New-York tribune., 1889-11-04
A NEW METHOD OF DISTINCTION.
THE HEALTH DEPARTMENTS EFFORTS TO KILL
GERMS WITHOUT sPoILING CLOTHING

THE HEALTH DEPAkTMENJ . brrOi'AS -
GERMS WITHOUT sPoILING CLOTHING
A new apparatus designed for the destruction OF
disease germs by the action OF hot air has peeh O"
in the Health Departments disnfec'ing station a
the foot Of East skteenth-st 1t is different iro"
apv dlsnfectipr apparaus In the world, and II tie
oxnerpent, proye that It can accomplish what Its de-
sieners have had IN view will be an object OF mucp
interest 10 santarans throughout this country
Tests will be made by the Health Oo'n
missicners and DIR. Cyrus Edison. who have "a'cneu
the building of the apparatus and are expecting II "
remove one great difficulty IN the work oil s'ampinS
out contagion
TIL. problem how 10 dlsinfect bedding and clothing
without DESTROYING them or damaging them greatly
has troubled the officials at Sanitary Headquarters or
five years 1t has been the regular practice 10 oun
the bedding and clothing that have been III oon,so'
with patients suffering from yellow fever ana VphuS
fever but such wholesale destruction has not oeen
attempted by the department I'm cases OF diphthera
scarlet fever measles or smallpox without the con-
sent Of the owners of the infected property There
are so many cases of diphthena alone
in the city every year that the purh-
ing Of the clothing and pedding usou
by an the sufferers would loss OF many thou
sands of dollars. FumiGaton with sulphur Is oruer"
In all such cases, but 1t does not always disnieo''
For more than year the department has been USING
an apparatus in which infected articles are hrst
dried by hot air. 1t disnfects garments readily, Dut
It destroys the coors in many fabrics and the dsih
fected articles are practically ruined All enorts sS ~
disinfcct articles by dry heat IN that appsrats,
because the heat could not be made 10 penetra~ d
mass of clothing. In experiment chunk OF ice ice
I'm a roll of carpet remained unmelted, athOugn tle
outside LAYERS of the carpet were charIel b inc hea
Drs Hermann NJ. Biggs and I. Mlcheh fIuuuUl ~
the pathOlogists of the department VINO scrNo ny
public I'm the performance Of thcir OnclA dutics "ii
out pay invented the new apparatus and iurnlsheii
the plans for its construction. AS II Is nor patei
all the civilized world may use II Ii i WORKS VOL VOL
doctors that all kinds of Infected cloth could De us
infected quicklv and without injury, by the appl
cation Of dry heat II the hot ar could be made 10
penetrate into the middle OF roll or bunde OF cloth
Ing Accordingly they went 10 work with the purpose
of finding out how to make hot air penetrate sue
cessiVe layers of CLOTH c,., s.n
thoir direction consists I'm part Of bIick own elCht
feet long six feet wide and six feet high. with OPEN
lnrs large enough TO admit bedding and clothlng
Inside the brick walls are coils OF steam pipes, |o
protects the clothing 10 be dslnfected from contact
with the steam pipes. Openings In the top ana
bottom Of the oven lead into large tubes when are
covered with felt 10 prevent the escape OF heat ana
The tubes ioln i'm a circnlar box containing fan that
can be made TO revolve with great rapd1ty: AIT IN
the oven be raised TO temperature OF 2l2 degiees
and by means of the tubes ana ian 1t can DC A'p'
In rapid motion without loss OF heat.
After the oven is filed with infected clothing a
constant blast Of hot air, sufficient to ki the worst
germs can be sent through II for any oe,red ienen
OF time without destroying the lighest fabric II IS
expected that the rapid circulation OF the air VIII
cause the heat TO penetrate evenly through the entre
mass OF fabrics and that only brief exposure 10 me
dry heat VIII be necessary TO cOmplcte dhe W0rh
OF germ killing When the tests made telltale'
thermometers will be wrapped UP In bundles OF cIOth
in different parts Of the oven, and II VIII De easy
fect the apparatus is Tho cost of the apparatus was
about 81 500.