Home & Hearth: Mattresses and More

Let us not look not back in anger, or forward with fear, but around in awareness. ~James Thurber

I found the following tips in a booklet from 1948. It appears to have been a give-away from First Federal Bank of Detroit. Wonderful tips! The first few are about mattress care, which I found fascinating because quality mattresses today are SO expensive, yet we don't think of doing this much to extend their life.

-Prevent tears in your mattress by dressing your mattress in a muslin cover. Place a mattress pad between the mattress and spring and the between the mattress and sheet.

-Reverse the position of an innerspring at least once a week, turning top to bottom one week, end to end the next week. Air and sun mattresses at least once a week. Every few weeks, clean it on both sides with the brush attachment of vacuum cleaner.

-Don't sit on the edge of the mattress. Never bend or roll an innerspring mattress. Never beat it or stand it on end.

-Check floors for protruding nails, rough boards and kindred saboteurs of rug and carpet life. Remove any protrusions which can wear into your floor coverings.

-Avoid running wires or lamp cords under your rugs. They wear ridges into the fabric and constitute a fire hazard that, in some states, may void fire insurance policies.

-Broken casters on furniture legs are also ruinous to rugs. If these are hard to replace, use caster cups.

-NEVER pull out tufts or knots in your rugs. If there are any that make rugs look shaggy, clip off the long ends with a pair of scissors.

-Reverse the position of your floor coverings, every couple of months, to distribute the wear evenly.

-Take the "throw" out of throw rugs by winding three "preserving jar" rubber rings together with thread and sewing them to the corners of the rug. They form a wonderful suction cup that will prevent many accidents.

I WOULD NEVER HAVE THOUGHT....
Renovate that faded fiber rug: don't delegate it to the junk heap! Give it a coat of your favorite color house paint thinned with turpentine (1 part turpentine to 3 parts paint). Work the paint thoroughly into the fiber with the brush to obtain the best results. (Note: Only do this outside, where you aren't closed in with the fumes, and be sure to wear gloves. I would only try this with a rug on it's last legs!)

Tame your closet clutter this spring with these tips:
http://www.oldfashionedliving.com/clutter2.html