Ways to clean up fireplace stonework

Q. You once gave me some good advice about cleaning a stone fireplace. I have lost the information. What was it? * We have artesian-well water which stains our bathtub. Rust remover only makes it worse. What can I do to remove the stains? Mrs. Stanley Williams Sharpsville, Ind.

A. We hunted high and low in our card indexes under "Fireplace -- masonry" and "Stains" and have come up with a blank. WE can't find any trace of a column which told how to clean a stone fireplace.

Scrubbing the stone with soap and water may work. Detergents are often effective, such as Spic and Span, or equal.

Another method is to use a commercial fireplace cleaner. There are a number of them. One is called Sure Klean and is made by the Process Solvent Company, 1040 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, Kan. 66104. You can write to the company and ask for its best recommendation for cleaning the stonework.

* And now for the rust-stained bathtub: If you want someone to fix up the tub , simply look in the Yellow Pages of your telephone book under "Bathtubs -- repairing and refinishing." Such stains may take a professional touch to eliminate them.

If you want to try to fix the tub yourself, you might apply an 18 to 25 percent blend of phosphoric acid to the spot. Using a sponge, rub the tub until the rust disappears, if it will. Then hope for the best.