Hardwood, Not Hard Work
Maudline Cajou is at the helm of an alarmingly loud, ancient, dusty-pink Hoover buffer, pushing, pulling, carefully skirting the edges of the Oriental rug on the living room floor in Margot Kelly’s Capitol Hill house.
For 14 years, the routine has never varied: One week Kelly’s house cleaner waxes the 200-year-old floors and then buffs; the next week she only buffs.
“I love to wax,” Cajou said. “I sweep it off first, then wash it with a tiny bit of dish soap and water and rinse very lightly. Then I lightly apply Johnson’s paste wax on my hands and knees, the old-fashioned way — let it dry for about an hour, then shine with the polisher. I like it to look nice when it’s done.”