DISINFECTION OF ROOMS AND HOUSES 57 



Water-closets and Sinks. They should not receive infective 

 materials until they shall have been thoroughly disinfected. 

 To disinfect sinks and water-closets, chlorinated lime, cresols, 

 and carbolic acid are the best. 



Disinfection of Rooms and Houses. The disinfection of 

 rooms and their contents, while not necessarily the nurse's 

 duty, deserves some mention. In case of infectious dis- 

 ease, physical cleaning must be left until after chemical 

 disinfection shall have been done. It is then carried out on 

 the ordinary plan of house-cleaning. The practical methods 

 of house-disinfection today have narrowed down to formal- 

 dehyde. There are many forms of apparatus and several 

 methods of producing this gas, but whatever the procedure, 

 certain conditions must be observed. The temperature of 

 the air in the room must not be less than 100 F., and there 

 should be a high percentage of moisture. The most common 

 method now used for the production of formaldehyde gas is 

 the mixture of 1 pint of commercial formalin and 10 ounces 

 of small crystals of potassium permanganate in an open 

 vessel for each 1000 cubic feet of air space. These are usually 

 mixed in the center of the room in a tall metal case of some 

 sort, surrounded by water, which serves the purpose of catch- 

 ing any of the mixture which bubbles over or extinguish- 

 ing fire which sometimes occurs spontaneously. Another 

 efficient method of liberating formaldehyde is the heating of 

 a mixture of 10 per cent, glycerin in formalin in a copper 

 vessel; this is simpler than the above and just as efficacious. 

 The cracks of doors and windows are always sealed by 

 pasting strips of paper over them and the room left sealed 

 for twenty -four hours; this saves much of the vapor for disin- 

 fection and protects inmates of other parts of the house. Any 

 remaining odor may be displaced by sprinkling ammonia 

 about. 



The transmission of disease by books, especially in libraries 

 and institutions, is a possibility but not a great menace. 

 Only such reading matter as can be destroyed or readily 



