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Show FIRST-AID to the AILING HOUSE By ROGER I. WHITMAN Roger B. Whitman WNU Features. CRUMBLING FOUNDATION Question: Our house has been neglected neg-lected for some time and the foundation foun-dation seems to be crumbling. Rubbing Rub-bing against the cellar wall makes the cement break off like sand, and water seeps in after heavy rains. What can be done to stop this condition? con-dition? Answer: If the concrete is very sandy and porous there is little that can be done, especially if it is sandy for its entire thickness. However, it may help to coat the outside of the foundation walls down to the footings with liquid tar or asphalt, and paint the inside of the walls with a cement base paint obtained from a dealer in mason materials. CARE OF NEW LADDER Question: I have a brand-new ladder that I keep in the garage. What shall I paint it with to keep it in good condition? Answer: Give the ladder a liberal lib-eral coat of raw linseed oil, wiping Btli off the excess. Repeat in a few days and continue for as long as the wood absorbs the oil. Repeat every three months. Removing Enamel ' Question: How can I remove enamel en-amel (three layers deep) from a breakfast-nook set? I have not had much success with a prepared paint remover. -N Answer: Three pounds of trisodi- um phosphate dissolved in a gallon of hot water makes an excellent paint remover. Put this on liberally, liberal-ly, using a dishmop for convenience; and when the enamel has softened, remove it by wiping with steel wool or scrape it off with a putty knife. Rinse off all traces of the solution with clear water and allow the wood to dry thoroughly. Smooth, if necessary, neces-sary, by rubbing with fine sandpaper, sand-paper, and wipe off the dust. Tri-sodium Tri-sodium phosphate is sold at grocery stores under various trade names. It is a coarse, whitish powder that makes no lather. Cleaning Floors With Wax Question: You sometimes have said that hardwood floors and even linoleum should be cleaned with liquid liq-uid wax. Just what do you mean? How can a liquid wax have cleaning clean-ing properties? Answer: There are three forms of floor waxes on the market: paste wax, which is of the consistency of butter; liquid wax, which is paste wax thinned with naphtha or other solvent; and water wax, or water-emulsion water-emulsion wax. The last is what generally is known as a self-polishing or non-rubbing wax. Floors polished pol-ished with paste wax can be cleaned with a liquid wax because the solvent sol-vent in such wax will loosen the dirt that has worked into the old paste wax on the floor. Painting New Cabinet Question: How should I paint a new, unpainted kitchen cabinet? When should the nail holes be filled? Should I use putty for this? Answer: Clean the wood and see that it is smooth, then apply a first coat of enamel undercoat or flat paint thinned with a pint of raw linseed lin-seed oil to the gallon of paint. After the first coat is dry, fill all nail holes with putty. Put on a second coat of undercoat or flat paint, and, when dry, smooth the surface by rubbing lightly with 000 sandpaper. Wipe off the dust and finish with good quality quick-drying enamel. Fuzz on the Floor Question: What can I use, besides warm water, to loosen newspapei " and fuzz from a cheap pad off my floor boards? Answer: Rub the fuzzy area with turpentine and fine steel wool, with out using too much pressure. Polish Pol-ish with paste wax. Rain Slicker --"tion: How can I treat my rain slicker that became sticky during dur-ing the hot weather? Ai.swer: Many sporting goods shops and department stores that handle this type of raincoat sell a preparation that is intended to re- ( vivo the finish |
