Hoiiseliold CIcaniuo; 



215 



the areas of two houses, and being thus in 

 ■close vicinity to the windows, cannot be 

 suffered to remain long unemptied without 

 •considerable inconvenience, especially in the 

 warm seasons of the year, when the fermen- 

 tation, both of the vegetable and animal sub- 

 stances, produce noxious exhalations. On 

 this account, it should be a rule not to throw 

 any animal or vegetable substances into the 

 dust-hole, but to dispose of them other- 

 wise. 



In London, parochial arrangements are 

 established for clearing away from every 

 house all its refuse, at short intervals. 



The men employed in this business are not 

 entitled to any direct remuneration from the 

 inhabitants, their services being paid for by 

 the contractors who employ them. But they 

 often refuse to remove any unusual degree of 

 rubbish in the dust-hole without being paid 

 for it. It is well to know that they have no 

 right to this, and a redress may be had by 

 applying to the contractor himself 



IV. CLEANING WINDOWS. 



A correspondent of the " Builder" says : — 

 In large towns it is usual to employ glaziers 

 to clean the windows ; and they being used 

 to the business, do it most effectually and 

 expeditiously : the mode is, first to dust them 

 with putty-powder (sold at the oil shops under 

 that name), enclosed in a linen bag, after- 

 wards rubbing it off with two wash leathers, 

 one a little damp and the other perfectly dry : 

 a sponge and cold soap and water some em- 

 ploy; but the panes, if wetted, are seldom so 



thoroughly and immediately dried as not to 

 catch the dust again almost as soon as it has 

 been cleaned off 



To clean windows expeditiously two per- 

 sons should be employed, one within the 

 room, the other on the outside the window, 

 the latter standing securely on the glazier's 

 machine, unless the sashes are double hung, 

 in which case the upper windows may be 

 cleaned while the outside person merely sits 

 on the sill, his legs being within the room, 

 and his back to the street ; but this is a 

 dangerous practice for any one to attempt 

 except a professed glazier. 



Uncleaned windows give a dismal and 

 untidy appearance to a house. 



When the cleaning of windows is to be 

 paid for each time, there may be considera- 

 tions of economy to be attended to, which 

 may prevent its being done as frequently as 

 would be otherwise agreeable and desirable. 

 Where no such reasons determine the periods 

 of cleaning windows, it should be done in 

 most of the rooms once in a fortnight. Where 

 men-servants are kept, and great attention to 

 appearance paid, sitting rooms should have 

 their windows cleaned once a w^eek, and even 

 more frequendy in rainy weather. Those who 

 have to pay a glazier each time, who gene- 

 rally charges 6d. each window, if he clean 

 both inside and out, content themselves with 

 having it done once in three months, trusting 

 to their housemaid to keep them in tolerable 

 condition, which she may easily do by fre- 

 quently cleaning the inside of the pane. 



