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CHAPTER IV.



BEDROOM VENTILATION


Now, if all houses were built in accordance with the requirements of
modern sanitary ideas, there would be but little difficulty in
grappling with the problem of bedroom ventilation, for the sleeping
apartment would be a well ventilated room, with all the latest
contrivances, such as Tobin's ventilators, for the admission of fresh
air. But as the greater number of people have to live in rented
dwellings in which the rooms are very small, it becomes necessary to
know what can be done to remedy existing defects. In the first place
the bedroom should always be upstairs if possible; it is decidedly
healthier, and there is a better chance for the supply of fresh air.
The very worst room in the house that could be chosen for a sleeping
apartment would be one on the basement. Then again, a fireplace in the
bedroom is a priceless boon, and it is almost impossible to rectify
such a deficiency. But as too many rooms are built without it, we are
compelled to look to the window for our air supply. It is estimated
that nearly one-third of every person's life is devoted to sleep; that
is to say, about one-third of it is spent in the sleeping apartment. It
is only natural, then, that this room and its surroundings should merit
some special attention. As a matter of fact, from a health point of
view, it should receive more consideration than all the rest of the
house put together, for during our waking hours; we are moving about
and constantly changing our location; but during sleep, when life is in
abeyance to a certain extent, the system has passively to receive and
be supported by whatever pure air the bedroom happens to
possess. If, as too often is the case, that chamber is looked upon as a
sort of cupboard, where, amongst other things, there is room for a bed,
so much the worse for any one who has to sleep there. If the sleeper
arises in the morning in a dazed and semi-suffocated state and quite
unfitted for the day's work before him, instead of feeling refreshed,
there is no occasion to seek far for the cause. For the mental toiler,
also, it is equally important that the period devoted to the
restoration of brain material and the imbibition of a fresh supply of
nerve power for the ensuing day's requirements should be passed under
circumstances the most favourable for bestowing them.

From this we see that a due amount of sleep, under favourable
circumstances as regards ventilation, is necessary both for brain and
muscle; and that, in fact, unless it be forthcoming, there will be an
inability for either brain worker or muscle user to properly fulfil his
duties next day. But in addition to this there is still the fact that
we have to do with the semi-tropical climate of Australia. It will be
as well, therefore, to make reference to what has been said on the
subject as far as India is concerned. Sir Joseph Fayrer, whose opinion
on such matters must always carry respect, in the course of an address
on the preservation of health in that country, went on to say: "It is
very important that you have good sleep, for nothing in the hot weather
more refreshes or invigorates you. Early rising is the rule in India,
and I advise you to conform to the usual practice."

Sir James Ranald Martin, another authority on Indian affairs, in
commenting on the prevention of disease, also calls attention to the
need for extra sleep, which is always required in hot climates. He
points out that by giving the frame a thorough and complete rest from
the great stimulus of heat, both tone and vigour are imparted--
providing for the requirements of the coming day, as well as repairing
those of the preceding. The general truths contained in the foregoing
apply equally to Australia, and during the hot summer months,
therefore, it must not be forgotten that an extra allowance of sleep is
quite indispensable.

In a great many cases the space under the bed is regarded as an
admirable receptacle for a collection of boxes, parcels, hat-boxes, old
boots, and other interesting relics, while they are effectually
concealed from view by a species of curtain reaching from the bed to
the floor. The drapery which thus hangs down is dignified by the name
of a "valance," and though originally intended for the purpose of
embellishment and ornamentation, it is better that decorative art
should be more limited in its application, so as not to interfere with
the free circulation of air throughout the room. The sleeping apartment
is also considered as being particularly well adapted for the storage
of old clothes, and consequently garments of this description are not
hidden away, nor furtively concealed, but are triumphantly exposed to
gaze in various parts of the room. Indeed, the more obtrusive they are,
the better the purpose of the bedroom is believed to be served. If it
could be only understood how these unnecessarily occupy the air space
of the room, and interfere with its ventilation, this sort of thing
would never be tolerated for a moment.

And while on the subject of the accumulation of useless articles in a
bedroom, it seems fitting here to devote a few words to another kindred
matter, namely, the hoarding up throughout the house of what may
literally be designated as lumber. It is astonishing what a number of
utterly valueless things are allowed to remain in nearly every
household, and it is well remarked that no one ever knows what a
collection of rubbish he possesses till he has occasion to remove.
There may not be much to be ashamed of in the first load or two of
furniture, but at the latter end there is a strong feeling that a dark
night would be more adapted for moving--the darker the better. At
least every twelve months there should be a regular clearance of worn-out
articles, and that miscellaneous collection of odds and ends which
can be of no earthly value to anybody, unless he be an antiquary.

Let us now go on to consider what ill effects result from the breathing
of vitiated air. In his work, A Manual of Practical Hygiene, Professor
Edmund A. Parkes has pointed out: "When air moderately vitiated by
respiration is breathed for any period and continuously, its effects
become complicated with those of other conditions. But allowing the
fullest effect to all other agencies, there is no doubt that the
breathing of the vitiated atmosphere of respiration has a most
injurious result on the health. The aeration and nutrition of the blood
seems to be interfered with, and the general tone of the system falls
below par. Of special diseases it appears pretty clear that affections
of the lungs are more common." The volume of air inhaled and exhaled by
the adult in the twenty-four hours averages 360 cubic feet, or 2,000
gallons, while the amount we take in the shape of liquid or solid food
does not amount probably to more than 5 1/2 pints, which is equal to
only 1-3000th part of the volume of air passed through the lungs. From
this it will be seen how necessary it is that such a large amount of
air should be perfectly fresh and wholesome, for the lungs act as a
pair of immense sponges or absorbers. When the ventilation does not
allow of a continuous supply of fresh air it smells close, and is
surcharged with an increased amount of carbonic acid, while the noxious
exhalations from the breath and lungs deposit themselves throughout the
room. Nor are the ill-effects of impure air confined to man alone, for
it is well known that cows, horses, sheep, and other animals, when
penned up in close quarters, show an increased death-rate from many
diseases.

But though it is perfectly plain that badly ventilated sleeping
apartments tend greatly to the production of diseases of the lungs, it
is not generally understood by the greater number of persons that
diseases of the heart are brought on by similar conditions, and there
is without doubt a great increase of heart diseases at the present
time. It is estimated that upwards of 10,000 people in England alone
die yearly from affections of the heart; yet, taking into consideration
the ceaseless work of that organ (in the words of the motto upon
Goethe's ring, "Ohne Rast"--without rest), it is wonderful that it is
not more frequently diseased. It is said that "the heart is a small
muscular organ weighing only a few ounces, beating perpetually day and
night, morning and evening, summer and winter; and yet often an old
man's heart nearly a hundred years of age is as perfect and complete as
when he was a young man of twenty" (Haughton).

The effect of impure air in its action on the heart is thus spoken of
by Dr. Cornelius Black: "I showed the effect of impure air in promoting
the degenerative tendency in the structures of the heart, and
especially those of the right side of the heart, after the age of
forty. I was then led to a passing consideration of the baneful
influence produced upon the heart by badly-ventilated houses, schools,
manufactories, pits, theatres, underground railways, and all places of
a similar character." "The impure atmosphere of the bedrooms of the
poor, and indeed of many of the middle class, caused by deficient
ventilation, proves a sharp spur to the degenerative tendency
manifested by the heart, and especially by the right side of the heart,
after the age of forty." "I hold that the breathing of impure air is a
fruitful source of disease of the right side of the heart occurring
after middle age. How many people ignorantly favour its occurrence by
confining themselves to closely shut, non-ventilated, stuffy, sitting
rooms, in which the carbonic acid has accumulated to a poisonous degree
in the air they respire! How are these evil results to be prevented?
The simple answer is, let the rooms in which you live be effectively
ventilated by an incoming current of fresh air, and so arranged that no
draught shall be felt."

Sanitarians who have devoted a good deal of time and study to the
working out of questions relating to the amount of fresh air in
bedrooms have decided that each person should, if possible, have at
least 1,000 cubic feet of space, or in other words, the same amount
contained in a room 10 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 10 feet high. It is
also estimated that the amount of fresh air entering into a room of
this size should be 3,000 cubic feet per hour, that is, the air in each
room should be completely changed three times every hour. These
observations of course apply only to the least amount of air which
every sleeper is strictly entitled to. As a matter of fact, however,
any more than this is simply of distinct advantage as far as health is
concerned. The bedroom, instead of being the smallest room in the
house, as it too often is, should be really the very largest. Now it
has been previously stated that foul or vitiated air collects in a
sleeping apartment unless there be a continuous circulation of fresh
air; and that the noxious exhalations from the breath and skin
constitute the chief sources of air pollution. The practical point to
discover is how to have this continuous circulation of fresh air
throughout the room without causing a draught. Before considering this,
a few words on the position of the bed itself will possibly be
appropriate. It is always better to have it standing more in the centre
of the room with its head against the wall, than to have it jammed
alongside the latter. And it certainly should have placed north and
south if the shape of the room admits of it. The wire-wove mattress is
of great advantage both for comfort and for coolness; and here in
Australia, during the summer months, proper mosquito nettings are as
necessary as the bed itself. If the bed is provided with a head-piece,
as it should be, there is no difficulty in fitting on the netting.

Every bedroom window should be made to open freely, and what other
defects exist--such as the smallness of the apartment, or the absence
of a fireplace--can be remedied to a great extent by means of the
window. In many instances the bed is placed so near the latter that
when it is open there is a strong draught playing directly on the bed,
and this is an evil which must be avoided. In such case, to rectify
matters, raise the bottom window a few inches, and have a piece of
board made to fit in under it, so as to support the sash and fill in
the space between it and the sill. The air freely enters the room
between the two sashes, because the top of the lower sash is by this
contrivance raised above the lower part of the upper one. Another great
advantage is that the air is directed upwards to the ceiling by having
to come in over the lower sash, and thus a gentle current of fresh air
is constantly being circulated throughout the room without creating any
draught. There are other devices to attain the same end, such as having
apertures cut in the glass of the windows, but they are not so
effective, so inexpensive, nor so simple as the preceding. In
bedrooms there are the long French windows leading on to a balcony, and
where such is the case the air current can be regulated to a nicety by
having only one of the window-doors open, and directing the ventilation
away from the bed. Many people prefer to sleep with the door itself
open, and by having a PORTIERE or certain suspended outside, privacy
can be ensured, while an upright screen standing at the head of the bed
will effectually ward off any cold currents of air. In our summer
weather there is but little difficulty experienced in regulating the
air supply, for there is generally a desire to have as much fresh air
as possible. Far too many people, however, look upon the bedroom in the
light of an oven, where they are to be baked during the hours of
repose, and this is the case even during the summer. In the cooler
parts of the year they are apt to forget there is just as much
necessity for fresh air as in the warm months.

Soiled or dirty clothes should not on any account be allowed to remain
in the sleeping apartments, as they are a constant source of foulness
to the air. All unclean linen ready for the wash had better be kept
away from the bedroom in one of those long baskets which stand upright
and are furnished with a lid. They are admirably adapted for the
purpose, and may be obtained for a few shillings from any of the
institutions for the blind, where they are made by the inmates. A word
of advice, by the way, to those about to travel on a long voyage, is
never to forget one of those canvas bags for the soiled clothes: they
are invaluable at sea.