Cleaning Floors In The 19th Century

Carpets were mass produced in britain from the mid 19th century and they became much cheaper.

Cleaning floors in the 19th century.

It made it far. Not too long ago as i was researching information on hardwood floors and finishes during the 1800 s in north america when i stumbled upon a great online library that had thousands of old books periodicals catalogues postcards brochures and photos amongst other cool things from that era. This warm and cozy kitchen sits in a converted 19th century barn. Cleaning wood floors presents a quandary.

Some enterprising families and businesses would use crushed quartz for flooring as. Melville bissell invented a carpet sweeper in 1876. Spare a thought for 19th century housekeepers for whom spring cleaning involved considerable time elbow grease and disruption. By the last decade of the 19th century and well into the 20th hardwood floors became the norm for all new construction.

The big enemy is water. What radically changed the look of floors during the second half of the 19th century was the shift to tongue and groove strip flooring. They re the ultimate in hard wearing surfaces go round a stately 19th century home and you re likely to see many original boards. Mop up spills promptly and if you have.

Yet if you don t clean them correctly they can warp rot and become permanently stained. Topsy turvy the order of the day american writer susan fenimore cooper daughter of james fenimore cooper described the upheaval involved in spring cleaning in cooperstown new york in april 1848. On the golfields the early arrivals had to contend with the most basic of dwellings. You had to hang up the carpet and beat it with a carpet beater a handle and large flat paddle usually made of cane.

However cleaning carpets was no easy task in the 19th century. In 18th and 19th century london flanders tile and hearthstones were sold by street vendors with hand carts. Turn a blow dryer on high heat the area where the crayon was applied and buff it with a soft cloth. If there are scratches that stand out after cleaning the hardwood floor simply take a crayon the color of the floor and rub it on the scratch to fill the gap.

Bath brick pictured left was. You may be sure your work is well done then and you may proceed to dry the floor with a clean mop or clean floor cloth. Then continue to rinse your floor with clean water until the water is colorless. Plain strips of tongue and groove flooring usually in oak was now throughout most custom made and spec houses in hallways ground floors and upper floors.

Sweeping beating and scrubbing keeping the floors clean in the 1850s was a never ending challenge.