The Labour-saving House

by Mrs. C. S. Peel

I

Of all labour-saving forces at present available, I think we must regard electricity and gas as the most important.

Often, however, it is not for us to choose which we will employ. We must needs use gas if electric current is not available, and we must count the cost of both before deciding whether or no we may employ either.

Counting the Cost.

Counting the cost is not so simple a matter as it seems, for it does not suffice to ascertain the price of gas per 1000 feet, and of electricity per unit, and of coal and coke per ton, and of wood per 100 bundles, because you have also to ascertain what you can save in labour and in other items before you can arrive at any just conclusion.

Let us suppose that you decide to build a house and warm it by hot water, to light it and to cook by gas or electricity. In that case you could save the cost of grates, chimneys, the kitchen range, fenders, fireirons, coal boxes, chimney sweeping, a considerable amount of cleaning, and the labour of the people who would be needed to handle the coal and do the cleaning.

So you must consider the matter carefully, not forgetting that it is further complicated by the fact that you may find it difficult to obtain servants, and that it might pay you to use gas or electricity even though coal was cheaper, because of the scarcity and high cost of labour. You have also to consider that the cost of coal, gas, and electricity depend to some extent on the people who use them. One cook, for example, will burn nearly double the coal burned by another and obtain no better result. It is the same with gas and electric current.

PLATE XXXIV

ELECTRICAL KITCHEN OF A SMALL FLAT. ALL LIFTING AND STOOPING IS AVOIDED.

(The British Electric Transformer Co.)

The Coke Furnace.

Now, taking into account the fact that no water company has yet been sufficiently enterprising to provide a supply of hot water, I think the cheapest and most labour-saving method of warming houses and providing hot water is by means of a coke furnace or possibly two furnaces. These should heat all the radiators and supply all hot water. My personal experience of a coke furnace is that it needs but little attention, and that coke is light, clean, and easy to handle as compared with coal. These furnaces do, however, need some coal to light them. The procedure is as follows:—

PLATE XXXV

A DINING-ROOM HOT PLATE. (Messrs. Townshends, Ltd.)

PLATE XXXVa

THE "DREADNOUGHT" WASHING-UP MACHINE

Which may be worked by hand or by electricity. It is made in various sizes and obviates the necessity of putting the hands into greasy water or of wiping the plates, cups, etc. Silver may be washed in addition to china in the machine.

How to Light a Coke Furnace.

First thing in the morning, rake out the furnace and keep the clinker (burnt coke). Put in paper, some sticks, and a shovelful of coal. Light. When burning up add some fresh coke. When well alight, and the water hot, add more coke mixed with clinkers. If the water is quite cold it takes some fifty minutes to get it really hot, though a warm bath would be ready in thirty minutes. If, however, the furnace is banked at night, the water would still be warm at 6.30 in the morning.

In my own house, we need three hot baths before the 8.30 breakfast, and the furnace must be lighted by 6.30 to 6.40 to obtain them. If the cook comes down late she uses more coal to get the furnace burning quickly. After breakfast the cook feeds the furnace with a little more coke, the rubbish and some more coke on top. Rubbish should not be put in unless the fire is fairly hot. The furnace heats a large radiator, water for two bathrooms, two sinks, and three hand-basins. In winter, the furnace is banked up after lunch, and not made up again until before dinner, and the supply of hot water is constant, and there can be hot baths at night if needed; but if all the hot water is run off at night and the furnace is not made up again it naturally takes longer to heat the water in the morning. In summer the furnace is let out after the rubbish is burned; and with a small household the water for washing up is heated on the gas.

One cook who came down late used far too much coal to light the furnace (which is bad for it, as it fouls the flue with soot), threw away all clinkers, and would not burn rubbish, and therefore consumed quite one-third more coke than the present cook, and obtained no better result.

Still, all things considered, I know no better or more economical method of heating the rooms and providing hot water in a household of any size than the coke furnace. This I should not say were gas and electricity cheaper, because, of course, a water heater which is set going by turning a tap or switch is obviously more labour-saving than a furnace.

In almost all households gas or electric heaters are practical, because if used carefully they are not too expensive, and in small houses or flats where the mistress is her own maid, or depends upon help from a visiting worker, I should certainly recommend the abolition of either coke or coal from the labour-saving point of view alone.

PLATE XXXVI

AN ELECTRIC COOKER SUITABLE FOR ORDINARY USE

Oven, grill and toaster plate, warmer and hot plate. (Messrs. Crompton & Co.)

Some Figures.

I find that in the two years we have used the furnace we have consumed 120 sacks of coke, but part of it was mixed with the coal burned in the drawing-room. I must also admit that during part of this time the fuel was carelessly used. In addition to the coke burned in the furnace, coal was needed for lighting it. We used nine tons of coal in two years, for the drawing-room fire (a large old-fashioned, extravagant grate) and for the furnace. These were partly war years, and coal cost on an average 35s. a ton, and the coke 1s. 2d. a sack; roughly £11 10s. for furnace and drawing-room fire per year. In addition, the gas bills for two years have been, for cooker and five fires (one of the latter lighted in dining-room for about three hours a day, another burned a good deal in Christmas holidays, fire in servants' hall used in the afternoon in cold weather, and two bedroom fires only for an hour or two in the evening when very cold, except during a three-weeks' illness, and one or two days when people had colds), about £40. Gas is at the war price (in London) 3s. per 1,000 feet, and (for "war reasons") inferior in quality to what it was before the war, and the figure includes meter and stove rent (two stoves, kitchen, and servants' hall).

When considering these sums it must be remembered that this is a small London house, and that the furnace in the kitchen heats that and keeps the smoking-room above from ever being very cold. The large radiator in the hall, heated from the furnace, makes an enormous difference to the warmth of the house; also the drawing-room fire was not lighted in the morning except in really cold weather. To the coal, coke, and gas bills must be added 14s. worth of wood during the two years. Old boxes were chopped up, so that if all the wood had been bought it might have amounted to 18s. or £1, say £32 10 0 for a year's fuel.

Had we used a coal range and coal fires and had no radiator, I calculate that the cost of coal would amount to at least £35, and that we should have used more wood, and certainly we could not have run the house without more help.

When counting the cost of heating, lighting, and cooking, allow for expert's figures. The average servant, and for that matter, the average mistress, is not an expert, and until she is, will not be able to obtain the best value for the money spent as does the expert.

In another household known to me, the furnace is larger and more coke is used, and it is made up at about seven o'clock, at midday, and again at night. This furnace heats water for two bathrooms, three sinks, four hand-basins, and radiators all over the house. The house is always beautifully warm, and only a small fire "for company" is needed in the drawing-room. In this house there is a coal range for cooking, but in hot weather an oil stove is used. The quantities of fuel used are for two years: 13 tons coal, 18 tons coke, 8 tons anthracite, 234 gallons of oil.

In a maisonette of three floors, gas is used for cooking and for water heating and nursery ironing ring, and coal for dining-room fire, drawing-room in late afternoon and evening, and nursery when necessary. (Child goes to a kindergarten.) The cost for coal and gas for the year 1915 was £28 10s. In flats where the bathroom is near the furnace less fuel is needed.

In all of the three cases mentioned the labour bill would have had to be increased had coal been in use everywhere. Furthermore, a gas expert tells me that with more careful use the bills could be reduced; but as one is seldom able to secure the services of experts, allowance must be made for careless usage of fuel when counting the cost.

PLATE XXXVII

A GOOD TYPE OF ELECTRIC FIRE

(Messrs. Crompton and Co.)

The Use of Gas.

Let us deal now with the question of gas, and suppose that the hot water is provided by a gas circulator, that it is, for various reasons, not feasible to put in radiators, and that a gas cooker and gas fires are used.

There are various kinds of circulators, rubbish destructors, cookers and fires, and so great has been the improvement in their mechanism and appearance that I really do not think any objection on the score of health or appearance can be made now to the use of gas. One disadvantage is, possibly, that some of the best and most modern fires and cookers cannot be hired. Still, one does not hire one's fireplaces and coal ranges, so why do we always expect to obtain gas fires and cookers on hire?

Some fires I have lately seen were really attractive, and would not spoil the effect of any room.

Readers of this book who wish to see what can be done for them by means of gas should visit the showrooms of the various gas companies, and especially those of Messrs. Davis, 60, Oxford Street, W.

Good Advice.

Before deciding on any special fires, stoves, etc., the customer should ask the gas company to inspect the premises and to give advice as to the best method of dealing with that particular house or flat, because the choice of apparatus must depend on the situation of the boiler, the length of pipes needed, the height of the house, the position of the bathroom, and the kind of grates available.

In some houses it would be out of the question to heat water by gas, in others it would be possible and even economical.

But I regret to have to say that the gas companies do not always seem to have employees capable of giving the best advice. In London, the Gas Light and Coke Company have a clever staff, amongst whom are several ladies known as the Women's Advisory Staff. These ladies are extremely helpful, and when they have talked the matter over with the prospective customer, will call in experts who deal with the questions of cost, of fitting, etc. Two heads are better than one, and therefore I always advise the would-be gas-user to pick the brains of one of these ladies (who are trained cooks as well as gas experts), as well as those of the male staff.

When the cookers and fires have been installed a lady will then call, free of charge, and demonstrate the use of the various apparatus, and it can also be arranged that the fires, cooker, etc., are inspected and kept in order for a nominal sum per annum.

Gas for Water Heating.

Regarding the use of gas for water heating, it would be useless for me to go into details, for only an expert who has seen the house can know how best to deal with the matter, and whether to advise the use of geysers, califonts, hydrotherms, etc.; or whether gas circulators should be ruled out and a coke furnace substituted. Excluding the cost of installation, and under suitable circumstances, it is estimated that a large hot bath costs rather less than twopence, and one less full and not quite so hot, rather more than one penny. The cost must vary a little, as in summer time the temperature of the water before heating is higher than in winter, also the size of baths varies.

When using gas for heating, the baths and fitted basins should not be unnecessarily large, and note that a square-bottomed bath will need more water to fill it than that which is curved. Do not forget that every pint of hot water costs something to make it hot.

Many improvements have been made in geysers of late, and they are now as fool-proof as any apparatus can be. But when one has to deal with a girl who will turn on the gas in the oven and forget that she has not lighted it, shut the door, and then, when the house reeks of gas, arm herself with a lighted taper and start looking for the escape, it is difficult to estimate against what depth of human folly the gas apparatus must be made immune.

Geysers are now contrived so that the one apparatus will serve several taps, and circulators are fitted with concentric burners, so that when the water is hot the ring is put out and only the small inner burner used.

Thermostats are fixed to reduce automatically the consumption of gas directly the water reaches a certain temperature.

A cut-out system is also applied to existing cylinders and tanks of unnecessarily large size.

When using a gas circulator the gas should be turned out when hot water is not required—a detail which many people forget.

For example, one servant heats the water for baths, washing up and cleaning, then the gas is put out after lunch, and is not lighted again until hot water is wanted at night. Another keeps the gas burning the whole day.

Gas for Lighting.

When electricity is available, I should not choose gas as an illuminant, but when it must be employed it is now so arranged and shaded that the effect is perfect and the blacking of walls and ceiling reduced to a minimum. It may surprise some of my readers to know that gas can now be fitted so that it is switched on and off from a wall switch in the same fashion as electricity. Incandescent burners make for economy, and now bijou burners are to be had suitable for small rooms, offices, etc., which consume less than the large burners. Allowing for gas at 3s. per 1000 feet, one large incandescent burner costs one penny every eight hours, a medium burner one penny for every twelve hours, and a bijou one penny for every eighteen hours.

Gas Fires.

When choosing a gas fire see that there is a duplex burner, so that two or three jets can be turned out, leaving the centre jets burning. When the room is warm the smaller fire will suffice to keep it so. The best modern fires are noiseless and ventilated beautifully, and, as I have already said, they are really pleasing in appearance.

Nevertheless, I do not advise a gas fire, however good, as an economy in a room which is used for hours at a time. The cost of an average fire is said to be 1¼d. per hour, counting gas at 3s. per 1000 feet, and it does not pay to burn 1¼d. worth of gas per hour for fourteen or fifteen hours at a stretch. From the point of view of money-saving it would be cheaper to burn coal.

On the other hand, supposing a gas fire is lighted in a sitting-room in the morning, it can be turned out if the family are out in the afternoon, and not relighted until shortly before they return, for the advantage of gas and electric fires is that they are red-hot practically at once, whereas a coal fire takes time to burn up and become hot, and each time it is lighted it eats wood as well as coal.

Still, say what one will, a coal or wood fire is pleasanter to sit with, and for that reason, unless I were quite servantless, I would have one "live" fire in the house. Expert advice must be obtained when putting in gas fires in order to be sure that the kind most suitable is obtained, and the ventilation must be carefully attended to.

People often say, "Oh, I couldn't sit in a room with a gas fire," having no experience of a well-made, well-ventilated, and properly fitted fire.

There are old-fashioned, badly fitted gas fires which deserve every evil thing which can be said of them; but again there are many others: there is even a fire which can be set alight by turning a switch at your bedside, so that you do not set foot out of that warm refuge until the temperature of the room has become pleasant to your lightly clad form.

Gas Cookers.

When choosing a gas cooker there are many points to consider, and I own that to my mind the ideal cooker has not yet been put upon the market. It is, however, bound to come, and gas cookers, unlike ranges, are easily changed.

The cooker should have a solid hot plate,[2] and not an open top, but if this make cannot be obtained, a sheet of iron covering two-thirds of the top of the cooker can be laid on it. One gas burner will heat this, and several pans will simmer on it at the cost of one burner.

The ordinary cooker is generally fitted with one simmering burner and about three boiling burners, which is wrong, for to one dish which needs boiling for more than a few minutes, at all events, many need to simmer.[3] The great fault of English cooks is that they cook everything too fast, and the average gas stove does not discourage this naughty practice.

Still, this difficulty can be overcome by using the makeshift hot-plate as already described.

In addition to the boiling burners there should be a griller, which is used for browning and toasting, as well as grilling.

The size of the cooker must depend upon the amount of cooking needed, but it is no economy to have a very small one, because when the oven is in use it should be employed for almost everything. The average cook bakes a milk pudding in the oven and cooks vegetables and hashed mutton and stewed fruit each on a boiling tap, and probably uses the griller as well, and wonders why the gas bills are so high.

Which will you spend, brains or money?

PLATE XXXVIII

AN ELECTRIC COOKER

(The Jackson Electric Stove Co.)