Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-12-17
ONERHEATED HOUSES.
Injurious Effects of Breathing Fur
nace-Dried Air.


One of the subjects discussed at the re-
cent meeting of the American Public Health
Association in Philadelphia is of particular
interest to the users of hot air furnaces
who have just started their furnaces for
the winter period of continual service. Dr.
Henry J. Barnes of Boston, declared that
the air breathed in houses heated by fur
naces is kept too dry in cold weather. The
hot air system takes all of the moisture
out of the air. and it passes into the house,
making the air unfit to breathe, and caus-
ing catarrh and other disorders This as
sailant of the hot air furnace magniiies its
defects to some extent as all furnaces are
provided with evaporating pans. which hold
at least a pail full of water. and, further
more, he moisture which is taken from the
air as it passes through the house has no
other means of exit except through the fur
mace pipes and the registers in the various
rooms. But ii is nevertheless a fact that
the average user of the hot air furnace
keeps the atmosphere of his house too dry.
through neglect of the evaporating pan;
and Ii is probably true. also that the evap-
Grating pans are not as eflicacious as they
ought to be.
The physician mentioned submitted plan
for humidizer, to be placed over a reg
lister on the lower floor of house. This
continuance is simply a wooden box con-
tanning a galvanized iron tank into which
strips OF cotton felt are suspended from
rods. The air from the furnace is made 10
pass through the suspended strips of felt,
from which II takes the moisture necessary
TO make the air of the house fit to breathe.
With one of these humidifiers DIR. Barnes
says he was able to obtain a mean of 50
per cent relative humidity in a mean tenn
perature of 65.3 degrees, through the evap-
grafton of from two quarts to two gallons
of water per day. During the period of this
test the outside temperature was 81 de-
grees, with a relative humidity of 1871 per
cent. He says that this temperature in the
mouse was comfortable whereas, without
the addition of the moisture afforded by the
humidifier, temperature of from 40 TO al
degrees was necessary. In support of this
statement he cites the fact that .'out doors
in June, in medium clothing, with tempera-
ture of 6s degrees, and normal humidity of
Go to 40 per cent, We are comfortable; in
doors in winter, with heavy clothing, we re-
quire hve degrees more of heat for COM
fort"
promotes economy as well as comfort. If
house can be made comfortable by properly
humidifying the atmosphere with degrees
less heat than IL the air were permitted to
become dry, the demands upon the furnace
and consequently upon the coal pile will be
appreciably less. That is worth something;
but the consideration of health is more i'm
portant. There can be no doubt as to the
Injurious effects of dry and overheated air
upon the human system. The average
house is fully degrees too hot for health
fulness, and it is not surprising that there
Is SO much trouble with the respiratory
organs during the winter season. The
shock to the system on emerging from q
house heated to 50 degrees into an atnios-
phere below zero Is great, even with the
best Of care as to breathing.