Cleaning Agents - Absorbents And Abrasives

Two of the cleaning agents that are common in used are Absorbents and Abrasives, read the ideas on how to use them for your furniture.

There are polishes available in the market. But we often feel hesitate to buy them, as we don't know how to use them. In this article you will learn the difference of polishes.

ABSORBENTS are powders such as talc, fuller's earth, magnesium carbonate, and French chalk all to be had at Abrasives / Oils drugstores and also cornstarch and cornmeal, available on grocery shelves. They are often very effective for light stains and are easy to use and completely harmless to all materials. Absorbents are sprinkled onto stains and allowed to remain overnight, or worked gently into certain stains, shaken out, and the process repeated. Sometimes they are mixed with a cleaning fluid to form a paste, which is allowed to dry on the stain, and then brushed off. Uses for absorbents will be discussed later.

ABRASIVES are materials that clean by scouring off accumulated grime and stains. Care must be taken that they do not damage the surface being cleaned. Rottenstone, whiting, powdered pumice, volcanic ash, powdered tin oxide, and jeweler's rouge are some of the abrasives. They can sometimes be obtained at paint and hardware stores, but you may have to get them from a wholesale chemical house yourself or have your druggist order them for you. All of these abrasives have valuable and timesaving uses. Some are good for cleaning furniture, others for polishing metals, and many of them are available in varying degrees of fineness. Scouring powders sold under trade names are abrasives too, differing in what they contain and in their degree of harshness. Many contain strong alkalis, which are effective for some purposes but damaging for others. Whiting (powdered chalk) is a fine mild abrasive. It can be bought at paint stores in various degrees of fineness and has many uses around the home. A fine grade (gilder's whiting) is used as a silver polish.

FURNITURE AND FLOOR POLISHES are presented to the homemaker in great variety. Some are waxes and some are oils. Make a point of reading the label so that you will know what you are buying and how it is meant to be used.

OIL POLISHES contain linseed oil or paraffin oil, with other ingredients.

WAX POLISHES may contain a variety of waxes, some, like camauba, very hard. The wax polishes that require buffing contain naphtha or a similar dry cleaning agent. Self-polishing waxes contain water instead of naphtha and do not require buffing. Other waxes are made for specific cleaning purposes.

TURPENTINE AND LINSEED OIL, ingredients of many polishes, have uses in their own right in cleaning furniture and treating blemishes. They can be bought in paint and hardware stores. Boiled linseed oil is ordinary linseed oil that has gone through a complicated industrial heating process.

You buy linseed oil either "raw" or "boiled," depending upon the use for which it is intended. You cannot boil it yourself.

OIL FOR LEATHER. Linseed oil and paraffin oil are fine for wood, but bad for leather. If you want an oil to protect leather from the damage that results from excessive drying, select neat's foot oil (shoe repair shop), castor oil, white Vaseline, or saddle soap.

This will give you a general picture of some of the materials that aid in cleaning. Their proper use is given in the chapters, which follow. We hope the information will greatly simplify your cleaning problems.

For light stains we can use the Absorbents and it is very effective and easy to use and harmless for materials. You can use the abrasives to clean accumulated grime and stains. These abrasives have valuable and timesaving uses. Polishes can be used to clean floors and furniture. But you can also use the oil to clean the furniture and treating blemishes. Use the Oil to clean the leather products. This will make the leather's surface last longer.