470 
Combating Lousiness 
A. Before introducing articles to be disinfected see (a) that water flows properly 
to feed cistern, ( b ) that steam enters chamber freely when turned on, (c) that door 
to ah' inlet is closed. 
B. (a) Pack articles lightly in cage to enable steam to circulate, (b) Do not let 
them touch sides of chamber, (c) Suspend articles on hooks when liable to crease if 
folded, (d) Load not to exceed 30 blankets or 20 kits. 
C. (a) Introduce cage. ( b ) Close door, (c) Turn steam into chamber and let it 
pass through 30 minutes, counting from the time 212° P. is attained. 
D. Regulate fire to maintain good current of steam. Over-firing creates slight 
steam pressure causing liquid in supply cistern to rise, in which case turn off steam 
1-2 minutes until fire is damped down. 
E. At end of 30 minutes turn off steam and open air inlet to allow drying to 
proceed. Light articles taken out in 10 minutes and shaken will be dry; heavier 
articles require 30 minutes’ drying before removal and free exposure to air until cool. 
E. Avoid anything getting into steam and air inlets of chamber. 
G. Disinfection by hot air in the chamber is carried out like the drying process 
except that the heating lasts 2-3 hours (leather, furs, etc.). 
Peacock (MS. Report, W.O., 1918) states that he has found it better to 
lengthen the chimney to a height of 8 feet in the horse-drawn type of 
Thresh machine as this increases the draught. He has heard complaints 
regarding this machine but attributes them merely to unskilled handling. 
Thresh Disinfector mounted on Foden Steam Lorry (PI. XI, Fig. 6). This 
form has the advantage of greater mobility than the foregoing. The 
lorry carries two chambers. Heating takes place rapidly when the lorry 
arrives at its destination because the steam from the engine that runs 
the lorry is then diverted into the chambers. The latter can be used 
together or singly. The temperature attained is somewhat over 100° C., 
the steam pressure not exceeding 5 lbs. 
The War Office instructions ( loc. cit.) caution especially against 
mixing steam and air and direct that the specified exposure period shall 
not be shortened, reckoning this period from the moment that pressure 
is reached or steam attains the requisite temperature and issues at the 
outlet. This is stated to be specially necessary with the Foden-Thresh 
Machines where “in addition to the pressure gauges registering 5 lbs. 
pressure, the outlet valve (‘F’ on instructions) should be partially open 
and a continuous current of steam issuing therefrom.” Note the pressure 
gauge and compare with the instructions. Peacock (loc. cit.) states that 
the whole operation lasts 45 or 60 minutes including 10 minutes allowed 
for drying. 
Thresh Fixed type of Disinfectors provided with one door, but prefer¬ 
ably with two (PL X, Fig. 4 and Text-fig. 23), are suited for use in hospitals 
and may be either furnace heated (as illustrated) or steam heated. As 
