Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 February 1913 — VERY IMPORTANT ROOM [ARTICLE]

VERY IMPORTANT ROOM

KITCHEN DESERVES ATTENTION BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE. —-v- ;/ If Necessary to BMnt, Let It Re Anywhere But There—Too Frequently Meet Unsanitary Corner of the House. • - y-~ A writer on hygiene has said that “the modern kitchen is a refinery, a laboratory and disinfection station and a factory.” If so, it is important to run It on hygienic lines; in many homes it is the unsanitary corner of the house. With the kitchenette habit less and less- attention-4s paid to- sunlight; ia< stead of being the cheeriest room in the house, the kitchen is often the darkest and worst vtentilated. While it is not always possible to get the ideal kitchen, the woman who rents a house should see that it is not shaded by balconies, that the range is not in some dark alcove where light and air never reach, and that the sink has proper drainage and is free from backboards where grease can lodge. In building a house stint on woodwork and furnishings rather than on the kitchen. It should be built with at least two windows, preferably so there may be a cross draught, and a third small window above the range to give light and let odors escape. Rounded corners, paneled walls and tiled floors make ideal furnishings for a kitchen, as dust and germs have fewer lurking places. If that is beyond one’s means, have a hard plaster wallvand flush with wide, tight-fitting baseboard, and give all a coat of lightcolored paint once a year, Have the paint enameled, so it may be washed frequently. A hardwood flooi* is nearly as costly as a tiled one, so the average householder must fall back on linoleum. It pays to get the best quality. Do not stint on your sink. Delay building If you must put In a wood and zinc abomination, wbicb breeds all sorts of germs. Solid porcelain la the first choice, next best is porcelainlined with tile backing, bat even , castiron is better than wood. The sanitary sink is open all around to light and air, has a continuous tiled backing, with no crevices for dirt, and the waste pipes must run separate from the soil pipes clear to Die house drain. At the right side have a draining board, and another at the left, even If It must be hinged for lack of apace. '■: , t have a shelf or rod full of hooks and a bit higher build in a closet a little wider than the sink and six inches deep. Here can be stored disinfectants, polishing materials, cloths, vegetable brushes, all the things so important to a germ-free kitchen, yet often neglected because they are not ‘•handy.” •Utilize the wall space near the range with shelves and hooks, where can be stored some of the pots, pans, ladles and seasonings always needed in cooking. If there is a corner for a hanging clock there will be less guessing In cooking. Also have a nail where "lifters’’ may be fastened by an elastic hanger—it is a big saving on tea towels. Every woman should insist upon sepervlsing the kitchen closet or dresser. In a small room space Is saved by potting this in a corner. It may have a flat table surface, with shelves above reaching to the ceiling and below zinclined bins to hold sugar and flour at each side. Between the bins, which should be quite narrow and open like a drawer, have a closet for pots and pant.