Evening star., 1925-11-08
OPENED WINDOWS
IN BEDROOM URGED
DR.. Wiley Says Plenty of
Fresh Air Is Best Tuber-
CuI0SiS Preventive.

In connection with its health cam
paien the Washington tuberculosis
Associa ton has started city-Wide
appeal for open windows in both work
and sleeping rooms just the No
vember chill winds come WhiStling
| down from the North with their sug-
gestion of Winter ahead. In view of
which one cynical citizen remarked
What price health?" with coal prices
soaring. Others have expressed fears
of the traditional cold taken by eX.
pOsure to drafts. In order To give
the public an idea of how this matter
is rega rded by the best medical au-
thorities DR.. Harvey W. Wiley was
asked to express his views of the
! open-window campaign, as he is the
vice president of the tuberculosis AS
sociation.
There is nothing that is so vital
and necessary air" said DIR. Wiley.
IF we are deprived of it for one or
two minutes we are practically dead.
The importance of having pure air is
not stressed as ii should be, especially
in cold weather. We need the best
air we can get. At best the air of
cities is not very attractive. but II is
all we can get If we live in cities. The
source of fresh air is the great out
Of doors. Particularly for sleeping
rooms the open window is necessary.
even in cold weather. The cold air Of
the great outdoors is immensely more
vital than the air in tightly shut up
room. When we are outdoors We get
the great outdoor supply; when we
are in living rooms We do not. The
living room and the bedroom are uSu-
allv closed up places where The air is
not allowed to circulate. There is a
great pre- ejudice to drafts. have
never been able to understand why
air in motion is deadly whereas air a
rest is not. II is a tradition that pre-
walls in many homes that no drafts
should be allowed. How is air TO cir
culate through room unless it is in
motion? Moving air is perfectly
harmless if all the other conditions
are correct.
Heat in Sleeping Room.
The sleeping room. in my opinion.
should never be artifiCially heated,
and there should always be, even in
the coolest weather. an open window
Additional covers Will protect the
body from cold. and at the same time
The system will have a supply OF fresh
outdoor air which enters through the
open window and circulates through
the room. In the living room. in cold
wea ther. il is desira BILE To have a tenn
perature not above SIS or 20 degrees
Fahrenheit There should be enough
heating surface 10 permit the circula
tion of air introduced from the great
outdoors. II may not come directly.
but may come through a channel in
which ii is slightly heated. so that il
will not produce chill in the living
room. If there is an open fire in the
living room. then the room ventilates
itself The fresh air will enter through
various openings. such a. the cracks
under the doors and around the win
dowS
Many houses have no ventila tion
from the heated surfaces and there
must be some artificial ventila tion
provided. if the air in the living room
is to he what it should be. If neces-
sary. a window should he opened suf-
fciently to permit fresh air to enter
in such quantity as to keep the tenn
perature nearly constant al GS de-
greeS. The temperature in a sleeping
room in Winter should be much lower
than that in a living room. | know
there are many persons who say that
the ventilation OF room is all bosh:
that air can be breathed over and
over again. if washed ocCa siona Ily
and thus the amount of heat neces-
sary To warm the air he conserved.
These false prophets forget that the
air has a very low specific heat. II
requires very little heat tn warm
room fun of fresh air. II it were
water il would he different matter
because water has the highest known
specific heat Of any known substance
II takes more heat to raise the tenn
perature Of water than of any other
body.