Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 February 1894 — Leaks in Drain Pipes. [ARTICLE]

Leaks in Drain Pipes.

Another piece of chemical knowledge worth noting is the action of sulphide of hydrogen in the p r esence of a lead salt. If a piece of blotting paper be soaked with a solution of sugar of lead and be held near or over a bottle of sulphide of hydrogen the blotting paper will at once turn dark-brown or black. That is, a chemical change takes place and the sulphur or the sulphide of hydrogen unites with the lead of the sugar of lead, and a sulphide of lead is the result, whiyb is black or dark-browD. The practical application of this is tho detection of leaks In drain pipes. Almost all foul odors from cesspools and drains contain the sulphide of hydrogen. If a leak of these odors is suspected or noticed, a piece of blotting paper soaked with a solution of sugar of lead and held at the joints of the pipes or where the odor is suspected will at once turn brown or black if there is an escape of gas. Often at summer resorts some of the back rooms suggest an odor not too pleasant, and a bad drain rr leaky cesspool is suggested by a faint smell. A piece of blotting paper treated as directed above and left to hang in the room will detect a slight amouqt of this poisonous gas and prove conclusively that the room is unfit for occupation.