Or employ a layer of coal tar and asphaltum laid on a surface of gravel and covered with melted asphaltum applied hot. Finish with a layer of fine sand. Apply by means of a brush a thin layer of waterproof cement to the walls, floor, and sills.
If tile or other drains underly the cellar floor, let the floor slant slightly to an opening in the drain so that water coming in from freshet or oth erwise may be carried off, and so that, if desired, the floor and walls may be flushed with water.
To Ventilate Cellars. — The upper part of the house being warmer than the cellar, the warm air of the upper rooms creates, by rising, a suction which draws the cellar air into the rooms above through cracks in the cellar door, or through the doorway whenever the door is open. By this means any impurities or germs of dis ease in the cellar are communicated freely to all parts of the house. Hence the importance of good ventilation in cellars.
Locate cellar windows, when possi ble, opposite one another so as to cre ate a draught. Being placed near the ceiling, such windows afford good ven tilation. But the best ventilator is a chimney reaching down to the cellar floor or resting on the foundation wall and communicating with the cellar by one or more good-sized openings.
Have the cellar windows open freely by means of rods or otherwise, and keep them open in clear weather when ever possible.
To Remove Dampness.—Place in the cellar a large open box or pan con taining fresh lime. This will tend to dry and purify the air. Change the lime as fast as it becomes air-slaked.
Whitewash for Cellars. — Slake enough lime for a pailful of white wash. Mix half a pint of flour with cold water to a smooth paste, thin with scalding water, and boil until it thickens. Pour this boiling hot into the whitewash and stir vigorously.
Or use boiled rice strained through cheese cloth. Add a teacupful of the strained rice to a pailful of slaked lime.
Cover cellar walls twice a year or oftener with whitewash, to which add copperas at the rate of 2 pounds to the gallon. Apply whitewash freely, especially in out-of-the-way corners, removing all shelves, etc., so as to cover the entire surface of the walls.
To Disinfect Cellars. — Close win dows and other apertures and stuff the cracks with burlap. Burn a quan tity of sulphur in a suitable receptacle on the cellar floor. An ordinary tin pie plate covered with earth or sand may be used. Place on this live coals, on which sprinkle flowers of sulphur or brimstone. Take precautions to escape quickly so as not to breathe the fumes.
To Prevent Dust in Cellars. — To minimize dust from furnaces, wet the ashes by throwing water on them from a dipper before taking them up. Or sprinkle them with water from a watering pot. Or sprinkle over them wet sawdust.
This also prevents dust from rising into the upper rooms through the reg isters.
Bins for Cellars.—Have all bins for use in the cellar small enough to be freely movable. Or use barrels, and place bins and barrels on planks turned on edge to lift them above the cellar bottom. Make a sufficient number of swinging shelves by tacking pieces of board to the rafters so as to project downward, and suspend shelves on these to hold canned preserves and other articles in place of having shelves on the walls. Keep the walls free to admit of complete whitewashing.
Pipes — To Prevent Frost. — Wrap exposed water pipes with bands of hay or straw twisted tight around them, or cover with the asbestos tubes that are on the market for this purpose.
Pumps—To Prevent Freezing.—Re move the lower valve and drive a tack into the under side of it, projecting in such a way that the valve cannot quite close. The pump will work as usual, but the water will gradually leak back into the well or cistern.
Or have at hand a suitable hook of stout wire by which to lift the valve and let the water out of the pipe at night.
To Thaw Pipes.—If the pipe is ac cessible, wrap woolen cloths, as old pieces underwear, carpet, and the like, thickly about it and pour on boiling water. This holds the heat and melts the ice gradually.
Or, if possible, pour boiling water containing as much salt as it will dis solve into the pipe above the frozen part. This will settle and dissolve the ice.
To Clear Drainpipes. — Flush the pipe once a week with boiling water containing sal soda. Rinse the kitchen sink daily with strong soda Water.
To Stop Leaks. — For cold-water pipes apply a thick paste of yellow soap and whiting mixed with a little water. Or, if the leak is too large, wrap the pipe tightly with a tarred cloth bandage, melt the tar, and spread it over strong duck canvas or burlap cloth three or four inches wide. Be gin to wind the bandage several inches from the leak and lap it one half or more upon itself at each round.
For hot-water pipes mix iron filings with vinegar and sulphuric acid to a thick paste. Dry the pipe, fill the cracks with this mixture, and keep them dry until it sets. This is very durable.
To Protect Lead Pipes. — Coat the inside of the pipe with sulphide of lead. This is insoluble and cannot be acted upon by water. To effect this fill the pipes with a warm concentrat ed solution of sulphide of potassium, and let stand fifteen or twenty min utes. Then rinse it out. The sulphide coating will be formed by chemical action.
To Clean BOilers.—To prevent scale forming on the inside of the boiler put into it two or three white oak saplings. These will be entirely dis solved in three or four weeks, and the boiler will be clean.