Fall Housecleaning
I am currently in my pre-holiday cleaning mode and found the directions she’d either read somewhere or gotten from her mother about how a house should be properly cleaned in the fall. There are directions about how it should be done in the spring as well.
The very first sentence recommends that the housewife clean only one room at a time in order to avoid a commotion that would upset the entire household. I consider this a very good recommendation for a complete cleaning of the house. When doing the entire house it is all too easy to get sidetracked and never finish at all.
It is also recommended that the housecleaner(s) begin with the attic. Hmm, I don’t know about anyone else, but I ain’t going up there. It be dangerous. I do understand the top down reasoning though, even when just dusting a room.
It is also recommended that all the furniture be removed from the room. It is to be taken outside and set in the sun to air while the room is swept from ceiling to floor and then washed. Again, from ceiling to floor, is the recommended pattern of attack. Windows and any mirrors should be washed with a solution of vinegar and water and polished with newspaper. Do not use so much water as to splash everything as this will cause unsightly spotting.
Since I am by myself I’m not about to attempt hauling furniture outside. I decided that I can move it away from the walls position it in the middle of the room which will give me access to all the walls and windows. When I put the furniture back in place I can clean up the mess in the middle of the room, including the overhead fans.
It is also recommended that if the walls are too dingy after being washed that they be whitewashed with an indoor white washing solution made with Paris White; which is easily obtained from the paint store. After the walls are whitewashed the floor should be well scrubbed. Once dry it should treated with a mixture of boiled linseed oil and burnt sienna rather than varnished.
Again I don’t think I’m going to do things this way. However, if the walls do need repainting this would be a good time to do so. Since I have old oiled wood floors I can also take the time to re-oil them. A strong solution of Murphy’s oil does an excellent job here. I recommended doing this on a day you can air out the house.
All metals should be cleaned with a paste of soda and well rubbed to bring out their shine. Grates should be cleaned and painted with black obtained from the dealer of grates and stoves.
Okay I have brass fireplace tools. I will polish them, but the grate can stay just as it is.
The carpet that was put away in the spring (well rolled in coarse linen with tobacco leaved sprinkled over the whole) needs to be hung in the sunlight and well beaten. Allowing it to air will freshen the carpet before it is laid down for the winter.
I don’t have carpets anymore. Between animals and allergies wood or tile floors are a lot easier to keep. I do have some rugs, but I make sure they are small enough to go in the washer.
The furnishings of the room should be dusted and washed with a mild soap and water solution. After which it should be dried and dressed with a solution comprised equally of vinegar, turpentine and sweet oil. Pledge or Old English Lemon oil is my choic,e thank you.
Bedsteads should be treated with a mixture of corrosive sublimate and spirits of turpentine applied with a feather. This will prevent bedbugs. I’ll just call the exterminator thank you.
Once this is all done the furniture is to be moved back into the house and you have a room ready for winter. My grandmother held to this method with only a few modifications well up into the 1950’s. Every spring and fall we cleaned house according to this method.
