The small yards in city houses are not the proper places for cleaning carpets, as the dust rises and enters all the surrounding houses. There is in some cities a law against beating carpets in such narrow quarters.
Sweeping and Dusting.
When the carpet and linings have been removed from the room, sprinkle the floor with either moistened sawdust, fine sand, or bits of damp paper; then sweep up the dust. Go over the floor a second time. Brush the ceiling and walls of the room and closets, being careful to get every crack free from dust. Clean, with a small brush, the tops of the doors and windows, the window sashes, the ledges and blinds, and all the grooves in the woodwork. For the walls and ceiling use a broom covered with Canton flannel, or any old flannel. Let the strokes on the walls be straight downward. If there be a fireplace in the room spread thick papers on the hearth and clean both the grate and fireplace. Take the bedstead apart and lay each piece on the floor, grooved side up. Be careful that there is not a particle of dust left in it. Pour naphtha into every groove. Be generous, for it is not expensive and will hurt nothing. Have near by a bowl of naphtha, into which dip the ends of the slats. If there have been any indications of insect life in the bed or room, spray all the cracks in the floor, walls, and woodwork. Now sweep the floor for the third time and wash it with hot diluted lime water, which is made by pouring four quarts of boiling water upon one quart of quicklime, and letting the mixture stand covered for several hours; then pouring into another pail the clear water. Put one quart of this water to two gallons of hot. The boards will be made whiter and sweeter by the use of the lime water.
Washing Painted Surfaces.
Next wash the paint. If it be white do not use ordinary soap. Wring a flannel cloth out of hot water and dip it lightly in whiting. Rub with this, and then wash off all the whiting; next wipe with the cloth wrung out of hot water, and finally rub with a dry flannel until the surface is perfectly dry. Have a pointed stick for all the grooves and corners. If the woodwork be grooved a great deal, as is now the fashion, a small scrubbing brush, such as is sold for cleaning kitchen boards, will be found helpful, as a few strokes the length of a long grooved panel will clean it perfectly. If soap be preferred to whiting, use the white castile, as this will not turn the paint yellow, nor will it soften it, as is apt to be the case with soaps in which the alkali is strong. Now wash the blinds, then the window casings and ledges, and finally the glass of the windows.
When cleaning paint it is well not to have the cloth so wet that the water will run on the paint, as it will leave streaks. Wash only a small place at a time. Wash the blinds with clear water. When you come to the window ledges do not use so much water that it will run down on the outside of the house, marring the appearance of the walls. Always rub with the grain of the wood.
Take the covers from the furniture, and dust again, washing the mirror in the dressing-case. Clean and polish the furniture.
Laying the Carpet.
Lay the carpet linings on the floor, putting a small tack here and there to keep them in place. Put the carpet on the floor, unrolling it in the direction in which it is to be laid. Begin to tack it at the end of the room which is the most irregular. If there be a fireplace or bay-window in the room, fit the carpet around these places first. Use large tacks to hold the carpet temporarily in place; they can be withdrawn when the work is finished. When the carpet is fitted to a place, use small tacks to keep it down. Tack one end of the carpet, stretching it well; then a side, then the other end, and finally the other side. Be careful to keep the lines straight, and to have the carpet fit tightly; for if it be loose, it will not only look bad, but will not wear well.
When the carpet is laid, pour a little naphtha on any soiled places, and rub with a piece of flannel until the spots disappear. Always have a window open at such times, to allow the gas to escape. Put about six quarts of warm water in a pail and add four tablespoonfuls of household ammonia. Wring a woollen cloth out of this, and wipe the carpet.