19-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Wednesday, April 22, 1914: Spent part of the day on my knees. Now I don’t mean I was trying to be good. I was cleaning house.
For Wiping Up Wood or Tile Floors
This long handle has a row of rubber teeth on the crossbar at the end. When a wet cloth is laid on any floor this handle is used to push it, as the rubber teeth grip the cloth, and guide it over the surface. It makes the wiping up of many floors a very simple matter, as it is light, easily pushed and forces the cloth close to baseboards.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Grandma-
Whew, spring housecleaning can be hard work. Maybe you need some of the new labor-saving cleaning equipment featured in the December, 1914 issue of Ladies Home Journal.
According to the article these are “the newest labor-savers for women—and not one of them costs more than fifty cents.”
A Dustpan that Saves Sweeping
No need for a housekeeper to stoop for every paper and match provided she has this long-handled sanitary dustpan. The pan opens as it is set down, and closes as it is lifted. The sweepings need not be emptied until the pan is full. It can be carried, full, on one arm while both hands carry other articles.
Washes the Windows Faster
In this device are combined water pail, sponge, and drying cloth. There is a shallow reservoir of metal, with a sponge on one side and a rubber “squee-gee” on the other. The whole is mounted on a convenient handle and is especially useful for outside window cleaning.
