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Show FIRST-AID AILING HOUSE by Roger B: Whitman s"'"" Roger B. Whitman WNU Features. CSING CARBIDE RESIDUE FROM ACETYLENE BURNERS "I HAVE a quantity of carbide residue from an acetylene welding weld-ing outfit." writes a correspondent, "and have heard that I can make whitewash with it. . How should I mix it?" Carbide residue is pure lime in a finely divided form, and can be used as a substitute for lime for many uses. As a whitewash it is excellent and can be substituted for hydrated lime in practically all of the formulas, using perhaps 50 per cent more. One excellent formula for-mula for weatherproof whitewash is made by mixing 60 pounds of carbide car-bide residue with water to form a cream. To this is added a solution of 1 pound of common salt and pound of zinc sulphate in 1 gallon of boiling water, to which is added 1 gallon of skimmed milk. .This solution so-lution is added to the carbide residue resi-due cream and stirred well. Cracking Plaster Question: In several houses that I have inspected lately, there are large cracks in the plaster walls or ceilings. How can I prevent this in building a new house with a cement block basement? Answer: The usual cause of plaster plas-ter cracking is settlement, which may be from the sinking of the foundations foun-dations into the ground, or the shrinkage of the wood frame. Sinking Sink-ing of the foundation can be pre-. pre-. vented by providing footings of a sufficient size to carry the weight Settlement from the shrinkage of the timbers that might cause plaster plas-ter cracking can be guarded against by the design of the framework. You can get information on this from the National Lumber Manufacturers association, as-sociation, Washington. D. C. Smelly Containers Question: I have received a very handsome kitchen utensil set, but cannot use the containers because of the odor picked up by sugar, coffee, cof-fee, etc. Washing does no good, nor baking soda in warm water, or airing. Whpt can you suggest? Answer: Try the effect of enclosing enclos-ing in each container a can of charcoal, char-coal, such as is made for deodorizing deodoriz-ing refrigerators. These can be had at dime and hardware stores. Charcoal Char-coal is an excellent absorber of odors,, and should work well. Burning Wood. Question: We have steam heat. During the cool fall days, before the fire is started for the winter, will it be all right to burn wood in the furnace fur-nace when heat is needed? Answer: I do not advise it; for soot and other products of combustion combus-tion might cause a serious clogging of the flues in the boiler and the chimney also. You would have to burn a great deal of wood to bring the water up to the boiling point. You will do much better to run a low coal fire. Cleaning Drainboard Question: How can I clean the drainboard of my kitchen sink? The dirt seems to stick in the grooves. Answer: It may be that your drainboard is not acid-proof and that the enamel has been damaged by acidity or the incorrect use of a strong drain cleaner. Try bleaching bleach-ing with a mild solution of Javelle water or something similar, or apply ap-ply a paste made of household ammonia am-monia and a scratchless cleaning powder, allowing it to stand for several sev-eral hours. Refinishing a Floor Question: I have removed the varnish var-nish from my floor, but find that after aft-er using a bleach it remains spotted. What should I do now? Answer: Your best move will be to have the floor gone over with an electric floor machine which will remove re-move all the spotted wood and will expose new wood, which will be easy to refinish. The floor can then be refinished with any one of the new and effective floor seals, finished, fin-ished, if you desire, by waxing.' Leaded Glass Question: Can you give me the name of anything better than putty for leaded glass? The putty falls out so frequently. Answer: Plastic roofing cement stiffened with dry Portland cement can be used. This is black. For a white cement, use a half-and-half mixture of linseed oil and spar varnish, var-nish, with a little japan drier, made into a stiff paste by the addition of powdered whiting. Or use white lead. Storing Books Question: Is it safe to store books in an attic that is hot in the summertime? summer-time? Is it safe to store books in a basement flat? Answer: Summer heat will not do any great harm to books, but moisture mois-ture will be most injurious. Storage of anything in a basement is never safe because the atmosphere is likely like-ly to be damp. Thermostat Night Setting Question: You have said that the night setting of a thermostat should not be lower than 65 degrees. Why is this? We have been in the habit of setting ours back to 55. Would our method cause the wood moulding mould-ing to separate? Answer: The reason for not set-thing set-thing the thermostat back below 65 degrees is for the purpose of saving fuel. It takes more fuel to raise the temperature from 55 to 70, (the morning setting) than .from 65 to 70 degrees. The wood moulding would not be affected in either case. |
