DISINFECTION OF CLOTHING AND BEDDING 263 



as the hands. The hair should occasionally be washed 

 in the same way, although, as already stated, the nurse 

 should use a cap to protect the hair from infection as far 

 as possible. These disinfections should be frequent in 

 cases of serious contagious diseases, and should always 

 be attended to when the nurse leaves the sick room to 

 mingle with the rest of the family. 



Clothing, Bedding, etc. These articles almost always 

 offer difficult problems. The following general directions 

 are all that can be given. 



1. Burn everything which is not of very great value. 

 This is the most thorough method of disinfection, and 

 therefore care should be taken to use old, worthless 

 articles as much as possible, in order that they may 

 subsequently be burned without too great loss. 



2. All of the articles that can be boiled should be sub- 

 jected to a vigorous boiling for at least half an hour. This 

 is sufficient for complete disinfection. It will apply to all 

 forms of thin clothing, like cotton, and may be used for 

 sheets, pillow cases, etc. 



3. Articles too heavy for boiling, or those that would 

 be ruined by boiling, cannot be so easily treated. Any- 

 thing that can be soaked in water without injury can be 

 disinfected by soaking it for three or four hours in a solu- 

 tion containing one part of formalin to five thousand parts 

 of water. This is extremely cheap as well as easy to make, 

 and may be employed for blankets and other articles 

 capable of soaking in water without ruin. The blankets 

 should be placed in a tub, the tub filled with water, and 

 formalin added in the proportion mentioned above, or even 

 as strong as one quarter of a pint formalin to ten gallons of 



