CAR′PETS

Consideration of cleanline and economy demand a few words on carpets and hearth-rugs. We are a ured by an experienced person that before proceeding to sweep a carpet, a few handfuls of waste tea-leaves should be sprinkled over it (say some five or six minutes before). A stiff hair broom or hair brush only should be employed unle the carpet be very dirty, when a whisk or carpet-broom may be used first, followed by another made of hair, to take off the loose dust. The frequent use of a stiff “carpet-broom” (those made of cane or birch are here alluded to) soon wears off the beauty of the best carpet. An ordinary clothes-brush, or a clean one, resembling the dirt brush used for shoes, is best adapted for superior carpets. When carpets are very dirty they should be cleaned by shaking and beating. “If you must have a carpet, take it up two or three times a year, instead of once. A dirty carpet literally infects the room: if you consider the enormous quantity of organic matter from the feet of people coming in, which must saturate it this is by no means surprising.” (Mi Nightingale.) In laying down carpets it is very advisable, at first, to cover the floor beneath them with large sheets of thick paper, so as to prevent dust from rising between the boards. Old drugget, sacking, matting, or any similar substance, will effect the same purpose, and will, moreover, materially increase the durability of the carpet, by preserving it from the contact of the hard floor. Bru els Carpets may be cleaned with ox-gall (1 pint to a pailful of water), and a scrubbing-brush, and floor-cloth; afterwards rinsing them in fresh water applied in the same way. They should be previously perfectly freed from dust by beating, and should be nailed down before commencing the above operations. Great care should be taken to rub them as dry as po ible with a clean dry floor-cloth. A small portion only should be done at a time, and a dry windy day selected for the purpose. A carpet treated in this manner will be greatly refreshed in colour, particularly the greens. Kidder minster Carpets will scarcely bear the above treatment without becoming so soft as to get speedily dirty again. This may in some measure be prevented by brushing them over with a hot weak solution of size in water, to which a little alum has been added. Curd soap, di olved in hot water, may be used instead of ox-gall, but it is more likely to injure the carpeting they may be covered with curd soap, di olved in boiling water, and rubbed with a brush until the stains are removed, when they must be cleaned with warm water as before. The addition of a little gall to the soap renders it more efficacious. Some persons employ a mixture of soap, fuller’s earth, and turpentine, for the same purpose. Benzol rapidly removes the grease stains, and may be advantageously substituted for preparations of soap.