The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1880-07-01
Poisonous WALLPAPER in Bedrooms.
Scientific Monthly.

Scientific Monthly.
Imperceptibly but surely room the
walls of which are covered from wear
to year with the same paper is a room
the air of which is dirty, so that the
very temptations to delay renewal, and
the very arguments of economy, be-
come the strongest of elections to pa
pers altogether. When the air Of the
room is damp, the paper gets damp.
In the damp state it absorbs readily the
dust that is in the air. When the
weather gets dry and warm, or when
the room is warmed by fire, the dust
becomes dry on the paper, and is then
easily waited and distributed through
the air of the room, while if the paper
be at all rough or raised, the small ir-
regular spaces are at all times recepta-
Giles for dust. This is a strong objection
to the paper covering for the wall.
Another objection to the paper cover
ing is the mode in which it is put on
the walls. AS common practice, lay
er is laid on layer until six or seven or
more layers are sometimes put one
over the other. And I have recently
seen a room stripped Of no fewer than
ten layers of paper before the wall was
reached. By this plan the room be-
comes lined with coating after coating
of paste, which in course of time is de-
composed, is turned into fine organic
dust, and is itself, whenever the paper
is torn away SO as to allow Of an escape
of dust, a decided source of danger to
health. Let sickness take place in a
room the walls of which are treated in
the manner now described-let the
particles of the poison of Il CONTAGIOUS
disease disseminate in such room.
and almost of a certainty some minute
portion Of the particular poison will be
cased up behind the new paper that
is laid on, to remain a source of dam
ger to after-occupants of the room for
years and years to come.
For these reasons-and [ think they
are sound and good think the com
mon system of paper for the walls of
the bedroom is not the best. If a paper
could be invented which, once laid on.
would present permanent surface and
a surface that would admit of system
attic cleansing by means of soap and
water, or by dry scrubbing, then I
should not have word to say against it..
and such an invention will, / should
hope, one day be brought into common
use.
The nearest approach I have ever
seen to perfect success in the direction
named was i'll the house of of q friend
of mine, who had his room very care
fully papered with a good fine paper of
oak pattern. This paper coated with
coach-maker's varnish until the entire
surface was in truth as hard as the
panel of a carriage itself. This wall
could be washed with the greatest case,
and was as perfect as need be. Some
times in the halls and on the staircases
Of houses we see oak and marble pa pers
which are vanished, and which bear to
be washed very we'll; but I have never
seen those walls so perfect as the walls
of the room I specially name, and Ger
tainly I have seen no approach to any
thing ofthe kind within room.
Presuming that paper is used for the
walls of a bedroom, there are certain
rules which ought to be followed in re-
spect to the process. The first of these
is that the paper selected should
not be a flock paper; next,
it ought not to have a raised
OF. roug h surface; thirdly the pattern
should be of the plainest possible kind,
and, If may SO express it, patternless;
the color should be gray or sea-green !:
and lastly, the paper should be FREQUENT
~ renewed,-it should be changed every
three years at least. Moreover in chang
ing the paper there should be no slipshod
M ethod of putting on new paper be-
fore the removal of the old. The old
paper should be entirely stripped off as
the wall should be well cleansed of dry
paste, and the new paper should be put
on with paste that is quite fresh and
pure. The introduction of a little alum
into the paste is always good practice.
In cases where person has suffered
from any one of the contagious diseases
and has occupied a room the walls
which are covered with paper, there
should be no hesitation, when the room
is relieved of it's occupant, in cleaning
every particle of paper from the walls
at once, also making the clearance as
complete as possible. I usually direct
in such cases, that the paper, while it is
yet on the wall should be saturated with
water that is at boiling heat the water be-
ing applied with a. small flannel or WOOL
en'mop. In this manner two purposes are
served: The heat disinfects, and the
paper is made to peel of with great
readiness and completeness. When the
paper is thus removed down to the solid
walls, the wall may be fumigated with
sulphurous acid vapor and afterward
washed down sponged, and allowed to
dry. After such cleansing the new
paper may be laid on, the ceiling
having been previously cleansed and
colored.