CARE OF WALLS To Clean Wall Paper.—Brush down the walls with a hairbrush or dust cloth, then cut a loaf of yeast bread two or three days old once vertically through the middle, and again cross wise. Hold these pieces by the crust and rub the wall downward with long, light strokes. Do not rub across the paper, or rub harder than is neces sary. An ordinary coarse grater held in the left hand will be found con venient to rub off the surface of the bread as it becomes soiled. Clean thor oughly as you go.
Or make a stiff dough of rye flour and water and apply in the same man ner. The dough should be stiff enough not to stick to the hands or to the paper. Take a piece as large as the fist, dip it in dry corn meal, and use until it becomes soiled. Change as often as necessary.
Or make a similar stiff dough of wheat flour and water. Afterwards brush down the walls with a clean soft brush or dust cloth to remove the crumbs.
To Remove Grease from Wall Paper. —To remove grease and oil stains from wall paper, fold zt piece of blotting paper, and in the fold spread pipe clay or French chalk. Stitch or pin the edges together to keep the chalk from falling out. Lay this over the grease spot and apply a hot iron, taking care not to scorch the paper. Change the blotting paper occasionally, and, if necessary, repeat with a fresh iron.
Or make a thick paste of powdered pipe clay or French chalk and apply it to the spot with a brush. Let it re main until dry. Then brush off and repeat if necessary.
To Dust Walls.—To remove dust from walls, use a clean hairbrush or window brush with a suitable handle. Brush from the top downward.
Or make a bag to cover the bead of the broom.
Or draw a sleeve or leg of a suit of old knit underwear over the head of the broom. Put the broom handle through the large part and draw it well down over the broom. The down ward motion of the broom on the wall will hold the cloth tightly in place.
Or crumple an old paper bag in the hands, but without tearing it, and slip it over the head of the broom. This can be removed and burned after using.
Or insert into a clean mop handle a suitable dust cloth, as several thick nesses of cheese cloth or discarded cotton or woolen underwear, and sweep down the walls with this.
To Mend Wall Paper.—To patch a spot knocked out of the wall paper, or holes in exposed cracks or edges, take ii piece of paper to match the pattern and expose to the sun until it fades to the same shade. Cut a patch an inch or two larger than the broken place, lay it face down on a piece of glass, moisten it with a suit able paste, and when moist scrape or pare the edge with a sharp knife or old razor to a very fine slant or bevel.
Lay on a fresh coat of paste, es pecially around the edge, and apply the patch so as to match the design. Rub the edges down with gentle strokes of a soft cloth, and if done skillfully the patch will not be noticeable.
Or, if spots are too small to patch, obtain, for a few cents, a child's box of water colors, mix the colors to ob tain the right shade, and paint the spots with a small camel's-hair brush.
A 25-cent box of colors will last a long time, and a little practice will enable anyone to match the colors and keep the wall paper in good order. Faded spots left on solid-colored wall papers by the removal of pictures may be renovated by painting them with dyestuff. Select a color as near that of the paper as possible, follow the directions that come with the dye, and apply to the wall with a brush. Care must be taken not to let the dye drip on floor coverings or furniture. When first applied, the painted spot will be darker than the rest, but it will quick ly dry to its proper tint or shade.
To Clean Calcimined Walls.—Rub on corn meal with a coarse cloth, or moisten a soft cloth or sponge in aqua ammonia and rub spots very lightly.
To Renovate Blackened Walls.—A smoked or blackened ceiling or wall may be cleaned by means of a cloth wrung out of a strong solution of baking soda and water. Or use vine gar and water. If the stain is not all removed, dissolve gum shellac in alco hol to the consistency of milk or cream and with it cover the sooty parts. Paint or whitewash over the shellac. The black will not show through.
To Dry Walls that Are Damp.—If there is much dampness in a room that is not commonly heated, it may cause the walls to mold or mildew, be sides being unhealthy. To absorb the dampness, place unslaked lime in flat, open vessels, as dripping pans, plates, or saucers. Lime has an affinity for dampness and also purifies the air. Renew the lime as fast as it becomes air-slaked and crumbles into a fine, dry powder.
Walls are often damp for no ap parent cause. Brick and other porous walls may hold moisture, or it may work up from springs through the foundations of brick or stone houses. The causes should be sought and, if possible, removed.
To prepare damp walls for cal cimine or paper, make a size of 1 ounce of glue to 1 gallon of water, and add 4 ounces of alum and 4 ounces of boiled linseed oil. Apply one or two coats and let dry before paper ing.
Or apply with a whitewash brush, during summer when the wall is dryer, a solution of 1 pound of castile or other hard white soap in 1 gallon of water. Let stand a day or two to dry. Follow with a second coat of pound of alum in a pailful of water, and let dry before papering.
Or, if the walls are very damp, ap ply thin sheet lead or tin foil to the walls with a suitable cement. Or fasten with flat-headed copper tacks. These may be driven into the damp spots only or, if necessary, into the entire wall. Afterwards paper.
To Remove Mold from Walls.—To remove mold or mildew from walls or ceilings, apply with a whitewash brush a solution of 1 pound of chloride of lime dissolved in a pailful of water.
To prevent dampness when build ing, after the walls are a few feet above the ground lay a row of stone or brick with a mixture of tar pitch and fine sand in place of mortar.