Removal of excreta and household refuse. Report of the medical officer of health to the health committee.

  • Nottingham (England)
Date:
1887
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Removal of excreta and household refuse. Report of the medical officer of health to the health committee. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

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    On the other hand, three towns (Bristol, Liverpool and Preston), which have not tried any pail system, contrive to adapt water-closets of ordinary construction to houses of all classes, even the poorest, and Birmingham has ceased to construct new pail-closets, having found a system which promises to combine many of the advantages of the pail and water methods of carriage. In Leicester water-closets are now as a rule required if the weekly rent exceeds about five shillings, and there are several in houses below that value, but I learn that the pail- closets are still preferred in the latter class, for reasons mentioned below. Water carriage is in principle superior to any dry system, since the excreta are rapidly and completely removed from the premises. The chief difficulty which has stood in the way of its wider adoption in manufacturing towns has been the absolute necessity of reasonable care on the part of the persons using it, which reasonable care is rarely forthcoming among tenants of the poorest class. Water-closets, though apparently successful in Liverpool and Bristol, have in many instances failed when tried experimentally among this class in Nottingham and other towns, and have been superseded by pail-closets. The usual causes of failure are repeated obstruction of the drains by bulky objects improperly thrown down the closets, neglect of flushing, and injury to the apparatus. In such cases the advantages of the pail-closet have been conspicuous, viz.: systematic and complete removal of all refuse, at short intervals, by mechanism so simple that notliing short of wilful destruction can derange it. Moreover the frequent visits of the scavengers ensure at least a certain degree of cleanliness. None of the older forms of trough-closet or water-closet meet this difficulty so well as the Nottingham pail- closet ; but the Birmingham flush closet is now being tried in some of the poorest parts of that town, with apparent prospect of ultimate success. As regards artizans' dwellings the case is different. It is probable that a water-carriage system, with approved apparatus