134 
House & Garden 
A new development in linoleum is the rug, to be used for certain 
portions of the room that get the hardest wear. They come in all 
sizes and many attractive designs 
What You Should Know About Linoleum 
(Continued from page 76) 
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ESTABLISHED I858 
more resiliency and keeps the linoleum 
in better condition. In particular it 
acts like a cushion, deadens sound, 
makes the room warmer in winter and 
increases the life of the linoleum. 
When properly pasted to the felt the 
linoleum will not expand or contract, as 
the felt takes up the uncertainties in 
the warping and contracting of wood 
and cement floors. In addition lino¬ 
leum can be removed more easily with 
less damage to it and the floor if laid 
over felt. In laying, the linoleum should 
be stretched on and the cracks cemented 
together. The materials necessary for 
laying over felt are paste, waterproof 
cement, brushes, a linoleum knife and 
roller and base bricks or sand bags to 
weigh down the seams and edges. For 
if the edges do not absolutely meet at 
the seams, the floor will be a failure. 
Whenever possible with linoleum and 
linotile it should be curved up at the 
edges where the floor intersects with the 
base of the wall. 
Another point to be considered when 
purchasing linoleum is the temperature. 
If cold, do not unroll the linoleum for 
forty-eight hours. Simply cut the string, 
loosen the roll a little and give it time 
to get acclimated. 
A successful floor covering should be 
one that is comfortable to walk on, 
easily kept clean, a fire retardent when 
possible, and light enough in weight 
not to need special building construc¬ 
tion. In addition to these qualities li¬ 
noleum is non-splintery, durable, noise¬ 
less, odorless and impervious to changes 
in temperature. Furthermore, linoleum 
today is made in such pleasing designs 
and colors as make it suitable to living 
rooms, playrooms, bedrooms, sunrooms 
and hallways as well as kitchens. In 
such plain colors as gray, brown, ma¬ 
roon and deep blue, it makes a good 
background for rugs and can be made 
to harmonize with practically any col¬ 
or scheme. In addition it is often 
waxed, which besides preserving the li¬ 
noleum gives it a more formal appear¬ 
ance. 
Linoleum can be used for other 
things than floor covering. Owing to 
its depth and thickness many artists 
are now using it in place of wood 
blocks to print from. Special tools are 
made to cut the design into the lino¬ 
leum and the peculiar composition of 
this fabric gives the print the soft fin¬ 
ish so much desired. 
I see no reason why linoleum should 
not be used to line large boxes and 
closets as it would keep a closet damp 
proof and in addition would also be a 
fire retardent. For chair seats, table 
tops and pot stands it cannot be ex¬ 
celled in utility and it would make 
durable and damp proof boxes for talk¬ 
ing machine and player piano records. 
A new development in linoleum is the 
rug, the small piece of linoleum well 
finished and decorated, to be used for 
certain portions of the room that get 
the hardest wear. These rugs have all 
the qualities of the stationary linoleum 
but have the added comfort of being 
movable. 
With proper care even the printed 
linoleum will last a long while. It is 
not affected by the usual kitchen drip¬ 
pings or food marks. In washing, it 
is well to avoid strong soaps and pow¬ 
ders and only a small portion of the 
floor should be washed at a time. Use 
warm water, a mild soap, rinse thor¬ 
oughly, dry at once and then go on to 
the next space. An oil mop will occa¬ 
sionally improve the appearance of li¬ 
noleum and will help keep it in good 
condition. 
Linotile is second cousin to linoleum 
and instead of being made in strips is 
made in sections like a tile. The com¬ 
position is such as to form a resilient 
tile which has all the good qualities of 
linoleum and none of the hardness and 
coldness of regular tile. This as well as 
linoleum should be laid carefully and 
laid so that the join at the baseboard 
is curved in order to avoid vermin 
traps. 
In the matter of cleaning, the treat¬ 
ment of linotile is the same as for li¬ 
noleum. Just as strong soaps and caustic 
powders hurt the surface of painted 
wood, linoleum, etc., so they will dam¬ 
age the face of linotile. Make thick 
suds by dissolving white soap or soap 
flakes in lukewarm water. As with li¬ 
noleum, wet only about a quarter yard 
a time. Don’t flood the floor, scrub 
hard and loosen the dirt with a brush. 
Rinse thoroughly and then dry. You 
can use mops and a mop wringer but 
hand wrung mops are inadequate and 
you are apt to have streaks on your 
floor after using one. 
In polishing linotile treat only a sec¬ 
tion of the floor at a time. Dampen 
a piece of cheesecloth with a good floor 
oil and apply the polish evenly. Do 
not get it too moist for it will then 
collect dust and dirt. Let it dry from 
fifteen to thirty minutes and then pol¬ 
ish briskly with a clean, soft cloth. 
