COFFEE AS A DISINFECTANT

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 21 August 1901, Page 4

COFFEE AS A DISINFECTANT

The use of coffee as a disinfectant is but it is doubtful if the majority of pconle are aware of its true value in this direction, says “Health.” They probably know that ii is handy and harmless, but, besides possessing these qualities, it reallj'is one of the most powerful and effective agents known, as has been shown by repeated experiments. In one case a quantity of meat was placed in a close room and allowed to decompose. A chafing-dish was then introduced, and 500 grammes of coffee were thrown on the fire. In a few minutes the room had been entirely disinfected. In another room the fumes of sulphuretted hydrogen and ammonia were developed, find the smell—which no words can express—was destroyed in half a minute by the use of 90 grammes of coffee. As a proof that the noxious smells are "really decomposed, and not merely overpowered by the fumes of coffee, it is stated that the first vapours of the coffee are not smelled at all, and arc therefore, chemically absorbed, while the other smells gradually diminish as the fumigation continues. The merest ‘pinch’ of coffee is usually sufficient to cleanse a sick room, even in aggravated cases. The best way to employ it is to freshly pound the coffee in a mortar, if no mill is at hand and sprinkle it on a red-hot surface.