Disinfection and Disinfectants

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. IMPORTANT DISINFECTANTS. The list of disinfectants is a long one. It is only necessary that we should consider some of the most important. Taking these up in alphabetical order, we have the following: Alcohol: (Ethylic alcohol): A weak antiseptic not to be depended upon alone where a...
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. IMPORTANT DISINFECTANTS. The list of disinfectants is a long one. It is only necessary that we should consider some of the most important. Taking these up in alphabetical order, we have the following: Alcohol: (Ethylic alcohol): A weak antiseptic not to be depended upon alone where a disinfectant is required. It has, however, an important place in- disinfection, for through its cleansing properties it aids in the removal of soap, fats, etc., from the skin and prepares the way for the more efficient use of other disinfectants. Bromine: This is a very efficient but dangerous and disagreeable disinfectant. It occurs as a brownish red liquid and at ordinary temperatures gives off a vapor which is very irritating and which has a peculiar suffocating odor. It is seldom used because of its dangerous and disagreeable qualities. Calx: (Lime. Quicklime, Calcium Oxide.) This occurs as hard white or grayish white masses gradually attracting moisture and carbon dioxide on exposure to air, and falling to a white powder. Very sparingly soluble in water. It is a most efficient disinfectant for use in the disinfection of stools, etc., being prompt and safe in action, odorless and cheap. For such disinfection it is generally used as a milk of lime which is composed of one part by weight of slaked lime (calcium hydrate) with about eight parts of water. This milk of lime should be freshly prepared each day in order to avoid the formation and presence of the inactive lime carbonate. CalxChlorata: (Chlorinated Lime, Bleaching Powder): This is a grayish white powder?a compound resulting from the action of chlorine upon calcium hydrate. It should contain not less than 35 per cent of available chlorine. It is a useful disinfectant, its action depending upon the availab...