December, 1905 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



403 



Science for the Home 



Winter Sanitation 



HE observance of sanitary rules are apt to 

 be considered more pressing in summer than 

 in winter, yet it is quite as essential to be on 

 guard against sanitary dangers in the cold 

 season as in the warm months. The venti- 

 lation problem, for example, is much more 

 difficult of solution in winter than in summer, and is fre- 

 quently neglected altogether. Most houses are ventilated in 

 the summer without any care, and often without any thought ; 

 the windows are open constantly: what more can be needed? 

 Perhaps little enough at that season, but the situation is very 

 different in winter, when the windows must be kept closed 

 and when many houses are all but hymetrically sealed. An 

 expensively-built house will be provided with the means of 

 artificial ventilation which will permit the interior air to be 

 kept in good condition without trouble; but a house with- 

 out any ventilation system needs to be thoroughly aired daily. 

 This airing should be ample and sufficient, the free air blow- 

 ing through the rooms long enough to effect a complete 

 change and remove all unpleasant odors. The kitchen odors 

 must be entirely eradicated or the house will seem offensive 

 to every one coming into it. It is an unfortunate truth that 

 many houses are insufficiently aired and ventilated in the 

 winter months, because a complete airing of the rooms is 

 deemed unnecessary or from a mistaken fear of catching cold. 

 That the heating system is essentially connected with the 

 ventilation of the house is well understood. Most houses 

 depend on the heating apparatus for their winter ventilation. 

 In this connection it may be pointed out that it is essential 

 that the outdoor air brought into the house through the 



heater be obtained from a pure source, and that all sources 

 of foulness be removed from around the intake. The house 

 should not be overheated, a common error which is seldom 

 avoided, but the neglect of which unquestionably occasions 

 much disease. That most houses are too dry in winter was 

 pointed out in this department last month. 



The structure of the house does not escape attention at 

 this season. Windows and doors must be in good condition. 

 If the situation is exposed double windows will be required 

 on the windy sides. This is the time of year that the roofs 

 are submitted to their severest tests, although the most diffi- 

 cult season may be that of the thaws in spring. But the 

 householder who has neglected his roofs before the winter 

 sets in will find that he has practised a false economy, and 

 will doubtless spend some painful hours in trying to correct 

 errors that can not be well corrected in the cold season. That 

 water pipes, heater pipes and even gas pipes will freeze at 

 any time is lamentably likely to happen in the best ordered 

 household. Much can be done by proper foresight, and 

 nothing should be left undone that might in any way help 

 in the avoidance of these most awkward of all domestic 

 catastrophies. 



If a house is closed during the winter an expert plumber 

 or sanitarian should be called in, that everything be left in 

 proper shape. It will often be found as necessary to prepare 

 the plumbing for the winter as any other part of the house 

 is prepared, and the money spent for this purpose is often 

 well spent. Sewer gas is very liable to be generated in un- 

 used plumbing apparatus, and too much care can not be taken 

 to avoid it. 



Fires in Country Homes 



No house, however well built, is absolutely proof against 

 fire. The fireproof house is no longer a theoretical struc- 

 ture, it is true, and many houses are built either on the fire- 

 proof or slow-burning system ; but every house contains large 

 quantities of inflammable material; there is danger from the 

 heater, or carelessness in the kitchen; the electric wiring may 

 be improperly insulated; there are many ways in which the 

 best of houses may suffer injury from fire, and a very serious 

 and real problem that confronts every owner of a country 

 home is protection against fire. 



In many cases this must be a personal protection; that is 

 to say, one for which the owner is personally responsible, a 

 protection service installed by himself and manned and ap- 

 plied by his own people. This is particularly true of isolated 

 houses, situated at some distance from any fire station, and 

 wholly dependent on local or immediate sources of water 

 supply. 



The volunteer fire departments, while unquestionably the 

 best that many vital communities can afford, are inherently 

 deficient in the efficiency of a paid force. The members are 

 scattered; they can not immediately respond to calls made 

 upon them ; they may not even be at home when the alarm 

 is given; the alarm system itself may be inefficient; the ap- 

 paratus may not be kept up to date; there may not be suffi- 

 cient hose; there are many serious criticisms that can be made 

 of these organizations, although the intentions of the mem- 

 bers and subscribers may be of the best, and the protection 



intended to be given arranged on the most available plan. 

 The faults are not the faults of the volunteers, but of the 

 system under which they necessarily labor. 



Owners of large houses, therefore, will do well to provide 

 their own fire apparatus, at least to a considerable extent. 

 There should be a double water supply, one within and one 

 without the house. There should be an ample supply of hose 

 and a number of chemical fire extinguishers. A ladder 

 mounted on wheels and kept outside the house may be found 

 necessary at critical times. There should be force pumps 

 for directing streams of water against the fire. In short, 

 every reasonable and proper protection should be arranged 

 for. 



Perhaps even more important than the apparatus is the 

 knowledge of its use. It is quite useless to supply apparatus 

 if it is not known how it will be used. Fire drills are there- 

 fore important, especially if a large number of servants are 

 kept. Every man should know just what is expected of him 

 in such an emergency and just what he is to do. The drills 

 should include the actual use of the apparatus as well as the 

 part each one is expected to take. 



In smaller houses less elaborate provision against fire will 

 be made, but only because of the expense of installing much 

 apparatus. In any event, every country house should be pro- 

 vided with some sort of fire extinguishing apparatus which is 

 at least as effective as far as it goes. It should be conveniently 

 placed and its workings understood by every one. 



