How To Sweep A Cemented Cellar

Open the windows, shut the dampers in the heat-pipes of the furnace, and close the registers in all the rooms above. Sprinkle the floor plentifully with a watering-pot; then sweep with a stiff broom. Let the dust settle for an hour; then sweep down the walls, brush off the dust from the furnace-pipes and from any shelves there may be, and sweep the floor again with a long-handled soft brush. In winter, as there is much dust from the furnace, the cellar should be swept once in two weeks, at least; in summer, not so frequently.

How To Take Care Of Inlaid Floors And Hard-Wood Staircases

(Of black walnut, ash, birch, etc.)

They must not be oiled often, because it gives them a greasy appearance. When entirely new, they should be oiled once in two or three months. Be careful to use the oil sparingly, as the wood will not look so well if you apply it too freely. Procure it of a house-painter. A quart bottle will last some time. Put it on with a brush, and rub it in with a soft cloth as you proceed. During the interval after oiling, wash the floors and stairs every week or two with hot water having a little soft soap in it, and wiping dry with old flannel, or soft, thick cotton. Some persons wash such floors occasionally with skimmed milk and water. After the first year, oil them not oftener than once or twice a year; but they should be washed as above directed every week. Sweep them with a long-handled soft brush.

How To Cleanse Piano-Keys

Bub them with a little alcohol applied with a soft rag.

How To Polish Unvarnished Mahogany Furniture

First take out ink stains, if there are any, by touching them with spirits of salt. Do it with a sponge tied upon the end of a stick; then wash the spots instantly with vinegar, and make the whole surface to be polished, clean with it. Then rub on the following preparation with a woollen cloth: -

Melt together in an earthen pot two ounces of beeswax, and half an ounce of alconet root; then take it from the fire and add two ounces of spirits of wine, and half a pint of spirits of turpentine. Polish with a soft silk cloth.

Care Of Bedsteads

Bedsteads should be carefully examined often. Two or three bugs will soon multiply, and make a great deal of trouble. Bedsteads should be taken down spring and autumn. If there is reason to suppose they are infested, spread an old sheet on the floor under the bedstead, so that, if any bugs fall off, they will be quickly seen. Have ready a stick with a soft rag tied on the end, and a cup or dish containing kerosene or benzine. Apply this to every bug and to the joints of the bedstead, and see that every crack and every possible hiding-place is wet with it. If you prefer to use bug-poison, every apothecary can furnish it.

How To Clean Paper Hangings

Put a clean soft bag, or an old pillow-case over a new broom, and gently brush the dust from the paper; then take crusts of stale bakers' bread, and wipe it down lightly, beginning at the top. If you rub it, the dirt will adhere to the paper. After thus brushing all around the upper part of the walls with the bread, begin just above where you left off, and go round again. Do thus until you have finished the paper. The dust and crumbs will fall together. Whenever a room is cleaned it is a good way, before the paint and windows are washed, to wipe the paper with a covered broom as above directed.