Care of furniture

Ladies' Mirror, Volume V, Issue 2, 2 August 1926, Page 66

Care of furniture

A Ithough it is a mistake to imaa jL gine that the entire care of furniture begins with the daily dusting and ends with the weekly or fortnightly polishing, both of these tasks are undoubtedly of the utmost importance, and will be fully discussed in this article. It must be admitted that the care bestowed upon even these two comparatively simple processes is often not all that it might be, especially if the work is left, as is so often the case, to a young and inexperienced maid. It is a thousand pities to let the furniture get into a bad state of repair, as there is little in the home that so well repays one for careful attention. It is a great mistake to economise in dusters, suitable polishes, and still

more in elbow grease. The daily dusting demands a good supply of clean, soft dusters, which should be chosen carefully, for there is nothing more annoying than to attempt dusting with a piece of harsh material that resolutely refuses to gather up the dust. Good flannelette makes an excellent soft duster, while the Institute has lately come across some particularly satisfactory polishers, made of material of a "velvety" nature with a soft Huffy surface. These leave no fluff behind, however, and they wash well. Many people advocate a slightly oily duster, and this certainly helps towards "dustless" dusting and thus tends to minimise the amount of dust set free into the atmosphere. The disadvantage of the method, however, is that if more than the merest trace of oil is used, dust is apt to settle on. and cling to, the furniture afterwards. This is particularly true of carved furniture. Dusting gloves made of cotton, well covered with long looped ends resembling a dusting mop, are obtainable. These arc specially suitable for dusting by this method, as one side may be rendered very slightly oily.

and the other left untreated and therefore useful for rubbing off any surplus oil left on the surface of the furniture. As an alternative we advocate the use of a prepared "dustless" duster, chemically treated, so that dust does not readily shake off. knows that dusting soils i - / one's hands to an even greater extent than many other duties, for the fine dust clings to the hands. Provided the gloves described above are washed frequently, so that the dust does not actually penetrate them, they will be found a great help in keeping the hands free from soil. In passing brief mention must also be made of the attachments of a

good vacuum cleaner, which can he used with great success for dusting the tops of bookcases, cupboards and other more or less inaccessible places. It is a mistake not to make full use of a cleaner for this purpose, for hand dusting or brushing so often merely means that the dust is raised, only to settle in some other part of the room. In addition to careful daily dusting, regular cleaning and polishingarc essential for keeping polished furniture in really good condition. The choice of a good polish is an important consideration in this connection. There are many excellent prepared ones on the market, which prove a convenience to the busy housewife who has little time for preparing them at home; but it is a much economy can be effected by common mistake to imagine that making furniture and other polishes in the home. The majority contain a basis of wax—cither beeswax or white wax—thinned down with turpentine or other solvent, so that the wax is evenly and thinly distributed when the polish is used. Various other substances arc also added, do-

signed either to aid the cleansing, or, in some cases, the polishing of the wood. The following recipes are given for the benefit of those desiring to make up their own polishes. The first one is a particularly excellent example of a furniture cream.

TT'urniture Cream.2ioz. beeswax, a good half-pint turpentine, as much soft soap as will lie on a shilling, as much potassium carbonate as will lie on a penny, a small halfpint of warm water.

The beeswax should be dissolved in the turpentine in the same way as for making "beeswax and turpentine," i.e., by shredding the wax and adding it to the turpentine in a jar, then allowing the mixture to stand in a pan of hot water until all the wax has dissolved. Care should be taken to ensure that there is no naked light near, as turpentine is very inflammable, and serious fires have frequently occurred as a result of leaving beeswax and turpentine on the kitchen range or gas stove. The soft soap and potassium carbonate should be well mixed together and the warm water added to dissolve them. The mixture of soft soap, potassium carbonate and water should then be added to the beeswax and turpentine whilst stirringwell. This cream will be found particularly satisfactory, for the proportions have been very carefully worked out by an expert. It is well known that a mixture of beeswax and turpentine alone is apt to result in a polished surface which is liable to show greasy and smeary marks, unless very little is used and it is rubbed off particularly well. It will lie found, however, that the soap and carbonate contained in this cream prevent any tendency to stickness and also have a slight cleansing action on the surface. It might be mentioned here that potassium carbonate may be procured at any chemist's shop. It is a very similar substance to sodium carbonate or ordinary washing soda. It was found, from tests, however, that the cream made with soda tended to separate into two layers and was therefore not satisfactory. T iquid Polish. —An excellent pol- -*- j/ ish is obtained with the following ingredients 1 gill turpentine, 1 gill linseed oil, i gill methylated spirits, i gill vinegar. The liquids should be mixed together, and the polish well shaken before use. A soft rag should be used for applying furniture polishes, which should only be used sparingly, the wood being polished afterwards with a soft cotton cloth. An old silk handkerchief or a soft dry leather is ideal for the final polishing. A soft brush is useful both for the dusting and polishing of carved woodwork, the interstices of which are often difficult to get at satisfactorily with a cloth.

Many people seem to imagine that water should never be used for highly polished wood. This is quite a

mistaken idea, however, for furniture which has suffered from the too lavish use of polish, and has become smeary in consequence, is greatly improved by washing with soap and water. It should then be well rinsed, and dried with a soft cloth before polishing. Vinegar and water are sometimes advised, but it has been found that this mixture has no advantage over ordinary soap and water.

More drastic methods are sometimes necessary in the case of sec-ond-hand furniture, which is frequently purchased in a very soiled and dirty condition. If soap and water do not prove satisfactory, the furniture should be well rubbed with a cloth dipped in turpentine, and if this also is unsuccessful, it should be washed with warm soda water. The latter should not be used unless simpler methods fail, and, if used, should be rinsed off very carefully. After washing and drying, the furniture should, of course, be well polished.

In addition to the routine cleaning and polishing, a very common trouble, that many do not know how to remedy, is the appearance of whitish marks formed as a result of placing hot jugs, etc., on a polished surface. If these have not penetrated below the surface polish, they can be removed very readily by treatment with a little methylated spirits. Great care is needed in applying this, as too much will remove the polish, and the remedy is then likely to be worse than the original damage.

The correct method of application is to pour one or two drops on to a small piece of cotton-wool, squeezing it well to work it into the wool, and then covering the cotton-wool with a piece of folded muslin, thus making a pad. The mark should then be well rubbed, working round and round it. This treatment will spread the stain and polish from the undamaged portion, and thus the whole surface surrounding the mark will be coloured evenly. A few seconds' hard rubbing will remove the mark in practically every case, and the surface then only requires to be polished. It must be emphasised, however, that on no account should the methylated spirits be poured directly on to the wood, for this would immediately remove the French polish or varnish as the case may be.

It is the spirit contained in scents and perfumes that is often responsible for damaging the polished surface of a dressing-table. Little other than repolishing can be done to remedy large marks caused by scent. If they are comparatively small, however, it is often possible to spread the stain from the adjacent undamaged part by the same method as described above.

It might be pointed out here that plate gass is invaluable for the tops of dressing-tables, and a sheet cut to fit the top makes the spilling of a few drops of scent, or a similar accident, a very trivial affair.