By home sanitation we mean keeping the house clean and giving the forces of nature, such as sunshine, fresh air, and pure water, their fullest opportunity to work for us. By letting the out of doors indoors we give nature a fairer chance at her great task of keeping us well and happy.

The house is a protection for the family and should have healthful and cheerful surroundings. The housewife should understand the principles of home sanitation and thereby secure for her family a healthy and happy life.

Location of the house. The location of the house is often decided more by necessity or convenience than by the consideration of health. If possible, a tenement or house should be so situated as to secure good air, sunshine, good drainage, and good neighbors. A house with a southerly exposure or placed with its corners to the points of the compass has a distinct hygienic value and is always to be preferred, because it gets the sun in each room at some time during the day.

Sunshine. Abundant sunshine and light in the home are of great importance, and help to make the home healthful and more cheerful. People living in rooms which have no sun become pale and gradually lose strength.

Pure air. Sunshine and pure air are the most important essentials for healthy life in the home. Nothing will take the place of fresh air. Everyone should be taught to fill the lungs with it by slow, deep breathing. We breathe on an average eighteen times a minute, or 25,920 times every twenty-four hours. No matter how well rooms are ventilated, it is a good plan to open the windows wide a few times each day. This helps to rid the atmosphere of impurities.

Oxygen. Oxygen is the element in the air that sustains life; it is inhaled through the lungs, taken up by the blood, and carried to all parts of the body.

Carbon dioxide. The air also contains carbon dioxide, which is a product of combustion in many forms, such as respiration and the decomposition of animal and vegetable matter. Although enormous quantities of carbon dioxide are constantly being forced into the air, it is likewise being removed constantly—especially by growing vegetation. Plants and trees, under the influence of sunlight, absorb much of the carbon dioxide; therefore plants, which many people like to have in their rooms, not only please the eye but have a practical value.

The condition of plants in the house is a good test of home sanitation. If the leaves drop off, probably the rooms are overheated and the air too dry. There is some truth in the saying, “Where plants will not grow, people ought not to live.” The breathing of impure air causes a feeling of discomfort; the habitual breathing of bad air causes headache and lessens the resistance of the body to disease.

Impurities of air in homes. Many conditions may help cause bad air in our homes; among these are mentioned overcrowding, oil stoves, gas stoves, and the kind of housekeeping which permits the accumulation of dust and waste.

Good ventilation. By good ventilation we mean a sufficient supply of fresh air of suitable temperature and moisture, kept systematically in motion. Moving air serves a double purpose—that of bringing to us a fresh supply and of taking away the warm, moist, impure air by which we are surrounded. The best and simplest way to ventilate a room is to have one or two windows open at both the top and the bottom. During storms or in the winter time, ventilation may be secured by covering a wire screen with thin outing flannel. This allows the entrance of fresh air without drafts.

Drafts. There is a superstition that colds are caused by drafts. As a matter of fact, moving air is a necessity, and drafts do not cause colds. Drafts, sudden chilling of the body, and dampness may be predisposing causes, but in themselves they will not produce a cold. Such conditions lower the general vitality of the body and favor the development of infection when the specific cause is introduced.

Temperature of air. The temperature of the air has a very important bearing on health. The harmful effect of extremes of temperature has caused the death of many babies. The temperature of heated rooms, during the day, should be between 68° and 70°F.

Humidity. By humidity we mean the moisture in the air. Many of the colds which occur in the winter are due to the dry air in homes and places of work. Extreme dryness irritates the mucous membranes of the nose and throat, and this irritation is favorable to the development of infection. Moisture may be added to the air in two simple ways: by keeping a dish of water on the radiator and by keeping plants in the rooms, for plants constantly throw off moisture.

Water. The purity of the water that is used in the household, whether it comes from a public water supply or from a well in the country, is a question of great importance. Every housewife should know the source from which the water used in her household comes.

Water is considered pure from the standpoint of health when it is free from pollution, color, odor, poisonous salts, and turbidity. Clear, sparkling water is not necessarily pure however. The purity of water can be determined only by analysis.

In most states the public water supply of cities and towns is inspected regularly and the water is examined, so that the people may be protected from danger of infection. When the water used in a household is obtained from a well or private water supply, an analysis of it should be made.

All wells should be carefully constructed and covered, so that there may be no danger of pollution from surface drainage. Privy vaults should not be near the well or so located that there will be drainage from them to a well; otherwise the germs of typhoid and other diseases may find their way to it through the ground and become a source of danger to the persons using the water. As an extra precaution all discharges from persons who have tuberculosis, cholera, dysentery, or typhoid fever should be effectively disinfected before they are emptied into a privy vault or into a flush closet.

Purification of water. If the purity of the water is doubted, it should be boiled for five or ten minutes in a clean, covered kettle. This renders it safe. The flat taste which often results from the boiling may be remedied by shaking the water in a bottle or pouring it from one clean pitcher to another or by simply exposing it to the air overnight. Water should be kept cool, and should be protected from dust.

Household filters. The domestic filter is of little value. It will remove visible particles of matter, but will have very little effect upon bacteria. If such filters are used, they should be carefully and intelligently cleaned several times a day.

Care and arrangement of rooms. All the rooms in the house should be well ventilated and kept scrupulously clean. The windows should be entirely screened in order that they may be opened at both top and bottom. The screens should be put on in the spring before the flies and mosquitoes appear and should not be removed until all danger from them is past. Screens should be brushed frequently.

Dust and dusting. Dust is brought into the home on shoes and clothing, and is blown in from the outside. Dust must be kept under control by the use of a vacuum cleaner, a carpet sweeper, or a damp broom, and by good ventilation. Children should not be allowed to remain in rooms that are being swept, for dust causes an irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat and also is frequently a carrier of disease germs. The dusting of furniture should be done with a damp cloth. This will wipe off the dust and not stir it up into the air where it will be inhaled or will settle again. A feather duster should not be used. Dampened dusters may be prepared in the following way: spread the dusters out smoothly on a towel that has been wrung out of hot water, roll, and let them lie for half an hour before using.

The cellar. The cellar should extend under the entire house. If there is no cellar, the space under the floor should be well ventilated. There should be windows on at least two sides of the cellar to give ventilation and light, and the windows should be well screened. The cellar requires constant care and should be kept not only dry but clean and free from rubbish and substances that decay or absorb and hold moisture.

Care of food. Young people should learn to care for food in the home. Food should be fresh, clean, and wholesome. It should be protected from dust and handled only with clean hands. The development of bacteria may be prevented by keeping the food cold and clean. Fruits should be washed before being used. The outer covering of berries is easily bruised, and such fruits are frequently contaminated by dust and flies. Fruit should be full-grown but not over-ripe when eaten. Vegetables such as lettuce, celery, and radishes, that are eaten uncooked, should be thoroughly washed and rinsed in several waters.

Care of garbage. Garbage consists chiefly of the refuse matter from the kitchen. It should be kept in a clean metal can with a tight-fitting cover, since it will attract flies, rats, and other vermin. It is important that the can be frequently emptied and cleaned. Be careful that broken glass, broken dishes, nails, tacks, or old papers are not mixed with the kitchen refuse. Have a separate can or barrel for ashes and all glass and metal rubbish. The fair criterion of good housekeeping is the amount of garbage. A large amount of garbage means carelessness and waste in the kitchen.

Dishcloth and dish towels. Beware of a greasy, damp, disease-carrying dishcloth that is hung in a warm, dark place. The dishcloth and dish towels should be kept clean by washing them with soap and hot water every day. They should be hung out in the sunshine in the open air.

Clean hands. Clean hands mean more than personal cleanliness. They mean clean door knobs, furniture, and clothing. The hands should be washed frequently with warm water and soap, and always before handling food, after going to the toilet, and before taking the baby.