STUFFY HOUSES BREED DISEASE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18016, 29 November 1926, Page 10

STUFFY HOUSES BREED DISEASE.

ADMIT LIGHT AND AIR, AND HEALTH MUST IMPROVE. (Contributed bv the Department of Health.) There is much statistical evidence showing that mortality and sickness rate increases in proportion to the number of persons per room in dwelling hou3esi In hospitals, more especially those dealing with infectious disease, the danger of crowding has long been recognised. This was brought home to us in New Zealand very forcibly during the epidemic of 191 S, when it was found that the virulence of the infec tion was greatest where the patients were closely grouped, to the extent that it. conteracted all benefit which hospital care might afford. Bacteriologists tell us that this is because the rapid transference of an infecting organism from one individual to another always raises its virulence, so much so that comparatively harmless bacteria can be made deadly by inoculating rapidly through a series of animals. It is obvious then that ordinary catarrhal infections may in an overcrowded home take on a more serious phase as it spreads, leading to complications such as pneumonia. DUTY OF LOCAL BODIES. It is the duty of local bodies, therefore, to enact by-laws with the purpose of preventing, so far as possible, crowded dwellings, securing that every inmate shall have a due proportion of air space. Such by-laws must also regulate the amount of light and air to be admitted') to habitable rooms, more especially sleeping rooms. Light not only acts beneficially on human beings, but also is detrimental to germs of disease, and a well-planned house will have as few dark corners as possible. Space alone would be of less value if the occupied room were to be dark and illventilated. So our by-laws should mand window area in proportion to the floor area—the accepted ratio being one square foot of the former to every ten square feet of the latter—and should further demand that at least one half of the window area shall be capable of being opened- It is obvious also that if there be a wall or bank within a short distance of the window the admission of light and air will be greatly reduced. Therefore for bedrooms and living rooms, including kitchens, provision should be made that one wall at least shall be an outside wall in which there is an adequate window, and that such window shall not abut, for its whole area against an obstruction such as an excavation in a bank. Rooms lighted and ventilated only by a skylight cannot b-e accepted as fit for bed-rooms. Having secured thus the entrance of light and air to the room we can further consider the control of space within it. SIZE OF ROOMS. • The first point for decision is as to the direction in which such space should be secured. One can imagine a. lofty bedroom in which persons are sleeping so crowded together that the beds are touching each other. The height of the ceiling would not saleguard these inmates against the evils of crowding. It has been the rule in hospitals for many years not to count, in the estimation of air space, any height above ten feet, and this rule should be made to apply to our dwellings. The height of the window opening is of far more importance than the height of the ceiling. A room seven-foot-six in height with a window opening within six inches of the ceiling is far more wholesome than one twelve feet in height with window's or other outlets for vitiated air not more than six feet above the floor. The large space above this height is of no value in ventilation, and merely becomes a reservoir of heated polluted air. Many of our local authorities in their by-laws have insisted unduly on the height of rooms, while neglecting the essetials such as window space. The needless height merely adds to the cost of the building, and the only person who benefits is the dealer in building material. The English Health authorities in their recommendations for bousing schemes recognise this, and do not ask for more than eight feet, and arc content with this as an average height in attic rooms. Heights below this might be inconvenient, though one could not say that a room seven feet high was insanitary, given adequate window ventilation. Where _ there is provision for cross ventilation in a room, as by a chimney or by a fanlight above the door, the supply of fresh air is largely increased, and the atmosphere of the room, regardless of the size of the room, is correspondingly increased. Let us visualise then a bedroom Sight feet in height with a properly constructed window in proportion to the floor area, and we have now to determine what shall be the minimum floor space for one pqrson; in other words, what is the smallest room we can accept as a sleeping room. This, to a great extent, resolves itself into a question . of reasonable convenience where only one occupant is concerned. The old cave dweller could doubtless scoop a hole for himself out of the soft cliff face which would be just big enough to enable him to creep in feet first and lie with his head near the entrance. Yet he would sleep soundly and suffer no ill, though his “ room ” was only a few cubic feet in area. We demand more nowadays, therefore our minimum room should afford space for a bed, and for the usual bedroom furniture, and enable the door to open inwards. It is advisable to have the room of .sufficient width and length to place the bed either way. It will be found that a room nine feet by seven feet will fulfil these requirements, so a floor area of sixty-three square feet can be accepted as the minimum. The English authorities require sixty-five feet in the smallest single bedroom. SLEEPING ROOMS. When ascertaining the requirements of a bedroom for two or more persons we have, however, to secure—besides convenience—that there shall be sufficient space between beds to minimise the pollution of the air by respiration. Experience in barracks and dormitories teaches that the minimum distance to secure reasonable purity should be five feet six, counting from the centre of one bed to the centre of the next, when they are arranged in parallel I£ to this we add the proviso that for each person sleeping in a room there shall be not less than fifty square feet of floor space, it will be found that we have the minimum space both from the point of view of ventilation and of convenience. , A room ten feet .by ten on - these standards would admit of two t>eds, I and this leaves only just sufficient I room for the simplest furniture. Certainly anything less than this must be regarded as overcrowding. In calculating necessary air space for lied rooms it is customary to allow for children under ten years of age only

twenty-five feet of floor space, since children use up less air than adults. While doubtless this smaller space is permissible it does not follow that the spacing of the beds should be proportionately smaller. The child is just as capable of spreading, germs of disease when coughing and speaking as is an adult and therefore the limit of proximity of beds should be the same. LIVING ROOMS. In regard to living rooms, such as sitting-rooms and kitchens, it is much more difficult to lay down a general standard for space. The English Housing Act requires that a living room be provided of not less area than 180 square feet, but this Act is intended to apply to housing for persons with families. For two persons living alone a smaller living room would be sufficient. Kitchens also must vary in size according to the families using them, but owing to the modern tendency to cramp the kitchen into what is little more than a cupboard it is advisable to lay down a minimum standard. The New Zealand Model By-laws suggest the modest limit at sixty-tbree square feet, which might suffice for a small family. Having regard to the heat from the range it is obvious that due air space must be allowed for persons working in this room. AIR SUPPLY. The basis used originally in ascertaining the air space standards was the degree of accumulation of carbonic acid from respiration. Respiratory carbonic acid is in itself of little consequence, but it served as a useful gauge. The standards yielded can still be accepted, but we have to qualify them by insisting on the value of floor space. Another point for consideration is the avoidance of draughts in securing ventilation. We do not want the necessary fresh air to be admitted at pressure, through a narrow opening. We should obtain the air in a broad, slow-moving current. The chimney is a most valuable adjunct to the ventilation of a room as it acts as an outlet for heated vitiated air. But the window is, after all, the main source of air supply on which we must depend. Given good window openings many other defects in a room may be forgiven. Fortunately our climate is one which favours the open window, or, better still, the sleeping porch. The evils of crowding are greatly minimised if it takes place in so open a space as the porch or verandah. Even in our windiest centres the use of fanlight openings will enable us to keep the air of our rooms changed in all weathers, more especially if the house has a good, wide eave. Nature has done much for us; our houses are on the whole constructed on good lines. The human factor is where we may fail, and if people neglect the open window and overcrowd their rooms they cannot ex-j pcct their children to develop as they should.