Photo: Great grandparents at their farm in Blandinsville, IL, with five of their six children .. my grandpa was yet a twinkle in grandma's eye. Stable boy and governess also pictured. Hodges farm, circa 1903-4
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Cleaning Wool Rugs and Blankets with Snow
This is too cool not to share. I'm posting this so I can reference this method of cleaning when we get a spell of 20F degree weather.
Dear Mrs. Mac, You would have loved my Mom and she sure did like you. When I lived at home - till 18 that was- she had to giant rugs in what we called the dining room and the best living room. Outside the best living room there are a veranda. After Christmas my Mom would drag the two carpets out on the veranda and throw them over the rail down into the garden and the new fallen powder snow. Then she'd use a tool I cannot even find an English word for, a flat bamboo whip, and whip as hard as only she could to get dirt and dust out of the rugs. She would rag it further down, turn it and give the bask side a good whip too. The she'd ask my brother and me for help and spray snow on the rug and have us jump up and down on the carpet to get the rest of dirt and dust out. When my dad cam home from the office, he had the easy job to get the carpet inside again. What a feast, and what a difference it meant to the rugs. My Mom never used chemical carpet rinse. She also said that the snow was the best bleach method. She would place white towels, bed clothings e.t.c. on the snow and let the shining sun help do the job. She always had white linen. I love that you are practicing these old methods again. I usually rinse a nice wool rug knotted by Gunnar's father this way. Great for old cushions too.
Elise .. I was very keen on your dear mom. Would love to know more homemaking tips that she used. I think of her each day when I grab a pair of everyday socks from my sock drawer and see the beautiful knit socks she sent me. If you ever want to pay tribute to some of her domestic skills, please let me know and you can make a special guest post on this blog. Hugs and love!
Sandy .. poke around Granny Miller's blog, she has so many things to discover.
What a good read and I have added that blog to my reads too. Unfortunately we aren't high enough for snow here but I do put my mink coat out on clear winter nights when a heavy frost is predicted. It is said to be one of the best ways to freshen furs.
Look at that cute picture of your family! Sean of Shawn's Potatoes is even in it. Hope you are well. I will check out how to clean my rugs with snow. Happy New Year!
Fantastic share, I'll try and avoid the arguments with my husband in Jan when the snow starts to fall here. He *always* trails it in but now it shouldn't be too much of a problem, maybe I'll even teach him how to do it!! Been looking for a decent resource on this for a while, kudos for the share!
8 comments:
Dear Mrs. Mac,
You would have loved my Mom and she sure did like you.
When I lived at home - till 18 that was- she had to giant rugs in what we called the dining room and the best living room.
Outside the best living room there are a veranda. After Christmas my Mom would drag the two carpets out on the veranda and throw them over the rail down into the garden and the new fallen powder snow. Then she'd use a tool I cannot even find an English word for, a flat bamboo whip, and whip as hard as only she could to get dirt and dust out of the rugs. She would rag it further down, turn it and give the bask side a good whip too. The she'd ask my brother and me for help and spray snow on the rug and have us jump up and down on the carpet to get the rest of dirt and dust out. When my dad cam home from the office, he had the easy job to get the carpet inside again. What a feast, and what a difference it meant to the rugs.
My Mom never used chemical carpet rinse.
She also said that the snow was the best bleach method. She would place white towels, bed clothings e.t.c. on the snow and let the shining sun help do the job. She always had white linen.
I love that you are practicing these old methods again. I usually rinse a nice wool rug knotted by Gunnar's father this way. Great for old cushions too.
What a great idea!
As you have, I'm going to keep this as reference. Thank you for sharing, I've added Granny Miller to my blog roll.
Elise .. I was very keen on your dear mom. Would love to know more homemaking tips that she used. I think of her each day when I grab a pair of everyday socks from my sock drawer and see the beautiful knit socks she sent me. If you ever want to pay tribute to some of her domestic skills, please let me know and you can make a special guest post on this blog. Hugs and love!
Sandy .. poke around Granny Miller's blog, she has so many things to discover.
It's too bad there is no snow down here as I have several old rugs that could use a good cleaning like this.
FlowerLady Lorraine
Thanks for the tip, Mrs Mac. Now - all I need is snow again this coming winter...
What a good read and I have added that blog to my reads too. Unfortunately we aren't high enough for snow here but I do put my mink coat out on clear winter nights when a heavy frost is predicted. It is said to be one of the best ways to freshen furs.
Look at that cute picture of your family! Sean of Shawn's Potatoes is even in it. Hope you are well. I will check out how to clean my rugs with snow. Happy New Year!
Fantastic share, I'll try and avoid the arguments with my husband in Jan when the snow starts to fall here. He *always* trails it in but now it shouldn't be too much of a problem, maybe I'll even teach him how to do it!! Been looking for a decent resource on this for a while, kudos for the share!
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