Oakmount Ave. near High Park 1915 the tale of a sanitary home.

retyped from the,

The Sanitary Engineer

Vol IX

April 1, 1915

No. 6

A Sanitary City Home

Describing the Sanitary and Heating Equipment in the Residence of T. Fussell, Esq., Oakmount Road, Toronto.

While we often hear it asserted that city people have the advantage of this or that sanitary con-venience, we very seldom analyse the statement.

Let us ask ourselves whether there are many really sanitary homes in our towns and cities, that is, as sanitary as they might be.

A residence might have the most modernly equipped bath room and yet be far from sanitary.

For instance, a home may not be properly heated, or there may be poor provision for ventilating every apartment, and not sufficient windows to give ample light. In such cases it could not by any means be called a sanitary home.

The Sanitary Engineer visited the residence of T. Fussell. Esq., Oakmount Road, Toronto, recently, and in this article it is proposed to define what one might fairly describe as a sanitary home.

The very best, though not the most expensive bath room fixtures are installed. Hot and cold water is supplied throughout the whole house by a Ruud automatic gas water heater, which furnishes an unlimited quantity of hot water as required. The moment a hot water tap in any part of the house is turned on that moment a supply of hot water is to be had, this heater is situated in the basement of the house.

The basement is every bit as well lighted as any other room in the building, plenty of good sized windows being furnished.

Another very noticeable difference between this residence and most so-called sanitary homes is the conspicuous ab-sence of dust.

To be strong, well, happy and efficient we must be hygienic in our habits. Soap, water and sanitary plumbing are all to be desired, but poisoned air in the home means toxins in the bodies of the occu-pants — then disease. All disease is unclean.

Sweeping and dusting are very crude, laborious and primitive operations. Distributing the dust and dirt in the air, it settles upon furniture and other household goods and has to be again wiped off by hand only to be breathed into the lungs, which really means that we inhale so many disease germs into our constitutions.

However, the reason why dust was so conspicuous by its absence is that Mr. Fussell has bad a TUEC suction cleaner installed. This machiue is situated in the basement. It is electrically driven a 1-9 h.p. motor, which can be operated by a switch at various points throughout the house.

A 2 1/2 riser pipe extends from the machine throush the central part of the house and is furnished with 2-inch outlets as convenient points. A 30-foot hose length is furnished the fittings of which are arranged so as to make perfect connection to each outlet. The dust is collected into a large tank which is part of the machine. Sanitary engineers vould do well to look into the merits of such appliances, because in these days monney is demanding more actual service than ever before. The ordinary installation has become a staple quantity upon which profits are cut to nil.

The next subject to take up is the heating. This residence is lieateil by a low pressure steam system and is controlled by a thermostatic controlling device. The temperature can be regulated to whatever degree of heat is resired. Fig. 1 shows the boiler layout, which is worthy of a little careful study. It is very simple, yet about as effective as it could possibly be. One steam main 3-inch diameter is taken off the top of the boiler, and is carried full size round the ceiling of the basement as shown in piping plan Fig. 2. This main, it will be seen, is not reduced in size as is the common practice, but is kept full size until it reaches the boiler again. It is then reduced to 1 1/2 inches as shown in Fig. 1, and drops down to the bottom and is connected into both sides of the boiler. The return main is shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2. Our readers should notice very carefully how the various connections are made. Let us commence at the boiler. In this case it will be seen that a 1 1/4 inch horizontal check valve is fitted to the same pipe which drips the steam main, then the return is carried up vertically. A Dunham air eliminator is connected here (see Fig. 1.), under which is fitted a tee. Then one return pipe is run along the ceiling to the front and another to the rear of the house. These are 1 1/4 inch and 1 inch respectively. All branches to radiators, both steam and returns, are taken off at 45 degrees, and both the piping and boiler is covered with a good quality insulator.

Each radiator is fitted with a Dunham, packless graduated radiator valve on the flow, and on the return is fitted a Dunham steam trap. A typical method of radiator connection is shown in Fig. 2. The whole system was certainly working splendidly at the time of inspection. The steam gauge registering exactly two ounces of pressure, one very striking feature was, that because of the mild temperature outside, the radiators were heated at the top portion and became gradually cooler lower down. At the same time, the thermostat and pressurestat were in full control of the whole system. No unsightly air valves are necessary with such a system, because each radiator is under the control of its own individual return trap, while the air is taken care of by the automatic air eliminator.

For the benefit of our readers we have re-produced an enlarged view of the air eliminator, see Fig. .3. Fig. 4 is a view of the residence. The boiler furnishing steam to the system is a 30.6 Viking, manufactured by Messrs. Warden King Co., Ltd., Toronto and Montreal, and Steel and Radiation, Ltd., furnished the radiators, 21 in number, 830 square feet.

In the first portion of this article we stated that the basement was well lighted. In Fig. 4 will be seen three of the basement windows, and on plan Fig. 2, there are shown no less than seven windows. These windows not only provide ample light, but are also a great assistance towards keeping the atmosphere pure. Sunlight is one of the finest purifiers known to scientists.

Mr. Geo. Cooper was chairman of the entertainment committee.

Mr. Edwin Newsome, editor of The Sanitary Engineer, gave an address, illustrated by chalk and blackboard sketches. The subject was septic tanks and sanitary methods of sewage disposal for rural residences. Great interest was shown, as was evidenced by the number of questions asked. Several members gave their experiences with septic tanks, amongst whom were Mr. Geo. Clapperton, of Messrs. Bennett & Wright Co., Ltd.; H. Hicks, president of the Ontario Association; Geo. Cooper, chairman, and Mr. H. Farthing, chairman of the examination committee.

A hearty vote of thanks was tendered to Mr. Newsome for his kindness in coming forward to address the members. Geo. Cooper delivered the vote of thanks, which had been moved by Mr. Geo. Clapperton, and seconded by T. B. Smyth, president of the society.

Mr. Newsome, in replying, stated that it had given him great pleasure to address the members, and that if the others had gained by his address, he too had benefited by listening to the experiences of others. He further urged that the members of the trade send in to “The Sanitary Engineer” any information they had gained upon any subject of interest to the trade, as it was only by the exchanging of one’s experiences that the greatest progress in sanitation could be made.

The rest of the evening was devoted to “pleasantries.” A game of progressive euchre was played, and two prizes were given. The winners were : First prize (automatic cigar lighter), S. War-burton; second prize (a Tipperary pup), C. B. S. Reed. Master Cooper very ably officiated upon the piano, after which refreshments were served, the members dispersing after having joined in singing the National Anthem.