Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-05-08

HEALTHFUL CITY HOMES.
The Necessity tor Careful Watciifulness
and Wise Precautioo


HEALTHFUL cry HOMES.
The Necessity tor Careful watci,fulness
and Wise Precaution.
In an article by Dr. Joseph Raymond, of
New York City, in an exchange of that
city, he has the following concerning the
maintenance of healthful homes in cities
1t is said that If you wish to know
whether the mistress of house IS Il good
housekeeper, you should visit the cellar.
If that IS clean and orderly, YOU NAV be
sure that the parlor and sieepinc-rooms are
not neglected. ! remember once SEEING
two carts loaded with ashes leaving a resi-
dence III the most fashionable part of one
OF our popular cities, and witnessing their
return again and again, and their depart
ure, each time similarly loaded was led
to make some inquiries. / found that a
new tenant who had Just moved in. had
given orders to light the fire in the furnace
but this was impossible. The ashes accu-
mulated by the former occupant were so
heaped up about the furnace door and so
packed on the cellar bottom that several
days use of thepick and crowbar were nee
essary before a ire could be lighted. In
many houses the kitchen refuse is mixed
with the ashes, and the cellar made re-
pository for both during winter. If one
can be sure that the ashes are kept free
from this admixture, no harm can come
from the temporary storing OF The furnace
ashes in the cellar; but q watchful
eye must be kept upon the queen of the
kitchen. | recall severe and prolonged
attack of fever which brought low dozen
or more members of family, hich showed
no abatement until large quantity of tur-
nIpS, which had been stored in the cellar
and which had decomposed, were removed.
The remedy to be applied in such cases as
these suggests itself at once to the mind of
every one. There is no portion OF dwell
ing which should he freer from all possible
sources Of contamination than the cellar.
Many houses have furnaces which are I'M
provided with cold-air boxes, and the air
which IS supplied to all the rooms of the
house through the registers is cellar air
warmed for that purpose. If this air is
contaminated, so will be the air of the
sleeping and living apartments and, even
II the air supplied to the furnace comes
from the outside through cold-air box.
cellar air will find its way to the upper parts
of the house through joints in this box. or
through the cellar door, or in some other
way. The cellar should be clean, dry and
well ventilated, AMI it's walls well white
washed at least once each year.
Another cause of ill-health is to be found
in defective plumbing. The plumbing in
most houses was put in when there were
no laws requiring such work to be done
under the direction and supervision of
public officials; and as a consequence, the
basins and other fixtures are often set
Without traps TO prevent the entrance of
sewer air into the rooms in which they
were located. The joints in the pipes were
either not all closed, or so imperfectly was
this done that they might as well have
been left open. These and many other de-
tails, too numerous here to mention. have
called the attention of Legislators to the ne
cessity for legislation on this important
subject, and to-day most cities have laws
which prevent such imposition upon the
people as has been practiced in the past by
spectators and Others whose sole desire
has been to sell their houses, regardless of
what happened to the inmates subse-
quently.
These defects often declare themselves
through offensive odors, bat they may exist,
even to degree which endangers health,
without appealing in any way to the
senses. The occupant of every house
should assure himself at least once year
that the plumbing of his residence is in
perfect condition Where properly organ
lied Boards of Health exist, application to
them will result in an examination by an
expert; where this is impracticable, the
peppermint test may be employed For
this purpose one ounce of oil of pepper
mint should be purchased from the drug
gist and thoroughly mixed with pailfull
of hot water and this poured down the
pipes at the highest point. If. as in many
houses, any of the pipes are carried above
the roof to the outside air, this is the best
place to Introduce the test liquid if thev
do not, then i. should be poured into the
| uppermost basin or water-closet
The odor of peppermint at any point III
| the course of the pipes indicates a defect
through which the peppermint has cs-
capped. another person than the one who
pours the fiaid into the pipes should ex-
anime for the detection of the odor. other
wise mistake may be made and the odor
thought to come from the pipes. when, in
fact, it is OF the hands or clothes of the
| examiner himself. The room in which
the test is put into The pipes should be kept
| tightly closed, so as not to inyalidate the
experiment by permitting the odor to pene-
trate the house from this point
In some houses it will be found that Il e
soil-pipe has been carried above the root
and turned over ut the top so as to form a
sem;-crcuar bend. This was done with
the idea of preventing the introduction fy
mischievous persons of substances which
would obstruct the pipes. The return
bend,' as it is called, is a positive disad-
vantage, interfering, as it does, very ma
teriaily with the proper ventilation Of
the drains, and should be removed, and
Wire SCI er. with large mesh be sub
stituted, or the pipe simply left open at the
top without any cover Whatsoever plan
which answers every purpose. So long as
the bend " remains it will be almost inn
possible to apply the peppermint test TT
the top of the pipe; but one blow Of ham
ner will solve the problem by doing away
with the g return bend" If, however, it is
desired to retain this bend, it will be neces-
sary to close the opening by tight plug,
and then introduce the p. ppermint within
the house, as if there were no pipe to the
roof. If there is reason to suspect any de
feet, a competent plumber should be en-
gagged to remedy it. Money expended for
this purpose is better invested than in
stocks, and will pay high rate of interest
in improved health and freedom from sick
ness. If, on the other hand, this inquiry
be neglected. an amount of money at least
equal to that which would be necessary to
put the plumbing in good order will be
wanted TO pay the doctor and the apothe-
cary, and perhaps the undertaken