CARE OF FLOORS

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 283, 27 August 1935, Page 4

CARE OF FLOORS

Their Appearance and

Maintenance

When the tremendous variety of methods by which the householder can deal with the floor surfaces of his home is considered, he is apt to wonder which to use to ensure the greatest possible satisfaction. Carpets, polished boards, .parquet, linoleum, tiles and rubber floor coverings all have their own peculiarities, and must be treated accordingly, says a writer in an English magazine. The requisite features of any floor covering in the home are that it should give the most satisfactory appearance and at the same t'ime the maximum of comfort, both to the housewife and to the rest of the family. It is a perfectly true saying that a good carpet, “wears clean.” The dust can be removed with a vacuum cleaner and even on a very lightcoloured carpet marks of mud and so on can be removed in the same way or with a brush. There is no need to be afraid ■of using a light carpet or rug if it is a good one. It will keep quite clean with ordinary treatment. Cleaning Carpets. While sending carpets and rags away for cleaning may not be an inexpensive matter, it is well worth while periodically even when the best of vacuum cleaners -is used. The '-fe of the carpets is prolonged, and they are refreshed in a way that is impossible when the cleaning Is done with the carpets on the floors. New carpets generally give a certain amount of trouble for a time until the fluff has been removed and the pile has settled. It is generally found that the best result can be achieved if the carpet is swept for a time with a carpet brush in addition to using a vacuum cleaner. The bristles of the brush should not be too stiff in order not to damage the pile, and the sweeping should be done the way of the pile. If a carpet is swept across the pile the dust Is driven in, and the life of the carpet is shortened. Treatment of Boards. Polished boards are a very usual means of dealing with uncarpeted space. In old bouses the boards are often wide, and have shrunk, showing large gaps. These should be filled in with plastic wood before the wood is stained. Old stain can be removed with turpentine if It is a varnish staiu. If the turpentine does not remove the stain methylated spirits should be used. The stain should be removed completely If the best results are to be achieved. Sometimes it is ne' jssary to have the boards planed to effect this, and it is certainly worth while. Three types of stain are in general use. The water dye is that which dries very slowly and without polish, it is also the most permanent. The polishing of the wood after staining cau be carried but to some extent with floor polish, but a much better surface is obtained if the old-fashioned beeswax and turpentine polish is first used. Use of Good Polish. The old varnish stains are also very reliable. These dry much more quickly than the water stains but do not penetrate quite so deeply. They dry with a good polish which should afterward be treated with floor polish regularly to give it depth and also of course for cleaning in the ordinary way. The third type is the spirit stain, a rapid drying variety which only clings to the surface and is easily rubbed off. It should never be used for much walked-on places.

The use of a good floor polish on polished boards and also on parquet once weekly, with daily dusting, should be quite sufficient to clean the wood in addition to maintaining a good surface. It is quite unnecessary and indeed often foolish to apply fresh polish daily as this simply means that a thick coating of polish adheres to the wood and collects all possible dust and dirt

In most cases this polishing will do away with the need for washing the wood. It may be necessary two or three times a year, in which case as little water as possible should be used and a little soap, but no soda. Polishing requires special attention after washing. Preserving Linoleum. Linoleum, for the most part, is best treated In the same way as polished woods. It can be washed, of course, but too frequent applications of water tend to denature the fabric, and soap and soda are harmful. When linoleum is used in kitchen or bathroom It is necessary to wash it, but a very good polish should be used afterwards to preserve it. In the ordinary way, the use of polish should keep the linoleum quite clean. Rubber floorings are exceedingly popular nowadays, and in many ways they are excellent. They are very quiet and their resilience makes standing easy. The chief difficulty is the ease with which they absorb stains, especially grease, which makes them inconvenient for use in the kitchen. They are. however, washable, without soda, of course, and can be polished with floor polish. This prevents the absorption of stains to a considerable extent. A rub over with a little linseed oil from time to time is also beneficial.

Tiles and Concrete.

Tiles, terrazzo, and concrete floorings, it is taken for granted, will be washed. The appearance is greatly improved if a little furniture cream is used after washing, and this also helps to keep the floors clean, especially in an entrance hall. Naturally where washing must sometimes be done twice or three times daily, as round the kitchen sink and cooker, there is no point in creating unnecessary labour in polishing here. It is a grave mistake to imagine that tiles or any similar form of floor surface can successfully be covered wltn linoleum or rubber; that is, completely covered. This prevents ventilation, and causes moisture to condense on the under surface, affecting the linoleum in such a way that it becomes denatured and exceedingly unpleasant in a very short time.

Short rugs may be placed in those parts of the room where they are most required, and if these are of a heavy kind they will not slip over the surface.

When laying linoleum it should be remembered that this stretches considerably during the first few weeks. It is, therefore, desirable that the final fitting should not be made for about three weeks, when it will be found necessary to trim the edges to give a perfect fitting to the walls and in the corners.