APPENDIX A.
ALPHABETICAL LIST OF THE COMMON DISINFECTANTS, WITH A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EACH, AND THE AVERAGE PRICE AT RETAIL.
Carbolic Acid.—A product of the distillation of coal-tar. When pure and free from water, a transparent crystalline solid. Dissolves in twenty parts of cold water. Coagulates albuminous matters. A one-per-cent solution of it in water arrests putrefaction. For disinfection use at least a one-per-cent solution. The chief objection to its use is its odor. This may be modified to some extent by mixing the pure acid with camphor, forming a liquid, which may then be diluted. This acid is often used in combination with other disinfectants. A preparation much used by the New York City Board of Health for the disinfection of clothing contains eight ounces of sulphate of zinc and three ounces of carbolic acid to three gallons of water. Another for privies, water-closets, etc., is composed of ten pounds of copperas, one pint of carbolic acid, and five gallons of water. The strong acid injures iron pipe. Do not use in combination with the permanganate of potash or the chloride of zinc. “Dead Oil” (heavy oil of coal-tar) contains from 5 to 15 per cent of carbolic acid mingled with impurities. It is used for the disinfection of drains, streets, stables, etc. Thymol also occurs in coal-tar, but is usually obtained from oil of thyme. Its action is similar to that of carbolic acid. Carbolic Powders are made by mixing five parts of the pure acid, or ten parts of the crude, with one hundred parts of sawdust, clay, or lime. Squibb’s Carbolic Acid (No. 1), containing 77.90 per cent of pure acid, costs $1 a pint; (No. 2), with 37.46 per cent of pure acid, 75 cents a pint. Different samples examined (Waller), containing from .20 to .78 per cent, cost from 50 cents to $1 a pint. Crude acid, containing 50 per cent of acid, with many tarry impurities, costs less than $1 a gallon. Thymol, $1 per ounce.
Charcoal.—Absorbs putrid gases. See Lime.
Chloride of Lime. See Chlorine.
Chloride of Zinc. See Zinc.
Chlorine.—A pale, yellowish-green gas, of a suffocating quality, possessing great bleaching and disinfecting powers. When dry, it does not bleach. When moist, it combines with the hydrogen of water or of organic substances, and sets free the oxygen, which constitutes its disinfecting power. It decomposes sulphureted hydrogen, ammonia, and in general compounds arising from the putrid fermentation of organic matter. It is obtained as follows: Pour one pound of sulphuric acid, previously diluted with four times its volume of water, on three pounds of chloride of lime. Mix in a large earthen dish to allow for frothing up. Or mix two parts, by weight, of the black oxide (dioxide) of manganese with three parts, by weight, of strong hydrochloric acid. The gas is evolved very rapidly, so that it is difficult to make the mixture complete before the fumes drive away the person manipulating it. The colors of hangings, etc., are apt to be bleached out by it, and metals are corroded. (See also Sulphurous Acid.) Chloride of Lime.—Made by saturating slaked lime with chlorine-gas. It contains on an average about 30 per cent of available chlorine, to be set free by an acid. Very useful for disinfection of cellars, damp yards, and areas. One half pound in a gallon of water may be used for washing floors of sick-rooms, etc. Heat destroys its disinfecting properties. Chloride of Aluminum.—Action similar to but weaker than the iron and zinc salts, q. v. Sulphuric acid, black oxide of manganese, and hydrochloric acid, each 5 cents an ounce. Chloride of lime, 15 cents a pound.
Copperas. (Green vitriol, sulphate of iron.)—Comes in pale-green crystals. It is an efficient disinfectant for privies, water-closets, stables, etc. Stains white goods. Acts by destroying sulphureted hydrogen and ammonia. Also oxidizes organic compounds and coagulates albuminous matters. A good mixture is four pounds of copperas and three ounces of carbolic acid to a gallon of water. Ten cents a pound. One hundred pounds for $3 or less.
Corrosive Sublimate. (Mercuric chloride.)—The most powerful disinfectant known. Coagulates albuminous substances. A solution of one part in 2,000 of water kills microscopic organisms. Two drachms of this substance in a gallon of water (1 to 500) makes a solution sure to destroy any disease-germ. It is a deadly poison, and can only be purchased under legal restrictions. Fifteen cents an ounce.
Dead Oil. See Carbolic Acid.