Monthly Archives: July 2009

Home Imperial : How to clean antique furniture

Posted on by
Reply

Cleaning antique furniture is one of the most soothing jobs; especially if you love antiques. When cleaning antique furniture you stroke the furniture as if it’s your lover-slowly and gently. An antique piece is precious and should be treated as such. There are a few ideas that will prove to be helpful in cleaning your special piece. They are:

Cleaning cloths & mixture

The proper cleaning cloths are just as important as the type of cleaner that you use. First make sure that all dust is completely wiped away from furniture before applying type of cleaner. One simple way to clean is make your own polish or cleaner. You can save money by using some household products and combine them: three parts olive oil, one part vinegar, and stir. Mix thoroughly and began to polish. The second homemade mixture is: one part lemon oil to three parts olive oil. By using the above mixtures –save some money, because these are every day household items.

Murphy soap/oil

Murphy has been around for a very long time and it’s a trusted name. Murphy cleans some of the finest homes including God’s house pews and furniture. Soap and water applied lightly helps wipe away finger prints, grease, dirt, grim and other lose things that might be taking away from the piece. Make sure that you don’t use too much water because that can also be damaging to the furniture.

Mineral spirit

Mineral spirit is very good to use on an old antique piece. Mineral spirit is also used to help restore the natural lustier to a piece. When using mineral spirit you must remember to work in a well vented area or outside-you don’t want to inhale the fumes. If the piece has small scratches you might stroke with a very fine steel wool pad in the directions of the grain-always. If, this does not work you might have to use a little stronger.

Stripping

Prepare the surface by cleaning as much wax and scum off as you possible can remove. Make sure you have gloves, steel wool, linseed oil, and warm water. Make sure the area is vented for air or use the outdoors. This is to prevent inhaling the fumes; if inhaled it could cause damage over a long period of time.

Once the piece is free and clean from all signs of debris -you are now ready to restore the furniture to its natural finish. Wipe the piece down several times with linseed oil to make sure all nooks and crannies are free of cleaning solvent. Then apply a small cot of natural finisher and your piece now sparkles like new.

Learn more about this author, Bernice Dennis.

Home Imperial : Bathroom floor tile choice

Posted on by
Reply

We all want our bathrooms to look fresh and clean, and the floor area is no exception and can make the world of difference to presentation. The bathroom area in a home is a high traffic area which is also prone to being subjected to damp conditions. It is therefore wise to know your options before spending a lot of money on unsuitable tiling for the floor of your bathroom. There are many things to consider before making that purchase and this article sets out the possibilities which will make your experience a successful one.

*Type of tile.
*Size which works best for your bathroom.
*Color range.
*Cutting.
*Adhesive and grout.
*Finish.

Type of tile.
There are a variety of tiles available to suit all budgets, though each has its own special needs dependent upon the type of sub-floor which is available upon which to lay tiles. For example, if you would like ceramic tiles though have wooden floors, preparation of the floor surface to take tiles may make this a costly process, and this should be decided before spending money. Wooden floors move, and the movement means that the tiles are subject to movement as well and can easily crack.

To prepare a wooden floor for taking tile, you must make that surface stable, and the best method to do this is to place a layer of three quarter ply onto the existing surface, making sure that the surface is perfectly flat, and finishing this with concrete backer board. What this does is give the ceramic tiling a great surface to adhere to, and eliminate the problem of movement. Thus if ceramic tile is to be used, you will need to add the expense of backing board and ply to the overall cost estimated.

Ceramic tiles come in various sizes. Look at the overall size of the bathroom when deciding which suits your purpose. Large tiles may mean less grout work, but large tiles do not always look elegant if placed in a small area and may be difficult to cut to size. Try different designs to see how they would work, as smaller tiling laid in a diagonal manner is often very effective, and can cut down on the amount of cuts you will need to get a great finish. The ceramic tile for a bathroom area should have a glazed finish, since absorbent tile is not really suited to an area of the house which will suffer from humidity.