Household Repair Recipes

Cleaning Wallpaper

Believe it or not, a thick slice of stale bread will act just like a giant eraser for cleaning dust and grime off your living room wallpaper. Simply wipe down the walls with the flat of a slice of stale bread, it will take off the dirt like magic, and the only clean-up to do is sweep up some crumbs.

Wood Filler

If you have a chip or a gouge in a piece of wood furniture, here is a simple recipe for a filling compound that will be virtually undetectable. Mix a small quantity of each ingredient to make a batch suitable to the job: white glue, tissue paper, linseed oil, and chalk. Boil up the glue and when its melted, add the tissue paper, which will readily go to pieces. Add the oil and the chalk and stir until the mixture is nice, thick consistency. The thick, kneadable dough will work perfectly for plugging holes and filling chips, and should set hard in two or three days.

Paint Remover

Here is a recipe for a cheap, but effective paint removing solution: 1 lb. Flour and 1 lb. Soda and about 1 cup of boiling water. Mix the flour and the boiling water together into a thick paste, then add the soda and stir vigorously. Apply the mixture to the painted surface with a paintbrush and let sit for 15 - 20 minutes. After that time, scrub and scrape off the mixture - this should take both the paste and the paint off the surface. Wash it down with a mixture of warm water and vinegar to neutralize the soda, and remember to wear rubber gloves during the whole procedure.

Putty

Useful for filling cracks and covering screws in walls prior to painting, here is a simple recipe for putty: Boil 1 lb. of flour in 6 pt. of water, and add a teaspoon of alum. Soak torn up pieces of newspaper in this paste until a putty-like consistency is reached.

Putty Softener

To soften old putty in order to remove it from walls or other surfaces, apply to it a small amount of paraffin oil. This dissolves the linseed oil in the putty and quickly makes it pliable again.