Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, November 1899: Volume LVI, No. 1Various
Science
Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, November 1899: Volume LVI, No. 1
Various
Science -- Periodicals; Technology -- Periodicals
To guard against the ever-present danger of infection by germs, the
sanitary floor coverings recommended should be wiped every day with a
moist rag or cloth. Carpeted floors should be covered with moist tea
leaves or sawdust before sweeping to prevent the usual dust-raising.
The common use of the feather duster is to be deprecated, for it only
raises and scatters the dust, but it does not remove it. Dusting of
the furniture should be done with a dampened dust cloth. The cleaning
should include the hot-air registers, where a large amount of dust
collects, which can only be removed by occasionally opening up the
register faces and wiping out the pipe surfaces; also the baseboards
and all cornice projections on which dust constantly settles. While
dusting and sweeping, the windows should be opened; an occasional
admission of sunlight, where practicable, would likewise be of the
greatest benefit.
The writer believes that a sanitary inspection of theater buildings
should be instituted once a year when they are closed up in summer. He
would also suggest that the granting of the annual license should be
made dependent not only, as at present, upon the condition of safety
of the building against fire and panic, but also upon its sanitary
condition. In connection with the sanitary inspection, a thorough
disinfection by sulphur, or better with formaldehyde gas, should be
carried out by the health authorities. If necessary, the disinfection
of the building should be repeated several times a year, particularly
during general epidemics of influenza or pneumonia.
Safety measures against outbreaks of fire, dangers from panic,
accidents, etc., are in a certain sense also sanitary improvements, but
can not be discussed here.[9]
[9] See the author's work, Theater Fires and Panics, 1895.
In order to anticipate captious criticisms, the writer would state
that in this paper he has not attempted to set forth new theories, nor
to advocate any special system of theater ventilation. His aim was
to describe existing defects and to point out well-known remedies.
The question of efficient theater sanitation belongs quite as much to
the province of the sanitary engineer as to that of the architect.
It is one of paramount importance--certainly more so than the purely
architectural features of exterior and interior decoration.
* * * * *
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account