XIII. 
PRACTICAL DIRECTIONS FOR DISINFECTION. 
THE Committee on Disinfectants of the American Public Health 
Association (appointed in 1884), after an extended investigation with 
reference to the germicidal value of various agents, in a final report 
submitted in 1887 submits the following ‘‘ Conclusions”: 
The experimental evidence recorded in this report seems to justify the 
following conclusions: 
The most useful agents for the destruction of spore-containing infectious 
material are— 
1. Fire. Complete destruction by burning. 
2. Steam under pressure. 105° C. (221° F.) for ten minutes. 
3. Boiling in water for half an hour. 
4, Chloride of lime.’ A four-per-cent solution. 
5. Mercurie chloride. A solution of 1: 500. 
For the destruction of infectious material which owes its infecting power 
to the presence of microdrganisms not containing spores, the committee rec- 
ommends— 7 
Fire. Complete destruction by burning. 
. Boiling in water for ten minutes. 
Dry heat. 110° C. (230° F.) for two hours. 
. Chloride of lime. A two-per-cent solution. 
. Solution of chlorinated soda.? A ten-per-cent solution. 
Mercuric chloride. A solution of 1: 2,000. 
. Carbolic acid. A five-per-cent solution. 
. Sulphate of copper. A five-per-cent solution. 
Chloride of zinc. A ten-per-cent solution. 
Sulphur dioxide.* Exposure for twelve hours to an atmosphere con- 
taining at least four volumes per cent of this gas in presence of 
moisture. 
The committee would make the following recommendations with refe- 
rence to the practical application of these agents for disinfecting purposes: 
/ 
FOR EXCRETA. 
SOON AUP WwWWOh 
ry 
(a) In the sick-room: 
1. Chloride of lime in solution, four per cent. 
In the absence of spores: 
2. Carbolic acid in solution, five per cent. 
3. Sulphate of copper in solution, five per cent. 
1 Should contain at least twenty-five per cent of available chlorine. 
2 Should contain at least three per cent of available chlorine. 
3 This will require the combustion of between three and four pounds of sulphur 
for every thousand cubic feet of air space. 
