Washing Fine China: Never soak fine china, never wash it with scouring-soap, soap powder, nor yellow-resin soap. Unless very greasy clean with borax water. Wipe and scrape off as much soil as possible before washing. Have the water pleasantly warm—boiling water is ruinous. Rinse water should be a trifle hotter than the suds. Except in emergencies, never put on any sort of soap. Put only a few pieces at a time into the suds, wash, rinse, and stand to drain. Have a thick cloth on the draining-board—with very thin ware have another thick cloth over the pan bottom. Change suds as they grow dirty. Add hot water from time to time. Even temperature is the thing. Wipe with soft clean towels after draining well, but before the ware is dry. Wash things in sets; as dried lay a paper napkin between, and set away the pile upon something soft. Squares of Turkish toweling are excellent.
Use a soft thick brush for relief or incised decorations or lace edges. Dip it lightly in powdered borax or white soapsuds and rub steadily but not too hard. Set things which have held milk, creams, thick soups, sauces, or gelatine compounds in clear warm water for three minutes, and rub away as much of what sticks to them as possible before putting them into the suds. Soap combined with milk or gelatine makes the water slimy, the ware sticky. Boiling water sets either milk or gelatine. If possible, rinse and wash things soiled with them as soon as empty. In wiping do not rub gilt borders—rather pat them dry.
Burnish half yearly with a swab of sifted whiting tied in soft silk. Intricate gilding may have the whiting sifted on while damp and brushed off after drying. In storing keep sets and sizes together. Set things so they will not jostle nor clatter nor tip. Stand platters on edge in a special grooved shelf, the biggest at the back. If piled, put something between, less to save breakage than to prevent a possible chipping of glaze. Things bought in cases should be stored in them, the cases set in drawers or on low shelves. High setting invites dropping and ruinous breakage.
Ironstone and Majolica: Wash in warm (not hot) suds, with a clean soft cloth, rinse in hotter water, and wipe almost immediately. Beware of chipping, beware also of cracking glaze by setting in heat or boiling water. Such ware is porous enough to take up grease and other things. Cracked or chipped dishes should not be used except to hold things like raw fruit, bread, sandwiches, or dry stores.
Gilt and Cut Glass: Remove cream or jelly with a quick rinse, wash in suds or borax water, a little more than blood-warm, using a clean soft brush on the cuttings. Have a cloth on the pan bottom if the cutting is deep, the article of good size. Use white soap—resin soaps get into fine lines and stay there. Pass from suds into a hotter rinse water, turn over and about, lift, turn upside down, then plunge into another water a very little hotter. If the ware is very white, the third water should have salt in it—a tablespoonful to the gallon. With glass less white, put blueing in the third water, turn about, and set upside down upon a thick cloth for three minutes, then put in a box and sift over hot fine sawdust—“jeweler’s sawdust” if possible, else dust with fine whiting, set in a warm (not hot) place and leave till dry. Brush off sawdust or whiting with a stiff brush, polish lightly with soft old silk, and store when fully cool.
Glass with silver inlay or incrustation must be rubbed after washing with a chamois skin dipped in whiting. Clean decanters and claret jugs by putting inside either a few buckshot and shaking them about in a cupful of tepid water dashed with ammonia, or else lightly folded squares of stiff brown paper with barely enough ammonia water to moisten. These remove wine incrustations. If the stains are obstinate, fill the decanter with tepid water, add a pinch of borax, and let it stand. Tiny pills of whiting wet up with alcohol and ammonia, dried, dropped inside, and shaken about, then dissolved out with tepid water, leave the insides clear and bright. So do crushed egg shells.
Wash gilt and Bohemian glass—indeed, any fancy glass—with a very soft brush and tepid white suds, rinse in hotter water, drain almost dry, then polish with absorbent cotton dipped lightly in powdered whiting. Iridescent and bubble glass should not be wiped. Drain instead, and polish when ready to use with a wisp of cotton. Cameo glass, or any with patterns in relief, must be washed with a stiff brush, in weak suds, rinsed thoroughly, and dried in gentle, steady heat rather than wiped.
Pressed Glass: Wash and rinse in water the same temperature, drain, but not too long, and wipe. Beware of linty towels. Be sure to run cloth or mop inside water glasses, otherwise they become dull quickly. Wash pitchers the same way; water leaves sediment—accumulations of it are hard to remove. Imitation cuttings must be brushed—they had better be eschewed. Plain, clear surfaces are much handsomer. Bowls set one in the other should have paper between. Load no glass thing heavily—the rumble or jar of a passing wagon may cause breakage if you do.
Annealing Glass: Annealing lessens sensibly the risk of breakage. Pack the glass snugly in a boiler, fill with cold water, bring to a boil, keep simmering three to four hours, then throw over a thick cloth and let cool very slowly. Remove only when fully cold. Especially useful for thin tumblers, lamp chimneys, and finger bowls. Put a board or a handful of clean sticks in the bottom of the boiler, so the heat shall not break things set lowest.
Knives and Forks: Have a pitcher just tall enough to hold knives, up to the handle. Do not quite fill it with very hot borax suds, stand knives in it, and leave till other things are out of the way, then wash blades, wipe off handles, rinse very quickly in clear tepid water, wipe dry, polish with a clean chamois, and hold with a clean cloth in putting away. This to save finger marks which grow often to stains or tarnishes upon knives seldom used. All-silver knives can be treated the same as other silver or plated things—still pitcher-washing is as good for them as any other. Ivory handles or pearl ones, or those of stag-horn or composition, all are injured by either soaking or very hot water. Carving-sets are frequently defaced hopelessly by rubbing the handles with scouring-soap. Instead use only lather, washing it off instantly. If suspicious of grease in the seam, wrap a fine-pointed skewer in thin cloth and run all around, pressing hard. Wipe knife handles very dry, else lay them for ten minutes in gentle heat to expel possible moisture around the rivets.
Restoring Antique Furniture: Take out grease or ink spots (see section Spots and Stains), then go over with a turpentine cloth sopping wet, rub and rub and rub. Follow with an alcohol cloth and more rubbing, then a wash in strong hot suds, followed by rubbing dry. Now take stock of the surface. If there are dents, raise them by laying on very wet blotting-paper and drying it with a blazing-hot iron. Repeat if necessary—steam does the work. Sandpaper away scratches, or rub them with emery and a little oil, or scrape with broken glass. Go over again with turpentine to remove the last traces of varnish or grime. Then sandpaper to a new surface, and either oil, varnish, or give a wax finish (see section Renovators).
Before resurfacing drive up loose dowels, wedging them tight, glue afresh rickety joins, strengthening them further with slender brads driven in from the under side. Glue broken bits in place—if they are missing, make the break smooth and fit into it a new piece. Cut the old wood, slanting outward—thus it is possible to drive very short brads from underneath. A vise helps greatly in such repairs—the harder held the pieces, the firmer and less visible the join. After it is dry, sandpaper; if the new wood fails to match the old, stain and rub down before waxing or polishing. Tiny gaps can be filled with putty mixed with dry color approaching that of the wood. This will take either oil stain or a wax finish.
Tighten rickety drawers so they slide easily. Remedy bad feet by chiseling out shattered wood and putting in plugs of sound wood to hold the castors. Glue in the new plugs, also nail them fast. Grease the points of nails to save splitting the old wood. Set them invisibly and drive gently, but see that they go fully home. Remove glass or brass mounting while resurfacing. Clean and brighten them (see section Brass) before replacing. Tighten metal linings about keyholes with putty, put on inside. All padding, upholstery, or baize tops must, of course, be taken wholly away. Save them, no matter how ragged, as patterns for new stuff.
Refinish and repair frames thus stripped before recovering. Very handsome things had better be put in professional hands unless you have practised upon plainer ones. It is a waste of strength and material to put handsome new covers over musty padding or to botch and pucker hopelessly through inexperience. In the courage of her economies a clever woman learns quickly the knack of upholstery. Minute directions are impossible—each sofa or couch or easy chair is so much a law unto itself. In a general way, have all necessary things handy—as covering muslin, webbing, springs, tacks, twine, upholsterer’s needles, moss or curled hair, brads in variety, sharp shears, and stout pliers for dragging through reluctant needles. Press out old covers and use as patterns for the new. Model your work as nearly as possible on what you took away. Remember always before fastening on covers to mark the middle of them and set it accurately to the middle of the frame, tacking it thence both ways. Pad arms and backs first, then basket-weave webbing across the bottom, drawing it very taut, put on springs, fasten them with twine to the webbing, lay thin cloth over, put a thick layer of stuffing upon it, then fit the muslin cover and tack smoothly to the frame. Tuft or leave plain according to style and period. Cut the ornamental covering very accurately, sew together, following the original, fit smooth, and cover the edges with gimp. With figured material, cut so the boldest figure shall appear in the middle of back and seat or equidistant from ends of the panels of long sofas. Practise upon something cheap—here as everywhere else experience is the best teacher.
Care of Antiques: Old mahogany, rose-wood, ebony, cherry, or walnut differ little in their requirements. Each and several, they film over. To brighten, wash in warm (not hot) naphtha soapsuds, wetting only a little space at a time, wiping it quickly with a cloth wrung from clear hot water, and as quickly rubbing dry. Washing complete, rub hard with old silk or flannel, then apply either French polish, piano polish, or wax finish (see section Renovators). Put this on with a soft cloth and rub in until the surface burns your hand. Washing is necessary about half yearly, except in rooms where there is a great deal of gas or candlelight and much greasy vapor. Dinner tables in steady use ought to be washed and polished monthly. Rub deep carvings with chamois over the point of a blunt skewer, changing its place every little while.
Brass Bedsteads: Respect their lacquer. Keep water far from them, likewise alcohol, gasolene, or naphtha. Smears may be wiped off with cloths slightly damp, followed by wiping with one dry and soft. Wipe dust away with softened cheesecloth, remove finger marks by gentle rubbing with crumpled soft silk or old flannel. Have a thick soft brush to take dust from carving or curled rails. Wipe off grease with soft flannel and polish the spot with a very little sifted chalk or whiting on a clean cloth. Tarnish is a proof that lacquer has been destroyed—the remedy is relacquering, but mitigate until that is possible by oxalic acid or vinegar and salt (see section Renovators).
Brass trimmings upon enamel bedsteads, cribs, etc., need the same care. So do brass frames, trays, etc. Elaborate chasings can be brightened without injury by coating thickly with powdered starch, letting it stand a day, then brushing it away.
Mission Furniture and Fumed Oak: Dust real mission pieces with a soft damp cloth followed by a dry one barely sprinkled with turpentine. Use any good leather dressing on seats and backs. Neat’s-foot oil and beeswax, equal quantities, melted over hot water with twice their bulk of turpentine, is a good thing, and safe. Apply soft but not liquid, put on barely enough to rub over the leather, and rub until absorbed. For fumed and Flemish oak use a soft, thick dust brush, followed by a thick cloth slightly dampened. If greasy or grimy, wash very quickly in hot naphtha soapsuds, wipe dry, and rub until hot. Once a year rub very lightly over with sweet oil, turpentine, and alcohol, equal parts, shaken well together. Varnished pieces can have thin white varnish instead of alcohol. Put on with flannel and rub till hot.
Gilt Furniture: Dust well, and either sift on whiting, let stand an hour, and brush off or cover a little at a time with whiting and alcohol, as thick as cream, let stand three minutes, wipe with a damp cloth, and rub dry with old silk or flannel. Take away specks of whiting or tarnish with a swab of chalk tied in silk and wet with alcohol. Cork sawdust tied tight in chamois makes a good burnisher if high polish is desired. Garlands, bow knots, and traceries need to be rubbed out with a blunt skewer inside a clean leather and polished the same way, using silk or flannel in place of leather.
Gilt Frames: Cover with the cream of whiting and alcohol after wiping and brushing away all possible dust. Remove and polish as above directed. Repair breaks and chippings with plaster wet with white of egg, and paint with the finest gold paint, then burnish. Take off fly specks with a cloth dipped in alcohol, and rub away any obstinate dark specks or remnant of whiting with the same cloth.
Upholstered Furniture: Cover the stuffings with a bath towel, whip lightly, shaking the towel whenever it shows dust, then brush evenly with a soft bristle brush, wipe out the tuftings with a swab of cotton tied in silk on the point of a blunt skewer. Wipe quickly all over with a flannel wrung dry out of hot water, following with a cloth wet in alcohol. Change or wash the cloths as they grow dirty, especially upon delicate colors. Neither cloths nor swabs must be wet enough to leave marks. Alcohol, properly used, will leave no trace upon anything. Wash the wood in white soapsuds, about blood-warm, wipe dry, and rub with a flannel sprinkled with kerosene. This for ordinary wood; very fine things, and especially inlaid ones, had better have sweet oil and turpentine on the polishing-cloth, and not too much.
Upholstery can be dry-cleaned with starch and whiting sifted together and applied thickly all over it. Let stand a day, in sunshine if possible, then brush off, going over and over. If there are grimy spaces, wet them with alcohol before putting on the powder. Brush hard, and if flecks remain take them off with a cloth wet in alcohol.
Wicker Furniture: Scrub raw wicker with a stiff brush and white soapsuds, rinse, dry quickly, then brush over with turpentine, sweet oil, and alcohol, equal parts, mixed, then one-fifth their bulk of thin varnish added. Coat well. When dry, rub over with a thick soft cloth.
Dust gilt or enameled wicker very clean, wash quickly in weak tepid suds, wipe, and sift on whiting and corn starch, let stand half an hour, and brush off. Dry-cleaning alone suffices for things not much soiled. Instead of sifting, the starch and chalk or whiting may be tied tight in coarse net and used as a swab. Take out spots and stains (see section Spots and Stains) before cleaning.
Porch Furniture: Porch furniture, whether rattan, rustic, or bamboo, needs only to be dusted, well and quickly, washed in tepid suds, dried, and rubbed liberally all over with crude kerosene and creosoted turpentine (see section Renovators). Dry in air, but away from sun; do the work, however, if possible, upon a dry, sunny day.
Enameled Iron: Resurface things as they chip (see section Making Whole). Wash clean in tepid suds after dusting, wipe dry, then rub over lightly with sweet oil and alcohol, equal parts, with a teaspoonful of thin varnish added to the pint and well shaken.
Sundry Preventions: Crumple tissue paper thickly over upholstered furniture before putting on covers—it saves from wear, dust, and fading. Newspapers pasted into big sheets and spread over floor, bed, dresser, and couch in spare rooms likewise catch dust and stop light. They can be gathered up in a few minutes; take care, though, to lift edges first and shake dust inward, then fold. Where sunshine falls upon matting a double thickness of paper saves fading. Narrow lengths either to hang or pin about draperies will keep the draperies fresh. Paper is as nearly impervious to dust as almost anything known. Paper bags tied over gas globes, brass door knobs, and candlesticks prevent both dust and tarnish. Also there is no better summer ambush for articles of “bigotry and virtue” than a thick swathing of tissue paper inside a paper bag. Newspaper has further the merit of discouraging moths—they hate printers’ ink the same as other plunderers. Shut down windows upon newspaper, letting it fall well over the inner sill, and there will be no fading of paint there nor cakings of dust.
Glue rounds of felt to the feet of all things not furnished with castors if you would save polished floors from marking. A brad or two, driven upward, the heads well sunk, will add stability. Old soft hats will furnish the rounds. Instead, you may use a contrivance now in market, which is practically the same thing, also cheap and convenient.