Chapter 9. LIVING ROOM FINESSE

Aside from being the room most likely to have a fireplace, your living room is important because it keynotes your home and tells so much about you. In pictures and books it reveals your taste and personality and the interests and hobbies of members of your family. This is the haven your family seeks after the stresses of the day. This is where you entertain your friends.

Books, pictures, lamps, and bric-a-brac require care which, though simple, should be very correct if they are to be kept in good condition.

YOUR BOOKS should stand upright, not slumped over on partly filled shelves, but not packed so tightly that they cannot be taken out without a struggle. Books that slump, or have to be wrestled out of their places suffer broken spines and damaged bindings. If there are not enough books to fill a shelf completely, use a library bracket to hold the line. Large books and music can be stacked flat. Preferably arrange your books near the front edge of the shelf so that they are easily accessible and so that air can circulate around them.

IN DUSTING BOOKSHELVES AND BOOKS never bang the volumes together to get rid of dust. Use the dusting brush of your vacuum cleaner or a soft clean paint brush, working outward from the spine of the book.

FINE LEATHER BINDINGS should be protected every year or so against damage caused by drying by applications of a suitable oil or leather conditioner. For bindings in good condition pure neat's foot oil or castor oil are excellent. Neat's foot oil leaves a dull finish, castor oil imparts a gloss. Sometimes a half-and-half mixture is used, or saddle soap which both cleans and lubricates. More elaborate mixtures, containing Japan wax and sodium stearate are sometimes made, but the simple ones will do for the few leather bindings usually found in home libraries.

DO NOT LET THE OIL TOUCH PAPER or cloth portions of the book. Rub the oil in a little at a time with your fingertips, or with a small swab of cheesecloth, chamois or felt. After applying the oil let the books stand for several hours to allow it to penetrate the leather, then repeat the application until no more is absorbed. A final polishing can be given with a clean soft cloth or chamois leather. For added sheen rub in a little castor oil and give the binding a final polish. Leather-bound books-and any other articles made of leather-suffer damage from crumbling and cracking if they are not oiled occasionally. The treatment takes a little time but it does protect the bindings against damage caused by loss of oil.

VERY OLD AND CRUMBLING BINDINGS sometimes are sprayed with a coating of acrylic lacquer, available for easy application in aerosol cans. This gives them a protective coating and prolongs their life. Rub the rough spots smooth with very fine emery cloth, or crocus cloth, and oil the leather first if this seems desirable. Spray on a thin coating of the lacquer, let it dry, and then apply a second coating. Books cannot be oiled after they have been lacquered.

IF BOOKS BECOME MILDEWED, due to dampness, close the windows and dry the room out with an electric or other type of heater. Wipe the mildew from bindings and pages with a soft cloth, or with a cloth slightly dampened with alcohol, and leave the pages open fanwise to dry.

PICTURES AND MIRRORS, should be dusted along with the furniture and cleaned thoroughly about twice a year. Use a piece of soft cloth or chamois, squeezed as dry as possible out of cool water containing a little vinegar or ammonia. Be very careful not to let any water seep under the frame to make a stain. Polish the glass with another soft cloth or a dry chamois leather.

TREAT WOODEN FRAMES as you would furniture of the same finish.

FOR GILDED FRAMES, when they need more than dusting, use a little dry cleaning fluid on a soft cloth. This is better than solutions made with water. Gilded surfaces are made by covering the frame with a thin layer of gold leaf, or a thin gold coating in liquid or powder form. This delicate finish is easily damaged.

FINE OIL PAINTINGS should be cleaned only by an expert. They can be dusted by brushing them lightly with a soft clean brush or with a piece of absorbent cotton.

PAINTINGS NOT ESPECIALLY VALUABLE and in good condition, can be cleaned of surface dirt by a simple home method: place the painting against a surface that gives it firm and uniform support, then go over it carefully with a pad of cotton or a clean soft brush moistened with cleaning fluid of the flammable type. If the surface looks dull after cleaning, it can be brightened by applying very carefully a fine quality wax emulsion cream furniture polish. Follow the directions given for the polish. These instructions are from an art museum no other treatment is recommended for home use.

WATER COLOR PAINTINGS cannot be cleaned.

PIANOS. In discussing furniture we have already told how the exterior of a fine new piano should be treated (see Index). Old pianos with waxed or varnished finishes can be treated like ordinary furniture. Clean piano keys by wiping them with a soft cloth, slightly dampened, and wipe them dry immediately. Ivory used for piano keys is especially bleached to make it white. The natural color is an off-white-slightly yellow-and ultimately this tint returns. There is no recommended way to whiten yellowed keys at home; they can be scraped and refinished at the factory. Keeping the keyboard closed when the piano is not in use helps to keep the keys from yellowing.

ASK YOUR TUNER TO CLEAN THE INSIDE OF YOUR PIANO occasionally. This helps to prevent corrosion of the strings and pegs, and damage to the wool felts from moths. Camphor may be put inside the piano to discourage moths, but in a place where it does not affect the metal or wood finish, or obstruct the action of any part. Pianos left for any length of time in an unoccupied house should be safeguarded against moths and also against moisture. Put a lot of newspapers inside to absorb dampness and cover the piano with heavy flannel or a cotton blanket. Vases and other objects tend to mark the cases; better not put them on your piano.

RADIO AND TELEVISION SETS should be moved gently during cleaning operations, and no musical instrument or receiver should be placed near a source of heat, such as a radiator. In caring for your television receiver you should follow the instructions provided by the manufacturer. Cleaning directions for General Electric models follow: the face glass can be cleaned with a mild solution of soap and water and wiped dry, after rinsing, with a soft dry cloth. No cleaning agents or solvents should be used on the face glass because they are likely to contain damaging materials, such as carbon tetra-chloride, gasoline, or benzine. Care should be taken that furniture polishes, also likely to contain damaging compounds, are not used on the face glass or spilled on it. Harsh and gritty dust cloths will scratch its surface.

THE FINE FINISH OF TELEVISION CABINETS can be preserved by the regular use of a good wax polish. Rubber objects and articles likely to be impregnated with harmful chemicals should not be placed on top of television cabinets. And don't drape covers over them. Covers that hang down behind the set and block the holes in the back keep the tubes from ventilating properly, and they become too hot. For this same reason be sure that air can circulate freely between the receiver and the wall behind it.

ALL LAMPS IN THE LIVING ROOM should be disconnected and cleaned for an especially thorough housecleaning operation. The method used to clean the base or stand of a lamp will naturally depend upon its material, and the instructions given will apply also to ornaments, knickknacks, and candlesticks of the same category.

UNLACQUERED BRASS LAMP BASES should be cleaned with a good brass polish-and here let us emphasize again that metal polishes differ widely in composition in order to deal with different metals. Each metal has its own degree of hardness, and its individual reaction to acids and alkalis, to various chemical compounds, and to the types of abrasives used in various polishes.

What is good for one metal may damage another. In addition, the wrong polish brings unsatisfactory results, often after much more work. So use brass polish for brass, following the directions on the container.

BRASS SHOULD BE CLEANED REGULARLY. Like everything else, it is easier to clean and polish if it is not neglected. Washing brass articles first in good hot suds will help if they have been let go too long. If you wash brass objects, dry them carefully before you apply the brass polish. Rub until the metal is clean and free of spots caused by corrosion, then polish it with a flannel cloth or a piece of chamois leather. This will give it a high gloss finish. If you want a soft finish, use a thin paste made by mixing a little raw linseed oil with rottenstone. After rubbing the brass clean with this mixture, polish it with a clean cloth. For brass encrusted with soot see "Andirons" in the Index.

LACQUERED BRASS is never polished. Just dust it or wash it in mild lukewarm suds, rinse it with lukewarm water, and wipe it dry. If the water is too hot it may remove the lacquer. Should lacquered brass become dingy and the finish begin to peel, remove the lacquer with acetone (from a drugstore) and polish.

BRASS WITH AN ANTIQUE FINISH is simply rubbed with a little lemon oil (paraffin oil used for furniture), then with a dry cloth.

A CUT LEMON DIPPED IN SALT, or hot vinegar and salt, will clean brass the old fashioned way. This method can be adapted to miniature brasses. Provided that they have no ornamentation and no wooden handles or knobs, you can get rid of most of the corrosion by boiling them for a few minutes in water containing a little vinegar and salt. Wash them with hot suds afterwards, rinse and dry them, then finish them with brass polish.

GOOD POLISHES FOR COPPER are to be found in your grocery store. Follow exactly the directions given on the container. With some, tarnish returns quickly if the copper is not washed thoroughly after polishing.

TO MIX YOUR OWN COPPER POLISH: make a paste of equal parts of salt, flour, and vinegar. Rub the copper with this mixture until it is clean, or let the paste remain on it for a while, then wash it with hot soapsuds, rinse, and polish. For a final polish use whiting or rottenstone, mixed to a paste with olive oil.

LACQUERED COPPER is dusted or washed, if necessary, with lukewarm water and a mild soap or detergent. Rinse it with lukewarm water and wipe it dry.

TOLE LAMP BASES (AND TRAYS), when they look dull, can be rubbed lightly with mineral oil containing a little turpentine. Mineral oil is the same as paraffin oil and essentially the same as lemon oil furniture polish. Use one part of turpentine to about ten part of oil. Wipe the article carefully clean with a soft cloth. (Tole is painted metal.)

PEWTER IS A SOFT METAL and requires a mild polish. Use silver polish or a mixture of your own. For a dull gloss on pewter lamps and ornaments use rottenstone or whiting mixed to a paste with olive oil. Apply the paste with a soft cloth and rub the metal until it is clean. Wash it afterwards, rinse, and wipe dry. For a bright finish use whiting mixed with denatured alcohol. Rub it on with a soft cloth and let the coating dry. Then polish the pewter by rubbing it with a clean soft cloth. Wash and rinse thoroughly after polishing and wipe the pewter dry. Stubborn spots can usually be removed from pewter with very fine (No. 00) steel wool, dipped in olive oil. The oil is to keep the steel wool from scratching. After removing the spots, polish the pewter again, as already described.

BRONZE LAMPS, STATUES, BOOK ENDS, etc., that need more than dusting, can be washed with one of the following: mild soapsuds, hot vinegar or hot buttermilk. Rinse immediately and thoroughly and wipe the bronze dry. If you want to brighten the bronze, rub it with dry rottenstone or whiting. Rinse to remove all of the powder and wipe it dry.

LACQUERED BRONZE is merely wiped with a damp cloth. Sometimes lampstands are made of steel which has been given a bronze finish. When this begins to wear away, or spots of corrosion appear, a new coat of bronze lacquer is needed.

CANDLESTICKS. Wax spilled on candlesticks or accumulated in the holder can be softened with hot water, and pushed off with your fingernail covered with a soft cloth.

CRYSTAL PENDANTS. Candlesticks and lighting fixtures with crystal pendants must be taken apart for cleaning. Remove the crystals carefully, so as not to break or bend the delicate hooks by which they are attached, and wash them with warm water containing a little ammonia. Rinse and dry with a soft lintless cloth, or simply let them dry on a padding of tissue paper. Clean crystal lamp bases in the same way.

OTHER MATERIALS. For lamps and ornaments made of other materials such as marble, alabaster, glazed pottery, china, and cloisonne, use a cloth wrung out of warm suds made with a mild synthetic detergent. Rinse with a cloth wrung out of clear warm water and wipe dry with a soft lintless cloth. (Do not use ammonia or other cleaning aids.) Sometimes a little paint brush is handy for cleaning nooks and crannies of china or porcelain ornaments.

KEROSENE LAMPS, though outmoded for general use in most areas, are kept on hand in many country homes for use when storms have disrupted electric service. These must be kept very clean for good service and for safety. Soapsuds containing ammonia, or suds made with a detergent, are very good for cleaning away the soot that collects on glass chimneys. Periodically the oil reservoir should be emptied, washed, and thoroughly dried before being refilled. Wicks are trimmed by pinching off burned threads with your fingertips, not with scissors. Bases and shades are cleaned according to their material.

LAMP SHADES ACCUMULATE DUST which may cut down on light and should always be dusted when you dust the furniture. Use your vacuum cleaner dusting brush or a soft brush or cloth. Dust the light bulbs too, or wash them to remove grime (the lamp being, of course, disconnected). If the bulbs are blackened from the inside they are about to go and are giving poor light. Put in new ones.

LAMP SHADES OF SILK, RAYON, and similar materials can be washed safely provided they are sewed, not glued, to the frames and that any trimming they may have is washable and colorfast. Fill a tub or basin with plenty of good warm suds, made with an unbuilt detergent or white soap flakes and dip the shade up and down until it is clean. Any spots can be rubbed lightly with a very soft brush, provided the material is not old and fragile. Rinse the shade by dipping it up and down in clear warm water. Let it drip for a few seconds then place it to dry on a clean cloth in an airy place, but not in the sun. Shades should be dried as quickly as possible in case the frames are not rustproof. If you have an electric fan speed the drying with that.

LINEN, CHINTZ, AND PAINTED SHADES should be dry cleaned. Washing is likely to shrink linen or cotton shades and to damage hand painted designs.

PARCHMENT SHADES should be dusted with an untreated cloth and conditioned now and then with a suitable leather conditioner such as castor oil, or neat's foot oil, to keep them from becoming dry and brittle.

IMITATION PARCHMENT can be cleaned and brightened with liquid wax.

PLASTIC AND FIBERGLASS SHADES need only to be wiped with a damp cloth.

METALLIC PAPER SHADES seldom need more than dusting but now and then can be given a beauty treatment by dressing them with a mixture of paraffin oil and turpentine (one tablespoonful of turpentine to half a cup of paraffin oil). Carefully remove any surplus with a soft clean cloth.

THE ORNAMENTAL PIECES in your living room may include bits of statuary fashioned of unglazed ceramic or plaster. These can only be dusted. Plaster figures not valuable enough to merit the attention of an art expert can be whitened when soiled by the application of a very thin spraying of top quality flat white paint.

And that just about covers the special cleaning problems to be found in a living room. Please don't try to do it all in one day.

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