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Show RECONDITION HOMES FOR WINTER With the approach of cold weather it is high time to check the home and make repairs to protect it against undue deterioration deteriora-tion through a possible long, cold, wet winter, says Effie S. Barrows, Bar-rows, extension economist, home management, at the Utah State Agricultural college. It is a good time, also, to make doubly sure that available resources provide the maximum in winter comforts and conveniences. liow does your house look as you come up the walks, or haven't those walks been made yet? You will have to hustle now to get them in soon enough to keep mud trails out of the house. The use of local material may bring good walks within reach of your budget. In what condition do you find the house finish? Paint is considered the best and cheapest insurance against weather. You may reap financial benefits by borrowing a few dollars to apply a protective coat if the surface appears to be only thinly coated or peeling. While at the job, be sure the porch floor is not slighted. Check roofs for visible defects and take care of these before rain begins to pour through: then look after minor repairs upon the first indication of trouble. A small leak may flood the whole interior and wreck structural material. If awnings and screens are taken down, brushed, cleaned, diapped and placed carefully away over Winter they may readily be replaced in the spring. Their life should also be greatly prolonged pro-longed by suitable storage. Doors that sag will soon wear ugly grooves in the floor or holes in floor coverings. Why suffer this deterioration when it is only a moment's job to square them up. Door latches, locks and knobs may have had but little use during the past few months, but when winter winds begin to blow, their strength will be challenged. chal-lenged. Look them over before an emergency arises. Plan to carry the oil can at the same time to relieve squeaks. Do the chimneys appear capable of carrying a peak load ? Perhaps also to withstand an earth tremor as well? Repairs to that cracked, weak chimney today may be the means of saving lune homes tomorroy. The flue, the stove and the furnace, too, will need a thorough cleaning if that was not clone in the spring. One of the' safest and cleanest methods is the burning of dry salt. Open all drafts, then throw several pounds of course salt, previously previ-ously oven dried, upon a bed of red hot coals ; close the stove door and allow the salt to bum out. There need be no concern over flying soot as it becomesa white powdery substance that passes off harmlessly. If soot falls on a carpet before the system is cleaned, clean-ed, sprinkle a thick coat of dry salt over it. It may then be brushed up without leaving a spot. If the house begins below ground, foundations and basements must appear on the list to be checked for possible cracks, leaks and undue accumulation of moisture. Steps, too, should, be secure se-cure . A white strip painted at the bottom of basement steps has prevented many an accident. Windows and doors that are surrounded sur-rounded by cracks will need weather stripping to shut out gusts of frigid air. A check on fuel requirements has proved that from 15 to 20 per cent may be saved by this provision alone. Strips from discarded inner tubes or old felt hats prove a good substitute for the commercial type of stripping, suggests Mrs. Barrows. The Utah Fanner. o |