The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
First Aid For The Ailing Houses
The paste should be allowed to remain until dry, and then removed with a soft brush. It may be necessary to repeat. If the paper is old and soiled, it should first be cleaned to the area around the stain with a wallpaper cleaner. If this is not done, the paste will leave a cleaned place surrounded by a dirty ring. Remember too, the cleaned area will be conspicuous if the wallpaper is getting old and has "aged" uniformly.
Ink and many other stains can be removed with a commercial ink remover, which is usually to be had inexpensively in two bottles; the spot is wet with Solution 1, the excess blotted, and then wet with Solution 2. Javelle water can also be used, followed by clear water. These solutions are most conveniently applied with a water-color paintbrush only slightly wet; not enough of any liquid should be used to run down the wall.
These solutions are bleaches and are likely to remove the color from the pattern. This is not an objection, for when the paper is dry, the pattern can be filled in with water-color paints or crayons. No great skill is required.
Another ink remover with less effect as a bleach is a half-and-half mixture of household ammonia and hydrogen peroxide.
For bathrooms, kitchens, and other places where the air is damp, there are wallpapers that are waterproof (and washable) as a result of having been finished with varnish or plastic lacquer.
One method to prevent excessive soiling of paper is to spray the areas of greatest contact with a clear, plastic lacquer, which is available in aerosol cans. This lacquer should be used only when the paper is new, for it will seal in old dirt and stains under the washable coating. Clear varnish may be brushed on, but it must be thinned greatly, and even then will turn the paper somewhat yellowish.
Wallcloth is a cotton fabric printed with waterproof oil paint in wallpaper designs. It may also be purchased in a plain oil-paint finish intended for painting, or as "unfilled," without an oil-paint covering. This latter type requires a special sizing before it can be painted. The plain and unfilled types of wallcloth are usually intended for covering plaster walls that present a patched or cracked appearance.
Because of the strength and elasticity of wallcloth, plaster cracks are not likely to show through. Wallcloth strengthens and supports weak and cracking plaster. It is also recommended for covering plaster ceilings. It can be used for covering wood walls and ceilings where the boards are grooved or beaded. The surface should first be covered with deadening felt, which resembles soft paper, held all over with small tacks 6 inches or so apart. Wallcloth is then hung in the ordinary way. With the softness of the felt and the elasticity of the wallcloth. grooves and cracks in the wood surface should not show through. In hanging, the wallcloth should not be brushed down so hard that the felt is pressed into the grooves.
