Enquire Within Upon Everything Part 53

404. To take Ink-Stains out of a Coloured Table-Cover.

Dissolve a teaspoonful of oxalic acid in a teacup of hot water; rub the stained part well with a flannel or linen rag dipped in the solution.

405. Ink Stains.

Very frequently, when logwood has been used in manufacturing ink, a reddish stain still remains, after the use of oxalic acid, as in the former directions. To remove it, procure a solution of the chloride of lime, and apply it in the same manner as directed for the oxalic acid.

406. To take Ink out of Boards.

Apply strong muriatic acid, or spirits of salts, with a piece of cloth; afterwards wash well with water.

407. Oil or Grease

may be removed from a hearth by covering it immediately with hot ashes, or with burning coals.

408. Marble may be Cleaned

by mixing up a quant.i.ty of the strongest soap-lees with quick-lime, to the consistence of milk, and laying it on the marble for twenty-four hours; clean it afterwards with soap and water.

409. Silver and Plated Ware

should be washed with a sponge and warm soapsuds every day after using, and wiped dry with a clean soft towel.

410. Bronzed Chandeliers, Lamps, &c.,

should be merely dusted with a feather-brush, or with a soft cloth, as washing them will take off the bronzing.

411. To clean Bra.s.s Ornaments.

Wash the bra.s.swork with roche alum boiled to a strong ley, in the proportion of an ounce to a pint. When dry it must be rubbed with fine tripoli.

412. For Cleaning Bra.s.ses belonging to mahogany furniture,

use either powdered whiting or sc.r.a.ped rotten-stone, mixed with sweet oil and rubbed on with chamois leather.

413. Bra.s.ses, Britannia Metal, Tins, Coppers, &c.,

may be cleaned with a mixture of rotten-stone, soft soap, and oil of turpentine, mixed to the consistency of stiff putty. The stone should be powdered very fine and sifted. The articles should first be washed with hot water, to remove grease; then a little of the above mixture, mixed with water, should be rubbed over the metal; then rub off briskly with dry, clean rag or leather, and a beautiful polish will be obtained.

414. To preserve Steel Goods from Rust.

After bright grates have been thoroughly cleaned, they should be dusted over with unslacked lime, and thus left until wanted. Coils of piano wires, thus sprinkled, will keep from rust for many years.

Table-knives which are not in constant use ought to be put in a case in which sifted quicklime is placed, about eight inches deep. They should be plunged to the top of the blades, but the lime should not touch the handles.

415. To keep Iron and Steel Goods from Rust.

Dissolve half an ounce of camphor in one pound of hog's lard; take off the sc.u.m: mix as much black lead as will give the mixture an iron colour. Iron and steel goods, rubbed over with this mixture, and left with it on twenty-four hours, and then dried with a linen cloth, will keep clean for months. Valuable articles of cutlery should be wrapped in zinc foil, or be kept in boxes lined with zinc. This is at once an easy and most effective method.

416. Iron Wipers.

Old soft towels, or pieces of old sheets or tablecloths, make excellent wipers for iron and steel goods.

417. To Clean Looking-Gla.s.ses.

First wash the gla.s.s all over with lukewarm soapsuds and a sponge.

When dry, rub it bright with a chamois leather on which a little prepared chalk, finely powdered, has been sprinkled.

[KEEP THE BLOOD PURE AND SPARE THE LEECH.]

418. To Clean Mirrors, &c.

If they should be hung so high that they cannot be conveniently reached, have a pair of steps to stand upon; but mind that they stand steady. Then take a piece of soft sponge, well washed, and cleaned from everything gritty, dip it into water and squeeze it almost dry, dip it into some spirit of wine, and then rub it over the gla.s.s. Next, dust the gla.s.s over with some powder blue or whiting sifted through muslin; wipe the powder lightly and quickly off again with a cloth; then take a clean cloth, and rub the gla.s.s well once more, and finish by rubbing it with a silk handkerchief. If the gla.s.s be very large, clean one-half at a time, as otherwise the spirit of wine will dry before it can be rubbed off. If the frames are not varnished, the greatest care is necessary to keep them quite dry, so as not to touch them with the sponge, as this will discolour or take off the gilding.

To clean the frames, take a little raw cotton in the state of wool, and rub the frames with it; this will take off all the dust and dirt without injuring the gilding. If the frames are well varnished, rub them with spirit of wine, which will take out all spots, and give them a fine polish. Varnished doors may be done in the same manner. Never use any cloth to _frames_ or _drawings_, or oil paintings, when cleaning and dusting them.

419. China and Gla.s.s.

The best material for cleansing either porcelain or gla.s.s, is fuller's earth: but it must be beaten into a fine powder, and carefully cleared from all rough or hard particles, which might endanger the polish of the surface.

420. Porcelain.

In cleaning porcelain, it must also be observed that some species require more care and attention than others, as every person must have observed that chinaware in common use frequently loses some of its colours.

421. Red Fading.

The red, especially of vermilion, is the first to go, because that colour, together with some others, is laid on by the Chinese after burning.

422. Modern Porcelain Fades Less.