II
INSIDE A ROOM
As to Floors—Scrubbing: Sweep clean, take out grease spots and smudges (see section Spots and Stains). Have a light knee pad, clean brush, a bucket of warm water with a clean, soft cloth in it, and plenty of either sand soap or a good soap powder at hand. Scrub well with a wet brush, putting soap or powder before it. Do not slop—too much water swells boards and warps them. Scrub a strip, rinse with a cloth moderately wet, then wipe with the cloth wrung as dry as possible. Wiping thus quickly takes up the wet dirt clean. Work from each side toward the center, finishing at the door. Never use a wiping-cloth after it sheds lint.
Staining: Sweep twice—the last time with a damp cloth pinned over your broom. Give new boards a coat of filler (see section Renovators). Let it dry, sandpaper rough spots, then give one or two coats of oil stain, using a soft brush and working with the grain of the wood. Keep both filler and stain well stirred while applying, otherwise neither filling nor color will be even. Finish with shellac.
Shellac Floors: Sweep, dust with a cloth-wrapped broom, moving it the way of the grain. Fill any cracks or crevices; then give a coat of filler, and when it is full dry two coats of shellac. Let the first coat dry for twenty-four hours before adding the second.
Waxing Hardwood Floors: Sweep and dust, rub rough spots with sandpaper, take out spots or smears—if faded spaces are left, rub them with sandpaper till a new surface appears, or touch with stain, and let dry. Go over in long strips, working from opposite sides with whatever wax you like, then rub until hot with a wooden floor pad (see section Equipment). A coat of very thin shellac makes cleaning easier, but does not rub to so handsome a surface. Put on the shellac after the wax has stood a day.
Removing Stain or Varnish: Use very strong lye, either from wood ashes or commercial potash, with a lump of washing-soda in it. Grease the hands well, so the caustic liquor may not eat them. Apply with a big sponge or coarse soft cloth, following with a damp cloth wrung hard out of warm water.
Removing Paint: Metallic paint whose bases are white lead, zinc white, and oxides of chromium, iron, and copper mixed in oil hardens to a very adherent surface, hence differs from water colors, and has to be either burned off with a special torch or planed off. Both processes demand skilled workmen. It is better to bring old paint to a taking surface by wetting it first very well with turpentine, then, after an hour, going over it with wood alcohol and a thick, crumpled cloth. Follow the alcohol by washing with lye or strong soda water. Let dry, sandpaper rough places, then put on new paint—which it will be the part of wisdom to have at least as dark as the old.
Filling Cracks: Cracks large or small must be filled before either painting or staining, knotholes likewise. If a crack can be seen through either, fit into it a sliver of wood before filling, or drive in fine brads, leaving the heads projecting across the opening. Bend the heads below floor level, and set the brads alternately, several inches apart. Make putty or paper dough (see section Renovators). Fill small to medium cracks with putty mixed soft enough to squeeze through a paper tube. Make the tube by rolling cornerwise a square of tough waterproof paper, fastening it, and snipping off the pointed end a very little. Use the same as a pastry bag. Else roll lumps of putty between the palms to form rather fat worms, lay the worms end to end along the crack, press them down with a putty knife, or any blunt, broad-bladed one, making the surface smooth and level. If the putty is very soft, sift a little dry whiting upon it and press it lightly. Put in paper dough with a knife or a blunt chisel or screw-driver; smooth the surface by laying on a board and beating it with a hammer. If the dough smears under the hammering, scrape away before it hardens. Plug knotholes with the dough, then drive brads through it, bend down the heads, and put a thin layer over them.
Cleaning Waxed Hardwood: Dust daily with a soft old silk duster, sweep with a soft broom in a clean bag once a week, following by hard rubbing with the weighted brush. Every three months go over with a flannel wet in turpentine, working very quickly, and following with a very little boiled linseed oil, applied with a clean, hot cloth. Once a year—not oftener—wash clean with weak warm borax soapsuds, wetting only a yard or so at a time and wiping dry immediately. Wax or oil afresh after the washing, and rub till very hot with a clean pad.