CHAPTER XVII 

 THE SANITARY VALUE OF WALL PAINTS 



Decoration and Sanitation. The proper decoration of the 

 interior of dwellings and public buildings has become of even 

 greater importance than the protection and decoration of ex- 

 teriors. There is, moreover, an increasing demand for har- 

 monious effects and the production of more sanitary conditions 

 than have prevailed in the past. Up until a few years ago a 

 great variety of wall papers of more or less pleasing appear- 

 ance were almost exclusively used for the decoration of walls 

 in the interior of buildings, and their application was com- 

 monly considered the most effective means of wall decora- 

 tion. There seems to be no question, however, that the use of 

 wall paper is steadily decreasing, and that the art of interior 

 decoration is undergoing a transition to the almost universal use 

 of paint. 



Modern progress demands the maintenance of sanitary con- 

 ditions for the benefit of the public welfare, and there is no doubt 

 that from the standpoint of sanitation and hygiene, properly 

 painted wall surfaces are far superior to papered walls. There 

 is an abundance of evidence which shows that dust germs may 

 easily be harbored, and thus disease transmitted from wall 

 paper. In the tenement houses, which are common to the larger 

 cities, and to a lesser extent in the dwellings found in smaller 

 communities, where tenants are more or less transient, the con- 

 tinued maintenance of sanitary conditions presents a difficult 

 problem. Infectious and epidemic illnesses generally leave be- 

 hind bacilli of different types, which may find a culture medium 

 in the fibrous and porous surfaces presented by wall paper, 

 backed up as they invariably must be by starch, casein, or other 

 organic pastes. Occasionally the restrictions of local boards of 

 health provide in such events for proper fumigation, but too 

 often no precautions are taken to destroy the disease germs 



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