The record-union., 1891-07-16
Sanitary Plumbing.

Eds. RECoRD-U has been
great deal said in the last two or three
months through the papers, and outside,
about our sanitary system of plumbing,
sewage, ventilation, etc.
My house on Seventh street, between
Fl and |, became SO dilapidated that was
compelled to remodel it. One of my first
thoughts was to adopt the very best
system of plumbing and ventilation that
is known In the United States, SO far as /
know, and that is the Durham System
of House Drainage" and l commenced
to have the work done in accordance with
that system. When I had got the work
pretty well advanced who should come
along but the City Plumbing Inspector,
and he says to me: You can't proceed
work; you are doing your plumbing
contrary to the law Of the city. The law
says you must put III four-inch extra
vent-plpe, and independent of all other
pipes, leading from the cesspool back
to the house and three feet above the
roof"
said: 81 shall not put any such vent
in my cesspool," and gave him my
reasons why 1 would not do it, which /
will give you, Messrs Editors, and the
public, if you will publish this COM
munication.
Suppose there was a vent-pipe from
every cesspool in the city leading to the
top of our houses, as above described,
what do you think the effect would be
in regard to the health of the city? 1
think it would be decidedly bad. l be-
lieve it is generally understood that
Vitiated air is heavier than pure air,
| consequently it would drop as soon as it
left the vent-pipe and be conveyed into
| the houses around about, and among the
nnYNln halo 70 s1,oi 70
their lungs.
Now, l had supposed in my ignorance
| that we ought TO adopt system to pre-
vent noxious gases from reaching our
houses, but this system is right the re-
verse-it draws all the noXious gases di-
rect from the cesspool to the house in
place of letting them pass quietly away
end oft, and from the city.
read in last Sundays Leader that the
death of Governor Markham's little
daughter was caused by sewer gas being
led direct from the sewer to the house
through pipe; yet the City Inspector of
Plumbing tells me that [ must put
vent-pipe into my cesspool, which will
accomplish the same thing. Well, 1 am
not going to Go it until l am compelled
to by law.
Ny system, or rather the Durham
System of House Drainage and Ventila-
llOu, WHICH L nave ADOPTED Tor my
house on Seventh street, is something
like the following, which you will see is
quite simple: Every patent water-closet
has trap, or should have. From this
trap there is four-inch vent-pipe lead
ing up to the top of the house; also, a
four-inch soil-pipe leading to the cess
| pool. Somewhere between the cesspool
| and the trap Of the closet is another trap,
which is supposed to prevent large
majority Of the vitiated air from entering
| the closet or into the house Between
these two traps is vent, or more prop
erly speaking, an air-pipe, which leads
three feet above the roof. Now, this air
pipe is supposed to be full of fresh air all
the time, also to supply the space be-
tween the two traps with fresh air.
| Should any gas or yitiated air pass
through the trap nearest to the cesspool
it will Immediately be carried off up
| through the air-pipe TO and above the
roof of the building.
If there is city law which compels
property-Owners to put an extra vent
pipe into cesspools leading back to the
| house, as above described, in the name of
humanity do something to have it re-
pealed. l understand that DIR. C. B.
Nichols says there is such law, but that
1t has never been enforced, and he in
tends to have it enforced hereafter /
don't believe, myself, there is so far "a
| cesspool in the city ventilated as above
described, neither should there be.
n. d. GooDELL, Architect
Sacramento, July 15, 1891.