Part 3

Certain features, while not essential to sanitation and satisfactory service, add to personal convenience. A paved walkway, well protected from cold winds and rain, is desirable. A neat, whitewashed lattice, as shown in figure 13, an arbor covered with vines, or a hedge screen adds to privacy.

The earth-pit privy is the simplest to build and the one most widely used. It is not generally recommended in localities where underground rock has crevices.

For a sanitary type of privy with reinforced concrete[9] floor, riser, and supporting sills see figure 14. Because privy units are commonly used as urinals, the use of impervious materials for risers and floors facilitates cleanliness. In the colder climates, wood treated with a preservative is durable and reduces the problem of moisture condensation. Therefore, wood could be used if approved by the State department of health.

[9] For information on making concrete see Farmers' Bulletin 1772, Use of Concrete on the Farm.

When it is considered impracticable to build the slab and riser of concrete, these parts may be of wood, as shown in figure 16. The building itself may be as shown in either illustration. A wood structure is easy to move to a new location.

A pit with a minimum capacity of 50 cubic feet[10] will usually serve five people over a period of 5 to 10 years. The privy should be moved when the pit is filled to within 18 or 20 inches of the top and a strong disinfectant spread in the old pit before covering it with earth.

[10] Recommended by the Committee on Promotion of Rural Sanitation, Public Health Engineering Section of the American Public Health Association, 1932.

It is important to have the earth-pit privy more than 50 feet from the well even where the water table is not near the surface. The ground water should flow from the well toward the privy, and it is important that this direction of flow be determined in advance.

Wood is most commonly employed for the main part of the building. The ground outside should be sloped as shown, to shed water away from the building, and the roof should extend beyond the walls to shed water away from the pit.

CARE AND MAINTENANCE

All privies require periodic attention. Seats and covers should be washed weekly with soap and water or with disinfectants, such as cresol, pine oil, and hypochlorite or chloride of lime. These have deodorant properties and are available at most grocery or drug stores. Druggists generally carry a more refined product and consequently the price is higher.

During the fly season fly and mosquito eggs will be destroyed by pouring half a pint of crude oil, crankcase oil, fuel oil, kerosene, or borax solution (1 pound powdered borax dissolved in about 10 gallons of water) over the contents of the pit about once a week.

Odors from privy pits and vaults can be reduced by covering the contents with dry earth, ashes, manure, or sawdust. These materials fill up the pit rather quickly, but can be used where other deodorants are not available. Sometimes two cakes of yeast dissolved in 2 gallons of water are effective in reducing odors. Commercial deodorants are available from suppliers of disinfectants.

If a person in the family has typhoid fever or is a carrier of that disease or has dysentery, it is advisable to disinfect the excreta. Fire, live steam, boiling water, and such chemicals as caustic soda (sodium hydroxide), caustic potash (potassium hydroxide), or hypochlorite or chloride of lime may be used. The heat generated by the slacking of quicklime is also effective. Best results are obtained if the infected material is treated prior to depositing it in the privy. Further advice may be obtained from physicians, local health officers, or State health departments.

CHEMICAL CLOSETS

In general, chemical closets should be used only where there are elderly or infirm people unable to get outdoors, particularly in winter-time. In some localities their use is forbidden by law because of improper maintenance. Strict adherence to the manufacturer's directions for making the installation is necessary to obtain satisfactory service. The chief advantage of chemical closets is that they may be within or adjoining the house and used without regard to soil or ground-water conditions. The caustic chemicals required, if used properly, reduce the quantity of solid matter by liquefying action, disinfect and deodorize the contents, and lessen danger from flies. Disadvantages are the cost of the chemicals and necessity for careful and constant maintenance.

The chemical-tank closet is generally recommended rather than the dry-type chemical closet. Three variations of tanks are available commercially. One type contains a clean-out opening in the top of the tank, through which the contents are removed by pumping or bailing. The second type has, in addition to a clean-out opening, a drain valve at the bottom, which is operated by a handle extending to a clean-out opening, so that gravity drainage of the tank is possible. The third type is self-draining; as the excreta are added an equal volume of liquid is spilled out the overflow. The solid matter must be removed manually or through the sludge drain.

The last-mentioned type requires frequent addition of chemicals, and the others are recharged after each emptying. The presence of odor is an indication of insufficient chemical or of the need for emptying and recharging. The same precautions apply to selecting an area for disposing of the tank wastes as to disposing of the materials removed from cesspools.[11] Since the contents of chemical closets are caustic, they may kill vegetation with which they come in contact.

[11] For disposal methods in tight soils, see p. 16.

The dry-type chemical closet is cheap, simple, and easy to install but requires frequent emptying. Pine tar and coal tar will accomplish only partial disinfection and deodorization, but caustic disinfectants produce liquefication in addition if used in sufficient quantities. The caustic chemicals may cause burns if the receptacle is too full or if spilled where they come in contact with the body.

This form of closet is more of an expedient than a permanent installation, and daily care is necessary to prevent the development of insanitary conditions.

DISPOSAL OF GARBAGE AND TRASH

Domestic garbage and trash on farms can be divided into four classes--(1) waste of plant or animal origin suitable for animal feed, (2) unpalatable plant or animal waste, (3) combustible trash, and (4) noncombustible material. The disposal of these wastes is simplified if the four classes are kept separate.

Trash to be burned should be kept dry. Coffee grounds, tea leaves, citrus rinds, fish heads, entrails, eggshells, and similar material are most readily handled if drained and put in paper sacks.

Cans should be placed where they will not collect water and become breeding places for mosquitoes. Cans will corrode faster if heated sufficiently to burn off all grease. When the trash accumulates it should be hauled to some out-of-the-way place, such as a gully, or buried.

Neat-appearing garbage containers are desirable for kitchen use and should be small enough to require daily emptying. Large containers may be placed within easy reach outside the house and screened with a lattice fence or shrubbery. Substantial containers of rust-resistant metal will not quickly become an eyesore and a nuisance. Tight covers should be used to keep out prowling animals and to eliminate the habit of tossing wastes from the back door. Open or wooden containers are not recommended.

A good way to protect the garbage pail is to place it in a small pit that has a manhole frame and a lid that can be raised by foot pedal. A gravel bottom in the pit will assist in draining water away.

Outdoor receptacles, if emptied and cleaned once a week, generally do not become foul. Grease, coffee grounds, and other similar materials that adhere to the sides of containers can be removed by scraping with a little sand prior to scalding.

Electrically operated units grind garbage and bones and discharge the material through the kitchen-sink drain. They will not handle tin cans, glass, and the like. They may be used on farms if the septic tank is larger than normal and if sufficient water is available for flushing the drain to prevent clogging.

Garbage to be fed to animals should be preserved as carefully as is human food. To prevent the spread of trichinosis and other diseases, it should be cooked before it is fed to hogs. Garbage left uneaten by the animals should be disposed of by one of the methods described above.

Incineration is the most sanitary method of disposing of farm wastes. Garbage, however, is not easily burned. Figure 16 shows a type of incinerator[12] suitable for farm homes. Details of construction for a brick incinerator are given in figure 17. Brick, stone, concrete, or other fire-resistant material may be used. Commercial incinerators, some of which are designed to be built into the house, also are available, although these cost considerably more than the home-made type shown.

[12] Blueprints of this design may be obtained from the extension agricultural engineers at most of the State colleges.

A limited quantity of refuse may be burned in a kitchen range or a furnace, but it may cause accumulations of grease in the flue and require frequent cleaning to prevent fire.

Next to burning, burial is the most desirable method of waste disposal. Waste material may be deposited in a trench 3 or 4 feet wide, 7 or 8 feet long, and 4 or 5 feet deep and covered with earth when filled to within 18 inches of the top. If there is no fire hazard, the contents of the trench may be burned.

Garbage may be included in a compost heap with leaves, peat, manure, and similar materials. The compost pile should be in an inconspicuous place, built up to the desired height with materials that will rot, and then covered with 2 or 3 inches of earth. The top should be level and the sides steep sloping. It is necessary that the material being composted be kept moist; otherwise it will not rot. Frequently commercial fertilizer is added to increase the fertilizing value of the compost.

Ashes and clinkers removed from furnaces should be placed in metal containers to eliminate fire hazard. Wood ashes may be spread on the lawn or garden, as they have some fertilizing value.

Trash burners of various designs suitable for burning small quantities of paper and rags are available or may be improvised. The main requirements are provision for adequate draft and for preventing the escape of burning paper or live embers.

U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1948

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office Washington 25. D. C. -- Price 10 cents

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Transcriber Note

Illustrations were repositioned so as to not split paragraphs.