frequently as it sometimes becomes clogged with dust. * • * Construction work on the nurses’ home at the Cashmere Sanatorium is almost finished, but as the furnishing is not yet completed, it is improbable that the building will be officially opened before the middle of August. The new building is of three stories, and has been joined to the existing nurses’ home; the "job was started last November, but It was necessary to remove the porters’ lodge before the actual construction work could be gone on with. The site wp.s originally a fairly steep hillside, and a great amount of excavating work had to be done before the foundations could be laid. A big concrete retaining wall was built along the road frontage, and the earth from the banks at the back of the building was thrown against it to produce an area level enough to proceed with the foundations. The greatest difficulty was experienced in getting the material to lie site, and electric winches had to be used to raise it from the road. • '

Open drains can be kept fresh and free frmo unpleasant smells with a device by which liquid disinfectant is supplied constantly. Take a tin, perferably with a lid- to keep out dust and to prevent excessive evaporation, and make a hole in the bottom with a fairly stout nail. Through this thread a piece of flannel or a cotton wick. The tin should be fixed above the drain, and the liquid will drip constantly, but not too quickly, through the prick. If a lid is used a small airhole must be punched in it It is also wise to renew the wick frequently,. as it sometimes becomes clogged with' dust SUMMARY OF TENDERS CLOSING DURING THE PERIOD SEPTEMBER 1 TO SEPTEMBER 15. Public Works Tenders Hoard, Wellington.—Tenders for supply and delivery of tunnel timber for Tawa Flat Close 4 p.m., September 1. Borough of Napier.—-Tenders for the construction of about 2 miles of sewers in Napier South; also construction of about 1J miles of sewers, Wellesley Road, Napier. Close 4 p.m., September 8. Public Works Tenders Board. —Tenders for the supply of silver pine telephone poles. Close 4 p.m., September 15.

PAINTING LINOLEUM Simple, Effective Process If it is desired to paint, enamel or lacquer linoleum as a first coat brush on a thin application of shellac polish, either clear or orange, as the case de- , mands. It is not generally known that worn or shabby linoleum may be stained and varnished in the same manner as applied to a wood floor. Dark shades are used, for obvious reasons. Oil stains mixed with gold size as a binder and drier must be used after first cleaning off all wax and grease. In conclusion, and to help those who may want to remove old varnish, paints, enamel or lacquer from linoleums. The best solvent for such a job is benzol, procurable at almost any car service station. Warning! Remember that benzol will also remove the pattern from printed floor coverings ! Generally it will hardly be necessary to do more than remove wax or clean up the old surface of its grime, and if it is very glossy rub down with glasspaper to leave a key for the new coat. ' To clean grimy linoleum that has had years of wax polishing, and. the pattern of which is obscured and discoloured, a good hard scrubbing with benzine is permissible. Benzine evaporates so quickly that it has no time to penetrate the material, as happens with caustic saturated solutions.

QUESTIONS ANSWERED [Questions and opinions on building and home decoration problems fire welcomed ,in these columns. Correspondents should address their letters to' “Jack Plaiie,” care of "The Dominion.” Inquiries will not be answered by letter.] ANXIOUS asks how hot-iron marlts can be removed from a highly-polished oak table. Though aware of various wrinkles of the hints-to-housewives variety. _ “Jack Plane” would not care to recommend anything save resurfacing 1 by an expert. Particularly does this apply if the table happens to be French polished. Possibly, however, some reader has had success with a home-made recipe, and can supply it to “Anxious.”