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Nightingale, Florence, 1820-1920

"Notes on Nursing What It Is, and What It Is Not"


[Sidenote: Papered, plastered, oil-painted walls.]
As for walls, the worst is the papered wall; the next worst is plaster.
But the plaster can be redeemed by frequent lime-washing; the paper
requires frequent renewing. A glazed paper gets rid of a good deal of
the danger. But the ordinary bed-room paper is all that it ought _not_
to be.[29]
The close connection between ventilation and cleanliness is shown in
this. An ordinary light paper will last clean much longer if there is an
Arnott's ventilator in the chimney than it otherwise would.
The best wall now extant is oil paint. From this you can wash the animal
exuviae.[30]
These are what make a room musty.
[Sidenote: Best kind of wall for a sick-room.]
The best wall for a sick-room or ward that could be made is pure white
non-absorbent cement or glass, or glazed tiles, if they were made
sightly enough.
Air can be soiled just like water. If you blow into water you will soil
it with the animal matter from your breath. So it is with air. Air is
always soiled in a room where walls and carpets are saturated with
animal exhalations.


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