DESTRUCTION OF BACTERIA. 27 



carbolic acid before leaving 1 the sickroom to be clothing 

 laundered. Dishes, knives, forks, etc., should be 

 immersed in 5 per cent, carbolic solution and then 

 boiled. It seems hardly necessary to say that one set 

 of dishes should be kept in the sickroom for the ex- 

 clusive use of the patient, and cleaned there. 



Apartments occupied by persons sick with con- 

 tagious or infectious disease should not be occupied 

 again until the room and its contents have been 

 thoroughly disinfected. In order to simplify this 

 procedure a little forethought on the part of the nurse, 

 in removing from the sickroom all articles not to be 

 used, will assist a great deal. Carpets, upholstered 

 furniture, hangings, pictures, and bric-a-brac can 

 easily be spared from the room. At the conclusion 

 of the illness by far the most effective means of ren- 

 dering the room free from infection is a thorough 

 scrubbing of everything washable with soap and hot 

 water, a continued exposure of the room) to fresh air 

 and sunlight, and the burning of everything that can- 

 not be washed or is of small value. The effect of the 

 scrubbing is increased if followed by a solution of car- 

 bolic acid or bichloride solution. If arrangements 

 cannot be made to have the mattress sterilized by 

 steam under pressure it is safer to burn it. 



If the disinfection of the apartments by gas, 

 either formaldehyde or sulphur, is to be employed, it 

 should follow the cleansing of the room after the 

 manner described above. The room must first of all 

 be sealed to prevent the gas from escaping. This can 



