Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1911-11-21
Dust.

Correspondence on topics OF interest 20 the 0dlee
10 solicited. Address: Editor H0n1nAAElHsS ~
Dust.
Whore does all the dust come from?
That IL the wall OF the weary housewife
throughout the land. Windows open or
windows closed, the dust slips In. Dust
means not only dirt and stain, but most
of all disease. WhyP
As We commonly think Of 1t, dust 10
fine earth carried about by the wind. In
reality It is composed of many things;
mineral matter, particles from the raw.
ages of the elements upon the rocks,
pieces of dead animal and vegetable mat
ter, fbers from clothing, pulverized ex-
crement from animals, the pollen Of
plants, and minute vegetable organisms
known az bacteria, molds and wild
yeasts-all OF which, II left to their own
devices, arc capable Of developing and
growing into fungous forms. Sometimes
they do not develop for long period,
but il given moisture and dark corner
what do we find? That q piece Of bread
left in the closet for week Is covered
with mold; and for the same reason We
discover that the preserve jar, thought
lessly left uncovered, has become a ger
minated mass of fungous growth.
Of this trio of OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES,
molds, and wild yeasts-the most nu-
merous are tho bacteria. The general idea
of these small forms Of life Is that they
are dangerous, but there are good bac-
terra as we'll as bad ones, the former
often having been called "nature's
scavengers," as many times they silently
convert matter into harmless substances
and help us in our search for health.
1t is the disease breeding bacteria that
the housewife must fight against-those
coming from foul conditions such as
should never exist in q house where
there 10 plenty of sunlight and fresh pure
air to aid her in her task Of keeping
down the dust.
The "lighting up" Of the furnace fire,
In houses where there are registers, 10
slways a signal of approaching dust. a.
though just why that should be Is not
exactly clear to many people. Because
ashes and dust seem to come up through
the registers, it 10 commonly thought
that these pipes, carrying the heat up
stairs, must connect directly with tho
furnace fro, whereas the pipes for con-
Quoting the hot air should be separated
from the fire by the casing OF the fire
box. The real cause OF tfurnace dust"
comes from the fresh air box, which
usually has two doors, one opening out
side of the house, and the other into the
cellar. If 1t 80 happens that tho ashes
are sifted near either of these doors, and
they are left open, 1t is easy to see why
we find fine coating of dust upstairs.
Being carried along with the current OF
air, the dust 10 brought straight from
the air box to the room above.
Cleaning out the ashpit and sitting the
ashes are always difficult to do without
scattering a great deal Of dust. How
ever, much of this maybe avoided il you
have on hand small garden watering
pot, which you can use to sprinkle the
ashes with before removing them. The
ashes should always be kept in cover
ed ash box or can.
Firewood brought into the house
should be brushed off outside. 1t will
take only few moments and will save
great deal Of extra sweeping.
One of the chief sources OF dust In
frame houses is the shingled roof, which,
If left unfinished inside, proves to be
veritable sieve, letting through all sorts
of dirt blown about by the winds. In
such houses the dust makes its way
everywhere, and winter or summer 1t re-
quires never-ending care to keep ordi-
narily clean. Not only is there the dust
to battle with, but 1t seems almost i'm
possible to keep warm with such roof
in winter time. The only remedy is to
seal the roof and be ever afterward
clean and warmer In winter, and decid-
eddy cooler in summer.
Keeping the doormat clean is not only
q prevention of dirt, but Of disease, rs In
many cases infection is brought into the
house in this way. Families with young
children playing about the floor little
dream of the dangers Of the doormat.
Every day the mat should be beaten out
on the wrong side, and, II possible, hung
in the sun, which 10 natures great disin.
fectant. At times when infectious dis
eases are known to exist in neighbOr-
hood, the mat should be immersed in
pail of water containing one tablet of
bchloride of mercury. Rinse thorough
ly in clear water and hang in the sun to
dry.
When it Is necessary to sweep up dirt
with a broom, there is for the purpose
q covered dustpan, having handle as
tall as tho level of the hand. When the
pan is put on the floor, the cover opens
automatically. The dirt is swept In, the
handle lifted, then the cover shuts tight
instantly, 80 that no dirt will be scatter
ed anywhere.
For cleaning rugs and carpets, there 10
very good mako of small vacuum clean
or which 10 operated by hand, costs the
small sum of six dollars, and weighs
only five pounds. In shape 1t is like a
shovel with a long handle; 1t is easily
pushed under large pieces OF furniture
and is very simple to manage.
Mops for both busting and polishing
hardwood floors come made of absorbent
linen fiber. The newest ones are much
like scrubbing brush in shape and have
long handles so that the worker can stand
upright while busting. These mops are
also adjustable, 30 that they can be re-
versed and used az brush for busting
the tops of windows or high shelves.
To scrub the floor with the old-time
scrubbing brush meant getting about on
the hands and knees. Now brushes may
be secured that have long handles.
These brushes do the work far better,
because they are used in such manner
that the upright position of the body
gives to them greater force in scrubbing.
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The Home Table.
Careful attention to the details of the
table in every day living should be
matter of habit. Table cloths and nap