| 1911 Specimen | 1919 Specimen | ||
| Color | Colorless | Straw Color | |
| Odor | None | None | |
| Specific Gravity at 25 Cc. | 1.1229 | 1.1313 | |
| Total Solids (residue at 100 Cc.) | 16.49 | 18.33 | |
| Chlorid (Cl-) | 7.60 | 10.74 | |
| Sulphate (SO4- -) | 1.11 | .16 | |
| Aluminum (Al+++) | .22 | .90 | |
| Calcium (Ca++) | .19 | .13 | |
| Zinc (Zn++) | 5.11 | 3.93 | |
| Lead (Pb++) | .046 | Traces | |
| Mercury (Hg++) | ....... | .0086 | |
| Sodium (Na+) | 1.01 | 1.39 |
These quantities transposed to hypothetical combinations would indicate that Platt’s Chlorides has the following composition:
| 1911 Specimen | 1919 Specimen | ||
| Aluminum Sulphate | 1.32 | .18 | |
| Aluminum Chlorid | .07 | 4.29 | |
| Calcium Chlorid | .54 | .37 | |
| Zinc Chlorid | 10.66 | 8.19 | |
| Lead Chlorid | .06 | Traces | |
| Mercury Chlorid | ....... | .0116 | |
| Sodium Chlorid | 2.57 | 4.81 | |
| Hydrogen Chlorid | .43 | None |
In the past, the advertising has suggested, more or less directly, that, as chlorinated lime (bleaching powder) may be made to give off chlorin gas which disinfects, so the air in a room may be disinfected by evaporating Platt’s Chlorides. Thus the label of the 1911 specimen contains the following:
“For Store Rooms, Refrigerators, and Closets, keep a sponge saturated with the pure liquid in a saucer on an upper shelf.”
On the label of the 1919 specimen, the statement reads:
“Refrigerators and Storerooms—As a disinfectant wash regularly with one part Chlorides to eight of water. As a deodorant, keep in an open vessel a sponge or cloth saturated with the Chlorides full strength.”
That the owner of Platt’s Chlorides really believes that the vapors of the preparation have disinfecting properties is seen from a letter over the name of Henry B. Platt printed in the New York Tribune in 1916. This read, in part:
“... by keeping in a dish or saucer on radiators Platt’s Chlorides diluted one-half, the hot solution will evaporate and purify the air, thus destroying the grip germ which is the cause of all the trouble.”