The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1898-04-14
DAMP HOUSES.
rne FIRES should No, ne Ae.,cd TOO
Sonn.

There is no season of the year when
house needs more systematic ana
thorough airing TO prevent its becoming
damp than early spring. The fires of
the house should not be abated very
much ut this season. though the wealth
er be moderate; but the air of the house
should be cooied of when necessary by
opening the windows. Where a house is
not uniformly heated. deposit of
dampuess is often found i'm the partial
| ly heated rooms. on those walls that lie
against the outer walls of the house
and on windows. This is caused by the
warmer air of the house striking these
cold surfaces Where q house is thor
oughly heated the air is dry enough to
absorb any excess of moisture in the
atmosphere, and there is no such depos-
/ il, The case is exactly similar to the
pitcher of ice-water in summer. Warm
air is always laden with more moisture
than cold air, and this moist air sudden
! ly striking on n cold surface, like the
| ice-water pitcher. is condensed in mois-
! ture on its surface. An exactly similar
thing occurs when the cellar windows
are opened i'm the daytime in summer,
and the warm. moist air of midday
rushes in and strikes against the colder
surface of the cellar walls. when beads
of water viii soon be scimed, which
! will run down i'm miniature streams. If
the windows are kept closed in daytime.
and the cellar is aired at night, no such
| phenomenon appears. The cold air of
winter is usually very dry, and abun-
dant ventllaticn at this season win do
as much as an extra fire to dry out a
damp house.
The result of the deposits of moisture
such as have been described I'M unventi-
lated and partially heated rooms is an
insidious deposit of mold. Had the
rooms been frequently ventilated, the
moisture and the mold arising from it
might have been avoided. The germs
of this vegetable growth are always in
the air, ready to germinate when sup
piled with the proper conditions.
These conditions, which are shown by
the least appearance of mold, are a
menace TO the health No housekeeper
certainly no house mother should
tolerate mold in her cellar. much less
in any living room of her house. II
threatens rheumatism and more fatal,
sudden diseases. Where mold appears
in the cellar walls, and the weather will
allow, the windows should be kept open
at night and shut in the daytime. The
cellar should be cleaned and the walls
dried by whitewashing them with al
least two coats OF whitewash. Even IN
freezing weather the windows can b,
open for shor; time in the daytime
and the cellar cleaned and white
washed. Mold above the cellar must b,
met by even more thorough treatment
Every particle of the dark specks mus
be scrubbed off the woodwork, and tn,
surface afterward thoroughly dried
Paper that is moldy must be removed
from the wall. If il is not possible &c
dry out the room with a stove and thor
ough ventilation, q peck of lime in
box set near the damp walls will Otter
absorb all the surplus moisture and viii
assist in disinfecting the room and keep
ing off the dangers of mold. Do no
sleep in or occupy such a room until al
traces of dangerous dampness are gone
IN. Y. Tribune.