Cleanor

“ To be of sufficient power to do rapid cleaning and in order to remove from the building all dust and germ-laden air, the cleaning system must necessarily contain some stationary parts. The motive power can generally be confined to these stationary parts, and must, in such cases, be located within the building to be cleaned. ”

“ What do you think of a mother who keeps neither herself nor her children clean? Who likes to enter a cabin or cottage where the dirt has to be wiped off a seat before a decent man or woman can sit down upon it? A clean person will see that even the patched garments he is obliged to wear are at least free from dirt. No matter how poor the house is you live in, it should be kept clean. The Bible says, “Wash you, make you clean.” ”

“ This discovery revealed the fact that filth in every form, whether in the rubbish-heap, the toilet, the garbage, the dust of the floor, or even in the folds of the hands and feet, the secretions of the skin and glands, is a culture bed for germ-producing diseases. The secret of the great power of cleanness as the true remedial measure for the prevention of pestilences is now apparent and every citizen must recognize that the obligation of applying that remedy rests with himself. ”

“ Rigid observance of the laws of cleanliness is necessary if we would travel with Wellville’s happy throng.
CleanlinessOne of the first essentials to health is a clean dwelling place. Disease germs lurk in damp and darkness and dirt. Fresh air and sunshine drive these foes of health from their dwelling places. The vacuum sweeper swallows dirt instead of tossing it into the air like the old-fashioned broom. Sterilization with disinfectants, cleansers, and scalding water kills germs and makes the house a safe place for the human body. ”

“ In the case of the stationary cleaner, the mechanism is larger and the air producer and dust collector are in the cellar or basement, and the dust conduit impartially spreads itself throughout the house through walls and ceilings and politely connects at convenient intervals with the cleaning tool, via the agency of the vents in baseboards. With this cleaner the only thing that is manipulated by the worker is the cleaning tool which “bites the dust.” ”

“ We should therefore always insist upon the degree of cleanliness which we understand to promote the greatest possible prevention and dilution of filth, as our hygienic aim; and we shall furthermore do well, if we remove not only from our houses, but from the neighborhood, and keep removed, all that seems to us to be dirt, and offends our innate æsthetic feelings. ”

“ Dealing further with the sanitation of the factory and workshop after personal cleanliness, the next most important measure is cleanliness of the workroom and purity of the air. Workrooms should be light and lofty; and have floors constructed of smooth impervious material easily kept clean. The walls should be lime-washed or painted with a white oil paint. Angles and corners which can harbour dirt should be rounded. Cleansing requires to be done as carefully and as often as possible, preferably by washing down or by a vacuum cleaner. ”

“ I cannot but admire them for their courage in doing it, but, certainly, from the point of view of cleanliness my view is quite different; for, really and truly, I have always failed to see where the "cleanliness" comes in. Persons belonging to the wealthier classes have small baths of their own, in the steaming hot liquid of which bask in turns the family itself, their friends, the children and servants; and probably the same water is used again and again for two or three days in succession. ”

“ A cleaner which is perfectly adapted to one sort of apartment will be entirely unsuited for another, and the ideal cleaner will be one which can be readily adapted to all conditions likely to be met in the building in which it is installed. ”

“ And as for cleanliness, my house is cleaner than any other house on the Common, though the half of ’em swarm with women. Will Baker’s lad comes to help me in a morning, and we get as much cleaning done in one hour, without any fuss, as a woman ’ud get done in three, and all the while be sending buckets o’ water after your ankles, and let the fender and the fire-irons stand in the middle o’ the floor half the day for you to break your shins against ’em. ”

“ I like a place constantly kept clean, and that must be so to satisfy me, I not only want the history of a people's being clean, and of their having cleansed up their door yards, outbuildings, and grounds, but I want them to do it. ”

“ The details of the plant should be such as to permit cleanliness at all times and hosing and washing so as not to permit garbage dust or dirt to accumulate, flies to breed and material to decompose. All material, so far as possible, should be enclosed during the process of disposal, and the odors eliminated or confined or deodorized. The handling of material in the plants, so far as possible, should be eliminated, where mechanical means can economically be adopted. Special attention should be paid to ventilation and the elimination of dust where men are required to work. ”

“ We cannot neglect with impunity the maintenance of personal and household cleanliness ventilation, and an abundant supply of pure water. Soap and soda are the simplest expedients at our disposal for cleansing purposes. Experience teaches us that ancient cities, and even modern human dwellings, are admirably suited to act as reservoirs of contagion, and are constantly polluted by the excreta of the healthy as well as of the sick. We have, therefore, been compelled to resort to disinfection. ”

“ In the matter of cleanliness, therefore, these good people are not left in the dark as in benighted Brittany, where dirt is not preached against as it ought to be in the pulpit. Mademoiselle Morel's free laundries, in other words a scheme set on foot for the purpose of teaching the poorest classes what clean linen should be, have doubtless effected much good, and on the whole cleanliness is the rule here, and the public hot and cold baths much frequented by all. ”

“ Enforced cleanliness, and the progress of sanitary works in cities, are followed by an enhanced vitality and elasticity of mind still more than by longevity of the inhabitants. Among sanitary works, improved pavements are classed along with sewerage, water-closets, and water-supply under pressure; since it is a prime condition of public hygiene that every street and alley should drain as promptly and thoroughly as the houses erected on it. ”

“ In fact, the reckless way in which house and street cleaning are handled is really appalling. Dusting should always be done with a damp cloth, and carpets cleaned by a closed sweeper well filled with wet tea leaves. The street-cleaning problem is simply a question of water supply. ”

“ Cleansing agents.—Water is the great cleanser, and if it is not available in abundance and used freely, the washing is a failure. All other agents are merely aids to the water or substitutes for it. In primitive outdoor methods, still largely used in some countries, the flowing water is the only agent, and yet the result is fairly good. We aid the process by the use of soap or washing powders or ammonia. ”

“ To preserve the neatness of a house, there must be regular attention on the part of the mistress. I am a great enemy to the system of periodical scrubbings and general house-cleanings, which prevails to so great an extent, and especially in the country, where, when the appointed day comes round, carpets are taken up, and floors, even though they be delicately clean, are washed, whether the weather be suitable or otherwise, the health of the family being left to take its chance. The day of general house-cleaning is no other than a day of commotion and discomfort. ”

“ While the responsibilities of the dweller in the city are shared by the city officials, in that the city supplies the water and provides the sewer to carry off the waste from the kitchen, lavatory, and [175] toilet, yet the householder needs to see that absolute cleanliness is observed, that the pipes are regularly flushed, and the traps kept in good working order, that no decomposing substances are permitted to give off their poisonous gases in cellar, alley, or yard, and that the cellar and foundation walls are free from excessive moisture. ”

“ The sanitary authority may make bye-laws for securing the cleanliness and freedom from pollution of tanks, cisterns, and other receptacles for storing water used, or likely to be used, by man for drinking or domestic purposes, or for manufacturing drink for the use of man. ”

“ In its broadest sense, a history of sanitation is a story of the world's struggle for an adequate supply of wholesome water, and its efforts to dispose of the resultant sewage without menace to health nor offence to the sense of sight or smell. ”

“ We let nothing escape into the free air, but believe that we Heed not regard what reaches the ground under the house and the air within the house. In the cities we insist very much on outward cleanliness, that the dirt must not be exposed, and cover it up beautifully in our houses and yards, so as to make the impression that there is none, as a dirty skin and foul linen may be covered by handsome outer garments. ”

“ Pour out the water, rinse the can with clean water and ammonia and begin its usefulness again by putting into it the contents of the sink-strainer or the scraps that you [222] gather off the ground where the first rinse-water was poured.
The disposal of various forms of house waste in country places usually requires more care and attention than the same matter in cities and town. One gets little outside help, and the customary methods are often untidy and unsanitary. ”

“ The Process.—We have spoken of the substances which more usually require the care of the housekeeper outside the kitchen and pantry, and of ways in which they can be cared for. It will be well now to describe the order in which cleaning is done, and to say a word about the appliances used.
The first thing when cleaning is to be done is to gather the appliances needed for the work. If possible one should have a broom closet in which all the objects used in cleaning can be kept, then no time is wasted in hunting them up. ”

“ Knowledge of sanitary science will make the homemaker demand cleanliness in her surroundings, quick disposal of waste, and the prompt removal of dust. Much care in planning is necessary here in order that there may be no leakage and that there may be the full share of comfort for each member. ”

“ It is being taken out of the hands of the individual houseworker, who is wont to scrub, sweep and dust in the intervals between marketing, cooking, laundry-work or sewing, and by whom it is performed well or ill, but always according to the standards of the individual household, which means that there are no accepted standards in sweeping, scrubbing and dusting. House-cleaning is becoming a specialized, skilled trade, performed by the visiting expert and his staff of professionally trained employés. ”

“ The consensus of opinion is that a disposal works can be designed and constructed which will produce an effluent that will not deteriorate the water into which it is discharged, that will create no nuisance from odor or from flies and that the cost will be strictly proportionate to the sanitary and esthetic results achieved. ”

“ You could not live in such a place. No, the smoke must go out up the chimney, the dust and crumbs must be swept away, the dirty water must be drained off in pipes; the house must be not only cleaned, but kept clean all the time. ”

“ Every house certainly should have a thorough cleaning every year, that there may be a check put upon the accumulation of dust or dirt which might breed disease, even if no other reason influenced the housekeeper. ”

“ There is a department, enrolling about 500 men, whose duties are to keep the floors swept clean, the windows washed, in fact to keep the sanitary conditions surrounding the workmen as nearly perfect as possible. The floors of the entire plant are scrubbed at least once a week, with hot water and a strong solution of alkali, which removes the grease. Another department of about twenty-five men does nothing but paint the walls and ceilings of the factory, keeping everything fresh and clean. ”

“ But though men like clean houses, they do not like house-cleaning. They have certain absurd notions which they would wish to carry out; such, for instance, as that constant-quiet, preventive care, or frequent topical applications, carefully applied, would gradually renovate the whole interior. But who wishes to be cleaning all the time? ”

“ CLEAN′ING. In domestic economy the best way to clean a house is to keep it clean by a daily attention to small things, and not allow it to get into such a state of dirtiness and disorder as to require great and periodical cleanings. Some mistresses, and also some servants, seem to have an idea that a house should undergo regular cleanings, or great washing and scrubbing matches, once every three or six months, on which occasions the house is turned almost inside out, and made most uncomfortable. ”

“ This cleaner, as well as all other portable cleaners, discharges the air from the exhauster directly back into the apartment cleaned, and is open to the same objection that was raised against the early compressed air cleaners. While all the dust may be caught by the dust bag, the microbes are allowed to escape with the air and the cleaner is not a sanitary device by any manner of means. ”