Tips on Cleaning the Materials in The Living Room

There are some other materials in the living room accept the brass and bronze, find some tips on how to clean them.

Lamp shades made from different fabrics, which makes them has to be treated according to their fabrics. Find out on how to clean the lamp shades according to their fabrics.

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.

Clean the candlesticks using hot water. Crystal pendants can be cleaned with warm water with little ammonia. Kerosene lamps need to be kept very clean for good service and safety. Use vacuum cleaner dusting brush or soft brush to dust the lamp shades. For lamp shades of silk, rayon or similar materials, can be washed if they are sewed and washable.

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