=Cadavers= of infected persons ought to be cremated, but as this is
not always practicable, the next best way is to properly wash the
surface of the body with a formalin or other disinfecting solution,
and then to have the body embalmed, thus disinfecting it internally
and externally.
Disinfectors, coming often as they do in contact with infected
materials and persons, should know how to disinfect their own _persons
and clothing_. So far as clothing is concerned the rule should be that
those handling infected materials have a special uniform[22] which is
cleaned and disinfected after the day's work is done. The hands should
receive careful attention, as otherwise the disinfector may carry
infection to his home. The best method of disinfecting the hands is to
thoroughly wash and scrub them for five minutes with green soap,
brush, and water, then immerse first for one minute in alcohol, and
then in a hot 1:1,000 bichloride solution. The nails should be
carefully scrubbed and cleaned.
FOOTNOTES:
[20] Blankets, carpets, and rugs should be frequently hung out on the
line in the bright sunlight.--EDITOR.
[21] Unless books are valuable it is best to burn them. Paper will
hold germs for several weeks. Recent experiments show that certain
pathogenic bacteria, including the bacilli of diphtheria, will live
for twenty-eight days on paper money.--EDITOR.
[22] Duck, linen, or any washable material will do.--EDITOR.
CHAPTER XI
=Cost of Conveyed Heating Systems=[23]
In our variable climate, with its sudden and extreme changes in
temperature, the matter of heating and ventilation demands the serious
attention of all houseowners and housebuilders.
The most common method of heating the modern dwelling is by a hot-air
furnace in the cellar, with sheet-metal ducts for conveying the heated
air to the various rooms. The advantages of a furnace are cheapness of
installation and, in moderate weather, a plentiful supply of warm but
very dry air. The disadvantages are the cost of fuel consumed, the
liability of the furnace to give off gas under certain conditions, and
the inability to heat certain rooms with some combinations of
temperature and wind. The cost of installing a furnace and its proper
ducts in a ten-room house is from $250 to $350; such a furnace will
consume fifteen to twenty tons of anthracite coal in a season in the
latitude of New York City. The hot-air system works better with
compact square houses than with long, "rangy" structures. For a house
fully exposed to the northwest blasts, one of the other systems should
be considered.
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