CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



about three gills of ox-gall. Take another pail 

 with clean cold water only. Now rub with a soft 

 scrubbing-brush some of the ox-gall water on the 

 carpet, which will raise a lather. When a con-i 

 venient-sized portion is done, wash the lather off 

 with a clean linen cloth dipped in the clean water. 

 Let this water be changed frequently. When all 

 the lather has disappeared, rub the part with a 

 clean dry cloth. After all is done, open the 

 window, to allow the carpet to dry. A carpet 

 treated in this manner will be greatly refreshed in 

 colour, particularly the greens. It is very advis- 

 able, in laying down carpets at first, to cover the 

 floor beneath them especially if an old floor 

 with large sheets of paper, so as to prevent dust 

 from rising between the boards. A carpet lasts 

 longer by adopting this precaution. 



Oil-cloths. Oil or painted cloths should be 

 laid only on dry floors ; if the floor be in the least 

 degree damp, the cloth will soon mildew and rot. 

 Such cloths, laid even in the driest situation, 

 should be wetted as little as possible. When to 

 be cleaned, they should be wiped with a wet 

 cloth, and rubbed gently till dry. The rubber 

 should be frequently shaken, to free it from sand 

 or gritty particles, which irrecoverably injure the 

 lustre or varnish of the cloth. 



Marble Hearths and Chimney-pieces may be 

 cleaned as follows : Dissolve four ounces of pearl- 

 ash in a pint of water ; then slake two ounces of 

 freshly burnt lime, and form it into milk by the 

 addition of another pint of water ; mix the two 

 together, and shake at intervals for a few hours. 

 Next pour off the clear liquor (which is now a solu- 

 tion of caustic potass), and add to it four ounces 

 of fine whiting. This should be well rubbed 

 over the surface to be cleaned, and left on for 

 twelve hours. It should then be washed off with 

 soap and water, and a final polish given with a 

 soft cloth. Under no circumstances should acid 

 of any kind be applied to marble. 



Walls of Houses. The outer surfaces of walls 

 formed of brick or sandstone sometimes imbibe 

 moisture from the atmosphere, and this gives a 

 dampness to the interior. If it be found unsuit- 

 able to plaster or rough-cast, the intrusion of 

 damp may be greatly prevented by painting 

 the walls with a single coat of oil-paint, which, 

 by being light in colour, will give a neat and 

 clean effect. An ashlar or hewn front may be 

 well preserved by a coating of hot linseed-oil, 

 mixed with a small proportion of colour, so as to 

 preserve the natural hue of the stone. For further 

 information on the subject of wall-plasters, cements, 

 and stuccoes, the reader is referred to Vol. I., p. 

 365- 



Walls of Rooms. When walls of rooms or stair- 

 cases are to be painted in oil, let the paint be 

 of the best description. It is not unusual for 

 inferior tradesmen to use whiting instead of white- 

 lead as a pigment ; by this deception the paint 

 will afterwards scarcely endure washing. Sup- 

 posing, however, that the paint has been of the 

 best kind, considerable care will be required in 

 cleaning it. The safest and most simple plan is, 

 to take a pail of hot water, and put into it as much 

 common yellow or soft soap as will raise a lather 

 or froth. Now wash the walls well with a flannel 

 cloth dipped in -this water ; then wash this soapy 

 water off with clean flannel and clean warm water. 

 Dry with a clean linen cloth. Do all this equally, 



. 788 



so as not to leave smears, or parts better washed 

 or wiped than others. If soda or potash be added 

 to the water, it destroys the varnish or gloss of 

 the oil-paint, and gives it the appearance of flat- 

 painting, or painting in distemper. 



Paper-hanging should be first dusted, and then 

 gently rubbed with the smoothly cut crumb surface 

 of a stale loaf of bread ; the dirty face of the bread 

 being cut away from time to time. The imita- 

 tive marble- paper, highly varnished, may be 

 washed with cold water and soap. Papier-mache" r 

 now much used for mouldings and ornaments in 

 rooms, may be cleaned with soap and water. 



Ivory may be restored to its original whiteness 

 by cleaning it with a paste of burnt pumice-stone 

 and water, and then placing it under glasses in 

 the sun's rays. Some attempt the use of diluted 

 acids, but this .requires extreme caution and 

 expertness. 



Windows and Mirrors. Moisten a soft linen 

 rag with a mixture of very fine whiting and water r 

 or spirit of wine, rub it well over the glass, and 

 polish with a dry soft cloth. Much care is required 

 in this operation, as the polish on plate-glass is 

 easily injured. 



Brass arid Copper are best cleaned with sweet-oil 

 and tripoli, powdered Bath-brick or rotten-stone, 

 rubbed on with flannel, and polished with leather. 

 A strong solution of oxalic acid in water gives 

 brass a fine colour. Vitriol and spirit of salts 

 soon make brass and copper very bright, but they 

 very soon tarnish, and consequently require more 

 frequent cleaning. 



Grates and Stoves are cleaned with black-lead 

 mixed with turpentine, or with stale beer and soap, 

 and polished off. The finer lead is used dry, 

 in lump or powder. The bronzed work of stoves 

 should be only lightly brushed. Rotten-stone, or 

 fine emery and sweet-oil, is used for the bright work 

 of stoves, grates, and polished fire-irons ; the higher 

 the latter are polished, the less likely are they to 

 rust. To prevent rust in articles not often used, 

 rub them with sweet-oil, and dust over them fine 

 lime ; or with the following mixture : To a quart 

 of cold water add half a pound of quicklime ; let 

 it stand until the top' is clear, then pour off the 

 liquid, and stir up with it some olive-oil, until it 

 becomes of a pasty consistence, when it should be 

 rubbed on the metal articles to be preserved. To 

 fill cracks in stove-backs, make a paste of wood- 

 ashes, salt, and water. To remove rust, mix trip- 

 oli, sulphur, and sweet-oil, and clean the articles 

 with it ; or mix boiled soft soap with emery No. 

 3, which will also discharge the fire-marks from 

 bright bars. Polished fire-irons may be best pre- 

 served from rust by being closely wrapped up in 

 strong brown paper. 



Kitchen-vessels. -The crust on boilers andkettles, 

 arising from the hard water boiled in them, may be 

 prevented by keeping in the vessel a marble. Tin- 

 plate vessels are cleanly and convenient, but un- 

 less dried after washing, will soon rust in holes. 

 Iron coal-scoops are liable to rust from the damp 

 of the coals. The tinning of copper sauce-pans 

 must be kept perfectly clean and dry, in which case 

 they may be used with safety. Copper pans, if 

 put away damp, or a boiling-copper, if left wet, 

 will become coated with poisonous crust, or ver- 

 digris. Untinned copper or brass vessels, even 

 if scoured bright and clean, are always dangerous. 

 If made dishes be allowed to cool and stand for 



