The Home Medical Library Volume V Part 19

_Ventilation._--The house drain may have no fresh-air inlet, or the fresh-air inlet may be obstructed; the vent pipes may be absent, or obstructed; the vertical pipes may not be extended.

_Condition._--Pipes may have holes, may be badly repaired, bent, out of shape, or have holes patched up with cement or putty; pipes may be corroded, gnawed by rats, or they may be obstructed, etc.

The above are only a few of the many defects that may be found in the plumbing of a house. It is, therefore, of paramount importance to have the house plumbing regularly, frequently, and thoroughly examined and inspected, as well as put to the various tests, so as to discover the defects and remedy them.

=Plumbing Tests.=--The following are a few minor points for testing plumbing:

(1) To test a trap with a view to finding out whether its seal is lost or not, knock on the trap with a piece of metal; if the trap is empty, a hollow sound will be given out; if full, the sound will be dull.

This is not reliable in case the trap is full or half-full with slime, etc. Another test for the same purpose is as follows: hold a light near the outlet of the fixture; if the light is drawn in, it is a sign that the trap is empty.

(2) Defects in leaded joints can be detected if white lead has been used, as it will be discolored in case sewer gas escape from the joints.

(3) The connection of a waste pipe of a bath tub with the trap of the water-closet can sometimes be discovered by suddenly emptying the bath tub and watching the contents of the water-closet trap; the latter will be agitated if the waste pipe is discharged into the trap or on the inlet side of trap of the water-closet.

(4) The presence of sewer gas in a room can be detected by the following chemical method: saturate a piece of unglazed paper with a solution of acetate of lead in rain or boiled water, in the proportion of one to eight; allow the paper to dry, and hang up in the room where the escape of sewer gas is suspected; if sewer gas is present, the paper will be completely blackened.

The main tests for plumbing are: (1) the _Hydraulic_ or water-pressure test; (2) the _Smoke_, or sight test, and (3) the _Scent_, or peppermint, etc., test.

The _Water-pressure Test_ is used to test the vertical and horizontal pipes in new plumbing before the fixtures have been connected. It is applied as follows: the end of the house drain is plugged up with a proper air-tight plug, of which there are a number on the market. The pipes are then filled with water to a certain level, which is carefully noted. The water is allowed to stand in the pipes for half an hour, at the expiration of which time, if the joints show no sign of leakage, and are not sweating, and if the level of the water in the pipes has not fallen, the pipes are water-tight. This is a very reliable test, and is made obligatory for testing all new plumbing work.

_The Smoke Test_ is also a very good test. It is applied as follows: by means of bellows, or some exploding, smoke-producing rocket, smoke is forced into the system of pipes, the ends plugged up, and the escape of the smoke watched for, as wherever there are defects in the pipes the smoke will appear. A number of special appliances for this test are manufactured, all of them more or less ingenious.

_The Scent Test_ is made by putting into the pipes a certain quant.i.ty of some pungent chemical, like peppermint oil, etc., the odor of which will escape from the defects in the pipes, if there are any. Oil of peppermint is commonly used in this country for the test. The following is the way this test is applied: all the openings of the pipes on the roof, except one, are closed up tightly with paper, rags, etc. Into the one open pipe is poured from two to four ounces of peppermint oil, followed by a pail of hot water, and then the pipe into which the oil has been put is also plugged up. This is done, preferably, by an a.s.sistant. The inspector then proceeds to slowly follow the course of the various pipes, and will detect the smell of the oil wherever it may escape from any defects in the pipes. If the test is thoroughly and carefully done, if care is taken that no fixture in the house is used and the traps of same not disturbed during the test, if the openings of the pipes on the roofs are plugged up tightly, if the main house trap is not unsealed (otherwise the oil will escape into the sewer), and if the handling of the oil has been done by an a.s.sistant, so that none adheres to the inspector--if all these conditions are carried out, the peppermint test is a most valuable test for the detection of any and all defects in plumbing.

Another precaution to be taken is with regard to the rain leader. If the rain leader is not trapped, or if its trap is empty, the peppermint oil may escape from the pipes into the rain leader. Care must be taken, therefore, that the trap at the base of the rain leader be sealed; or, if no trap is existing, to close up the connection of the rain leader with the house drain; or, if this be impossible, to plug up the opening of the leader near the roof.

Instead of putting the oil into the opening of a pipe on the roof, it may be put through a fixture on the top floor of the house, although this is not so satisfactory.

Various appliances have been manufactured to make this test more easy and accurate. Of the English appliances, the Banner patent drain grenade, and Kemp's drain tester are worthy of mention. The former consists "of a thin gla.s.s vial charged with pungent and volatile chemicals. One of the grenades, when dropped down any suitable pipe, such as the soil pipe, breaks, or the grenade may be inserted through a trap into the drain, where it is exploded." (Taylor.) Kemp's drain tester consists of a gla.s.s tube containing a chemical with a strong odor; the tube is fitted with a gla.s.s cover, held in place by a string and a paper band. When the tester is thrown into the pipes and hot water poured after it, the paper band breaks, the spring opens the cover, and the contents of the tube fall into the drain.

Recently Dr. W. G. Hudson, an inspector in the Department of Health of New York, has invented a very ingenious "peppermint cartridge" for testing plumbing. The invention is, however, not yet manufactured, and is not on the market.

CHAPTER X

=Infection and Disinfection=

Disinfection is the destruction of the infective power of infectious material; or, in other words, disinfection is the destruction of the agents of infection.

An infectious material is one contaminated with germs of infection.

The germs of infection are organic microorganisms, vegetable and animal--protozoa and bacteria.

The germs of infection once being lodged within the body cause certain reactions producing specific pathological changes and a variety of groups of symptoms which we know by the specific names of infectious diseases, e. g., typhoid, typhus, etc.

Among the infectious diseases known to be due to specific germs are the following: typhoid, typhus, relapsing fevers, cholera, diphtheria, croup, tuberculosis, pneumonia, malaria, yellow fever, erysipelas, _septicaemia_, anthrax, _teta.n.u.s_, gonorrhea, etc.; and among the infectious diseases the germs of which have not as yet been discovered are the following: scarlet fever, measles, smallpox, syphilis, varicella, etc.

The part of the body and the organs in which the germs first find their entrance, or which they specifically attack, vary with each disease; thus, the mucous membranes, skin, internal organs, secretions, and excretions are, severally, either portals of infection or the places where the infection shows itself the most.

The agents carrying the germs of infection from one person to the other may be the infected persons themselves, or anything which has come in contact with their bodies and its secretions and excretions; thus, the air, room, furniture, vessels, clothing, food and drink, also insects and vermin, may all be carriers of infection.

=Sterilization= is the absolute destruction of _all_ organic life, whether infectious or not; it is therefore _more_ than disinfection, which destroys the germs of infection alone.

A =Disinfectant= is an agent which destroys germs of infection.

A =Germicide= is the same; an agent destroying germs.

An =Insecticide= is an agent capable of destroying insects; it is not necessarily a disinfectant, nor is a disinfectant necessarily an insecticide.

An =Antiseptic= is a substance which inhibits and stops the growth of the bacteria of putrefaction and decomposition. A disinfectant is therefore an antiseptic, but an antiseptic may not be a disinfectant.

A =Deodorant= is a substance which neutralizes or destroys the unpleasant odors arising from matter undergoing putrefaction. A deodorant is not necessarily a disinfectant, nor is every disinfectant a deodorant.

The ideal disinfectant is one which, while capable of destroying the germs of disease, does not injure the bodies and material upon which the germs may be found; it must also be penetrating, harmless in handling, inexpensive, and reliable. The ideal disinfectant has not as yet been discovered.

For successful scientific disinfection it is necessary to know: (1) the nature of the specific germs of the disease; (2) the methods and agents of its spread and infection; (3) the places where the germs are most likely to be found; (4) the action of each disinfectant upon the germs; and (5) the best methods of applying the disinfectant to the materials infected with germs of disease.

Disinfection is not a routine, uniform, unscientific process; a disinfector must be conversant with the basic principles of disinfection, must make a thorough study of the scientific part of the subject, and moreover must be thoroughly imbued with the importance of his work, upon which the checking of the further spread of disease depends.

_Physical Disinfectants_

The physical disinfectants are sunlight, desiccation, and heat.

=Sunlight= is a good disinfectant provided the infected material or germs are directly exposed to the rays of the sun. Bacteria are killed within a short time, but spores need a long time, and some of them resist the action of the sun for an indefinite period. The disadvantages of sunlight as a disinfectant are its superficial action, its variability and uncertainty, and its slow action upon most germs of infection. Sunlight is a good adjunct to other methods of disinfection; it is most valuable in tuberculosis, and should be used wherever possible in conjunction with other physical or chemical methods of disinfection.[20]

=Desiccation= is a good means of disinfection, but can be applied only to very few objects; all bacteria need moisture for their existence and multiplication, hence absolute dryness acts as a good germicide.

Meat and fish, certain cereals, and also fruit, when dried, become at the same time disinfected.

_Heat_ is the best, most valuable, all-pervading, most available, and cheapest disinfectant. The various ways in which heat may be used for disinfection are burning, dry heat, boiling, and steam.

=Burning= is of course the best disinfectant, but it not only destroys the germs in the infected materials, but the materials themselves; its application is therefore limited to articles of little or no value, and to rags, rubbish, and refuse.

=Dry Heat.=--All life is destroyed when exposed to a dry heat of 150 C. for one hour, although most of the bacteria of infection are killed at a lower temperature and in shorter time. Dry heat is a good disinfectant for objects that can stand the heat without injury, but most objects, and especially textile fabrics, are injured by it.

=Boiling.=--Perhaps the best and most valuable disinfectant in existence is boiling, because it is always at command, is applicable to most materials and objects, is an absolutely safe sterilizer and disinfectant, and needs very little if any preparation and apparatus for its use. One half hour of boiling will destroy all life; and most bacteria can be killed at even a lower temperature. Subjection to a temperature of only 70 C. for half an hour suffices to kill the germs of cholera, tuberculosis, diphtheria, plague, etc. Boiling is especially applicable to textile fabrics and small objects, and can readily be done in the house where the infection exists, thus obviating the necessity of conveying the infected objects elsewhere, and perhaps for some distance, to be disinfected.

=Steam.=--Of all the physical disinfectants steam is the most valuable because it is very penetrating, reliable, and rapid; it kills all bacteria at once and all spores in a few minutes, and besides is applicable to a great number and many kinds of materials and objects.

Steam is especially valuable for the disinfection of clothing, bedding, carpets, textile fabrics, mattresses, etc. Steam can be used in a small way, as well as in very large plants. The well-known Arnold sterilizers, used for the sterilization of milk, etc., afford an example of the use of steam in a small apparatus; while munic.i.p.al authorities usually construct very large steam disinfecting plants. A steam disinfector is made of steel or of wrought iron, is usually cylindrical in shape, and is covered with felt, asbestos, etc. The disinfector has doors on one or both ends, and is fitted inside with rails upon which a specially constructed car can be slid in through one door and out through the other. The car is divided into several compartments, in which the infected articles are placed; when thus loaded it is run into the disinfector. The steam disinfectors may be fitted with thermometers, vacuum formers, steam jackets, etc.

_Gaseous Chemical Disinfectants_

Physical disinfectants, however valuable and efficient, cannot be employed in many places and for many materials infected with disease germs, and therefore chemicals have been sought to be used wherever physical disinfectants could not for one or more reasons be employed.

Chemicals are used as disinfectants either in gaseous form or in solutions; the gaseous kinds are of especial value on account of their penetrating qualities, and are employed for the disinfection of rooms, holds of s.h.i.+ps, etc. There are practically but two chemicals which are used in gaseous disinfection, and these are sulphur dioxide and formaldehyde.

=Sulphur Dioxide.=--Sulphur dioxide (SO2) is a good surface disinfectant, and is very destructive to all animal life; it is one of the best insecticides we have, but its germicidal qualities are rather weak; it does not kill spores, and it penetrates only superficially.