1870s Advice on Maintaining the Sitting Room

[image error]

As the sitting room in the nineteenth century was the most used, the author of Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping advised homemakers to make it the most pleasant one in the home. This compares to the family rooms of today.

If mats were kept at the door, the room could get by with one cleaning a week.

Don’t lay Brussels carpet (a heavy wool rug with a strong linen backing) in the family’s room because they hold a lot of dust and are difficult to clean.

Moths often get under the carpet. To prevent this, mix coarse black pepper with camphor-gum. Spread in thick proportions all around the carpet edges.

When cleaning with oil-cloth, use warm water (no soap.) Mixing milk into the water improves the cleaning.

Have a soiled carpet in the winter? Sprinkle snow onto the stains and sweep before it melts.

Attach a scrap bag to the sewing machine for bits of cloth and thread to keep them off the floor.

“Wire doors and mosquito-nettings” allow fresh air inside the home while keeping out the flies.

Wash windows weekly. Wipe doors after sweeping.

Interesting advice!

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Compiled from Original Recipes. Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping, Applewood Books, 1877.