Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1882-10-11
Damp Houses and How q
Remedy Them.

| Damp houses are fruitful source O
discomfort and disease, and yet, as i'm
portaut as their influence is, it is amaz
ing how seldom means are taken by
which the evil may be prevented
When house is said to be "wel
drained" however true this may be oil
the plans adopted for carrying away
the refuse water of domestic operations
it very rarely means that the site has
been drained to prevent damp.
When experienced medical men see
house after house built on foundations
of deep retentive clay, inefficiently
drained, they foretell the certain ap.
pearance among the inhabtents of
catarrh, rheumatism, scrofula, and a
host of other diseases of a similar
nature. Where damp house exists
in connection with deficient sewerage,
drainage or cesspool full of decom-
posing material-an unfortunate con-
junction too often met with in country
and suburban houses-other and more
dangerous diseases, as typhus fever,
are introduced. The watery midst of
fog rising from damp soil affords an
admirable vehicle for the subtle and
deadly exhalation of the decomposing
drainage matter, by which they are too
certainly conveyed to the interior of
the house. And. physiologically de-
pendent upon the condition of affairs,
mental as well as physical depression
is induced, which drives those SUBJ
jected to the temporary relief afforded
by the use of ardent spirits and other
stimulants. Thus, in this, as well as
in other departments of sanitation, the
connection between physical and moral
disease is easily traced. There can be
no doubt as to the increased pecuniary
and sanitary value of land suitable for
building sites, arising from efficient
drainage being carried out. The great
er the inducements offered by the
healthy condition of neighborhood,
the greater the value of the land for
building sites. An excess of moisture
in any district inevitably influences the
local climate both as regards dryness
and temperature.
The most effectual preventive of
damp houses is the complete drainage
of the site on which they stand. All
other remedies in name, more especially
when the soil is very damp; in such
case lead or slate placed round the bot
tom course of the foundation with
waterproof cement may prove efficient
for the time, but will ultimately become
The system of drainage
for carrying off surplus water from the
land is different from that adopted for
away domestic refuse water,
etc. In the latter it is essential, nay,
that the drains should be
water-tight, capable of conveying the
water admitted to their interior i'm
to its ultimate destination,
but incapable of passing any of it to
the surrounding soil through which
the drains are laid. The former, on
the contrary, should be permeable |
throughout their length that is, haye
apertures of sufficient width throughout |
which the water of the surrounding |
soil can finds its way into the interior |
Of the drain, which should be of such |
shape as to facilitate the removal of the |
water to its destination, preventing its
return to the soil.
In laying and forming the drains the
points should be attended to :
The first to be observed is the uniform
ty of slope or level of the bottom of
The trenches. The method of accom-
plishing the perfectly uniform slope of
The drains, from their highest point to |
heir outfall, is by the use of level-rods |
Or the spirit-level