CLEANING BRIC-A-BRAC AND MIS CELLANEOUS OBJECTS To Clean Brass Furniture.—Brass bedsteads and brass fittings on fur niture may be cleaned by moistening a cloth in sweet oil and dipping it in powdered whiting or rotten stone pulverized finely and sifted through cheese cloth.
Or mix finely powdered tripoli with linseed oil. Apply with a sponge or rag, and polish with a piece of felt or velveteen.
Or moisten a cloth in ammonia and dip • in powdered whiting.
To Clean Brass Inlaid Work.— Mix equal quantities of rotten stone, starch, and oxalic acid with water to a stiff paste and dilute with sweet oil. Apply with a piece of felt or velveteen, and polish with a flannel rag or moistened chamois.
To Clean Brie-a-Brac.---Brass or naments on bric-a-brac may be cleaned with a piece of stale bread. Hold the bread by the crust and rub carefully, allowing the crumbs to fall with the dirt. Brass candle sticks, lamps, and the like may be cleaned with soap and water,, but lacquered articles require careful treatment without soap.
To Clean Bronzes. — Genuine bronzes may be washed with good soapsuds and a sponge or rag, and wiped dry with a soft flannel cloth or chamois.
Or dirt and stains may first be removed with a flannel cloth mois tened in sweet oil; afterwards pol ish with 'flannel or chamois.
To Clean Mother-of-Pearl.—Rub with a cheese-cloth bag containing dry pumice, or apply finely pow dered pumice moistened with sweet oil, and polish with a piece of felt or velveteen.
To Clean Upholstered Furniture. —In cities the pneumatic cleaning machine removes all dust and dirt from upholstered furniture with lit tle labor, but where this is not avail able take the furniture out of doors and freely apply gasoline or naph tha. Pour these on so as to saturate the upholstered parts, and rub vigor ously with a soft hair brush, sponge, or flannel cloth dipped in warm gasoline until all spots and soiled places are fully cleaned. Keep the furniture out of doors in a draught until the cleanser evaporates. This
process will also destroy moths.
To Clean Brick or Stone Work.— Mop with a solution of caustic potash or soda with oxalic acid dissolved in water. Or pour the mixture over the surfaces and scrub with a scrubbing brush, but do not dip the hands in this mixture and do not use it too strong.
To Clean Ivory. — For cleaning ivory, use prepared chalk, lime, brick dust, turpentine, lemon juice, salt and vinegar, lime, potash, and alum.
Ivory ornaments, brooches, card cases, bracelets, carvings, piano keys, and the like may be cleaned by painting them over with spirits of turpentine and, when possible, ex posing them for two or three days to sunshine. Or articles that can be taken out of doors may be bleached by simply moistening them with wa ter and exposing them to direct sun shine.
Or dissolve slaked lime in water to the consistency of milk. Cover the articles with this, or dip them in it if convenient, and steep as long as may be necessary. Remove them, allow the slaked lime to dry on, and when dry rub off and polish with a dry cloth.
Or apply salt and lemon juice. Polish with whiting. Apply with a moist cloth and rub with a chamois.
If small ivory articles are badly stained and discolored, first soak them for 24 hours or longer in a solution of 1 part of baking soda to 4 parts of water. Rinse, and immerse in a solution of 1 part of sulphite of soda to 3 parts of wa ter for another day or 2. Finally add to the latter solution 1 ounce of hydrochloric acid diluted with 6 ounces of water, and allow the arti cles to stand in this for 2 or 3 days. Wash in clean water, dry, and polish.
To Clean Bric-a-Brac.—For deep, narrow-necked flower vases, rose bowls, or carafes, cut some potato parings in small squares and pour over them water in which baking soda has been dissolved. Put them into the glasses to be cleaned, let stand a few minutes, and shake well. Afterwards wash in soapsuds and polish.