Polluted water, no garbage removal and pestilence literally plagued pre- Victorian London, creating an horrific death rate. The debut of sanitary legislation in 1850 radically reduced that mortality rate, producing a task force dubbed the "public disinfectors."

A law was in place which stated that those who had contracted infectious diseases, small pox or fevers, were to be taken to hospital or isolated in one room, which would be later disinfected.

Some persons, however, eluded the authorities by concealing themselves in their houses and neglecting to report their illnesses. In such cases of non- compliance, an "inspector of nuisances" was sent to the house. If denied access, he proceeded to interview friends, neighbors and nearby physicians to learn the truth. Once certain that the sick party had tried to elude the law, the inspector obtained a summons from a police magistrate and the person was either fined or imprisoned.

During an outbreak of small pox in the city around that time, citizens began to rely on having their homes purified. First, the inspector of nuisances arrived at an infected house and interviewed the patient. However, the actual disinfecting did not take place until the patient either recovered or died. Then, the room would be cleared and no one allowed to re-enter. Wearing blouses and leggings to prevent their clothes from becoming infected, the disinfectors arrived with a large handcart. These men disinfected the homes of both the rich and the poor, daily handling bed clothes infected with contagions. Once inside the sickroom, the men removed all the bedding, carpets, curtains, clothing and any other textiles they came across, putting the lot into the handcart, which was then taken to a disinfecting oven. As these men had access to anything of value while they were inside the sickroom, disinfectors were hired on recommendation of their honesty.

Ovens were located in outhouses and consisted of an oblong iron box which was heated by gas until the temperature reached 280 degrees. Sulfur was burned inside the handcart to prevent returned items from being re-infected. Sick quarters also were purged. Paper was pasted over the fireplace and over the chinks of doors and windows, making the room air tight. A goodly amount of sulfur was then ignited and the fumes allowed to fill the space for 24 hours. This done, paper coverings were peeled off and burned. The room was then washed with carbolic acid before applying new paper or white-wash. At the end of the day, the disinfectors washed their bodies in a solution of carbolic acid or potassium permanganate. For their work, they earned sixpence per hour, sometimes working 12 hours a day, which came to about 30 shillings a week.

While the practice of disinfecting appeared excessive, there were few other alternatives against disease then. Perhaps that is why so much superstition and wrong information came into play. It was believed that the germ which caused scarlet fever would live dormant inside woolen garments.

There was reported a case of a child dying from the fever, after which her favorite doll was wrapped in a woolen dress and put away. When, three or four years later, the house was visited by a young cousin, the mother brought out the doll to occupy the girl. Within a week, the child was stricken with scarlet fever, the doll not having been properly disinfected. It's not difficult to see how, in time, most people came to look upon the public disinfectors as welcome relief.