Why didn't early 20th century houses have window screens?

[Carnac the Magnificent!]

I've heard that early 20th century houses typically weren't outfitted with window screens, meaning that warm weather found flying and crawling insects entering through open windows.

The manufacture of window screens doesn't strike me as terribly innovative/challenging and the cost couldn't have been that prohibitive, in proportion to the cost of a house.

Please explain.

[capybara]

It's still not typical in Europe, even, from what I've experienced.

[mittu]

I'm a little confused by what 'window screens' refers to. Do you mean the glass window panes or the door-like wooden screens that go infront of the glass?

[Zsofia]

Well, my house was built in 1928, and the original screens are up in the attic. (I don't need 'em, since somebody decided to paint the windows shut, nail the windows shut, and then cut the cords. Those windows aren't moving.) I assumed they were original to the house, but I guess they could have been made later.

[Zsofia]

Originally Posted by mittu

I'm a little confused by what 'window screens' refers to. Do you mean the glass window panes or the door-like wooden screens that go infront of the glass?

Well, I guess that answers that question with regards to overseas! In the US most windows have screens that you can put on the outside, made of wire mesh. So you can open the windows and bugs don't come in.

[CalMeacham]

I'm a little confused by what 'window screens' refers to. Do you mean the glass window panes or the door-like wooden screens that go infront of the glass?

He clearly means wire mesh screens that go over the window openings so bugs don't fly in.

I suspect (although I've done no work on it, and don't know anything about the economics) that it was cosdt and unavailability of wire mesh screens at that time. People did have small mesh "baskets" they could place over food to keep the flies out, but those were relatively small. Making an entire window's worth of fine mesh might have been prohibitive until someone tooled up a mechine for doing it.

They could've used relayively large open-weave cloth, but I've never heard of anyone using this.

[Duck Duck Goose]

Originally Posted by mittu

I'm a little confused by what 'window screens' refers to. Do you mean the glass window panes or the door-like wooden screens that go infront of the glass?

It means the woven wire or plastic mesh that goes in a frame on the outside of all outside windows and doors, purpose: to keep out insects.

My understanding of it is that although woven wire cloth was invented in the mid-19th century, and was used for pie safes, sieves, and papermaking, it wasn't until the big "public health" push of the 1920s, in which the common housefly was characterized as the Evil Spreader Of All Diseases, that folks in America began installing window screening on their homes.

[Exapno Mapcase]

My WAG is that drawing iron or steel into a very fine wire and then weaving it into an extremely close mesh - as opposed to, say, chicken wire - and doing so very cheaply is actually more of a technological achievement than you think.

Screens undoubtedly evolved earlier - cheesecloth or other materials might have been a good substitute for the poor - but as a mass product I'd be surprised to find it in early 20th century houses.

[mittu]

I see what you mean now, I have never seen one in the U.K. so they must at least be rare. I think the reason we don't use them is that we have no real problem with being invaded by insects. About 8 months a year I need to sleep with my bedroom window wide open like a door to maintain a decent sleeping temperature and bugs have never really been a problem. I'm sure that if there were more winged beasts eager to invade our homes then we would use window screens but there just doesn't seem to be the need.

[CalMeacham]

Screens undoubtedly evolved earlier - cheesecloth or other materials might have been a good substitute for the poor - but as a mass product I'd be surprised to find it in early 20th century houses.

The problem with cheescloth is that it keeps breezes from blowing through, which is the main reason you have the window open in the first place. (At least the cheesecloth I'm familiar with would) That's why I suggested open-weave cloth. I've long wondered whether anyone used that, but I've come across no references to such a thing. No historical re-enactments ever use it.


But, even not knowing that flies are vfectors for disease, you'd still want to keep them out if you could. Some of the historical villages we visited this summer fairly swarmed with flies. The Continental Congress in Philadelphia was plagued by them because of the stable around the corner (see the opening song in the musical 1776.

[Nava]

They're not used in Spain at all. I've never seen them in Europe, but then, I haven't been to aaaaaaaall of Europe either!

Roll-up "persianas" (usually made of wood or plastic slats), plus the windowglass, plus a screen... what kind of wall would you need?

We have insects but we also have this burning sun. So, in the summer the schedule would be:
first thing in the morning, raise the blinds just enough to let an itty bit of sunlight in; leave the glass open. My mother's 7x3m living room is clear enough to see what you're doing with just 3 lines of light; you need a couple more for reading. You absolutely don't want more light than strictly necessary: hurts both your eyes and any wood.
Once it heats up, close the glass.
Play with the blinds, opening them more or less, as the sun goes around the house.
Once that Bright Burning Ball in the sky goes down, close the blinds completely and open the glass; it should be done in that order along with a prayer to the God of Starving Mosquitos. Prayers to the God of Starving Mosquitos must be accompanied by watering of well-smelling plants like peppermint, which apparently mosquitos don't like.

If you have an outside door that you open as part of the scheme to let air circulate, you cover it with a curtain (either heavy cloth or one of those "south seas style" ones) to keep the bugs out.

[Exapno Mapcase]

Originally Posted by CalMeacham

But, even not knowing that flies are vfectors for disease, you'd still want to keep them out if you could. Some of the historical villages we visited this summer fairly swarmed with flies. The Continental Congress in Philadelphia was plagued by them because of the stable around the corner (see the opening song in the musical 1776.

And they kept the windows closed because of them even though it made the room swelteringly hot.

[Sattua]

In the Little House on the Prairie books (set in 1870s/1880s) they will sometimes buy a length of something called "mosquito netting" to put over the door opening. It is described as being pink. I don't know if it was wire, or an open-weave fabric, or any other details--possibly it was also infused with a chemical that kept mosquitos away (and maybe that's why it was pink?)

[Colophon]

Originally Posted by mittu

I see what you mean now, I have never seen one in the U.K. so they must at least be rare. I think the reason we don't use them is that we have no real problem with being invaded by insects. About 8 months a year I need to sleep with my bedroom window wide open like a door to maintain a decent sleeping temperature and bugs have never really been a problem. I'm sure that if there were more winged beasts eager to invade our homes then we would use window screens but there just doesn't seem to be the need.

I've also never seen window screens in the UK, but I'd disagree about the lack of insects. During hot weather (and July was VERY hot, distant as it may seem now) I have most of the windows open, and if I leave them open after dark, the lights attarct all kinds of bugs into the house. Mostly those annoying little moths, but also plenty of grasshoppers. I guess they're more irritating than hazardous to health, but I could still do without them.

[Beware of Doug]

People also used to put out flypaper, which has the drawback of being icky to look at and not all that sanitary. Plus, unless it's the poison variety, it's kind of cruel to flies.

[GorillaMan]

Originally Posted by Colophon

I've also never seen window screens in the UK, but I'd disagree about the lack of insects. During hot weather (and July was VERY hot, distant as it may seem now) I have most of the windows open, and if I leave them open after dark, the lights attarct all kinds of bugs into the house.

Well, the presence or absence of all sorts of building features follows historical legacy, and the absence of screens predates the use of electric lighting. Plus, I suspect that a house heated by a coal or wood fire also makes for a less hospitable environment for critters than central heating, again helping to explain why we've never had them.

[Carnac the Magnificent!]

Euros, behold the wonders of a window screen!


http://www.crystalclearwindows.com/w...%20screen1.jpg

[Carnac the Magnificent!]

Originally Posted by GorillaMan

Well, the presence or absence of all sorts of building features follows historical legacy, and the absence of screens predates the use of electric lighting. Plus, I suspect that a house heated by a coal or wood fire also makes for a less hospitable environment for critters than central heating, again helping to explain why we've never had them.

Insects tend to be most prevalent during warmer months--when coal and wood fires are less desirable.

[Eve]

Window screens were introduced in the U.S. in the 1880s, and it was some time after that before houses were built with windows you could just snap 'em into.

[Myron Van Horowitzski]

Originally Posted by Sattua

In the Little House on the Prairie books (set in 1870s/1880s) they will sometimes buy a length of something called "mosquito netting" to put over the door opening. It is described as being pink. I don't know if it was wire, or an open-weave fabric, or any other details--possibly it was also infused with a chemical that kept mosquitos away (and maybe that's why it was pink?)

It was called mosquito bar, and it was a fine mesh fabric. Remember Grace made little Christmas bags out of some scraps. No chemicals needed; it was fine enough to "bar" the bugs.

They made screen doors out of them. Remember the weird guys who went singing down the main street, kicking the screen out of every store door.

[WhyNot]

I think that when you're used to bugs, you just don't care or notice them much. When we're camping, the first two days or so, we're all distracted by bugs, careful to keep the tent zipped up, lighting mosquito coils, etc. But by day three, the coils go unlit. By day four or five, you'll stand there talking to someone at your tent door with the zipper open. By the end of the week, you've named your pet spiders who live on the inner roof of your tent and you makes wagers with your campmates as to who their next insect victims will be.

While I'm glad I have screens at home, it would have been a hard sell if I hadn't ever had them before.

[ivylass]

Originally Posted by Sattua

In the Little House on the Prairie books (set in 1870s/1880s) they will sometimes buy a length of something called "mosquito netting" to put over the door opening. It is described as being pink. I don't know if it was wire, or an open-weave fabric, or any other details--possibly it was also infused with a chemical that kept mosquitos away (and maybe that's why it was pink?)

I remember in one of the books (Laura is working as a seamstress) and she is frightened when two drunk men come by and kick in the screen door of a saloon across the street.

[GorillaMan]

Originally Posted by Carnac the Magnificent!

Insects tend to be most prevalent during warmer months--when coal and wood fires are less desirable.

And in Britain, fires would be burning most of the year!

[David Simmons]

The early 20th century Iowa house I lived in had window screens for summer and storm windows for winter. Storm windows were removeable glass windows that were for the purpose of providing extra insulation against the cold. Every spring they were taken off and replaced by screen windows. That way you could open the windows in summer, get ventilation and still keep the bugs out.

The storm windows were hooked over hinges at the top and had metal straps at the side to prop them open in case of a warm day and you wanted to open the windows. In winter insects were not a problem.

[Mr. Rosewater]

There are adjustable, temporary screens available in England. They look like this. They fit in an open sash (double hung) window, expand to the width of the window and are held in place by the sash. They are not as good as a screen that covers the entire window, but they are better than nothing.

[Carnac the Magnificent!]

Originally Posted by GorillaMan

Well, the presence or absence of all sorts of building features follows historical legacy, and the absence of screens predates the use of electric lighting. Plus, I suspect that a house heated by a coal or wood fire also makes for a less hospitable environment for critters than central heating, again helping to explain why we've never had them.

I think the electrical lighting idea carries some weight. On any given night, a modern American family might have 2 megawatts of lights blazing away--something completely unknown to people at the turn of the 20th century.

Eve says window screens were introduced in the 1880s, but I doubt they were common--at least in the smaller cities and towns--until decades later.

Perhaps window screens became a fashion trend--and bugs swirling around the house correspondingly unfashionable.

[Sal Ammoniac]

I'll echo David Simmons: screens were typically a wooden frame that you had to install every spring, and take down every fall. They were heavy and cumbersome and a nuisance. Plus you needed somewhere to store them. If some people opted out, it's not that surprising. People didn't get so wigged out by bugs back then.

[Carnac the Magnificent!]

Originally Posted by Carnac the Magnificent!

I think the electrical lighting idea carries some weight. On any given night, a modern American family might have 2 megawatts of lights blazing away--something completely unknown to people at the turn of the 20th century.

Before any Europeans freak, I think I'll revise that downward to 2 kilowatts.

[Elendil's Heir]

Originally Posted by Mr. Rosewater

There are adjustable, temporary screens available in England. They look like this. They fit in an open sash (double hung) window, expand to the width of the window and are held in place by the sash. They are not as good as a screen that covers the entire window, but they are better than nothing.

I have one exactly like that for use in our kitchen, which doesn't have built-in or detachable screen windows of its own. Can be very useful when it's warm enough to let in outside air, but not yet hot enough to turn on the house's central air conditioning.

[panache45]

Originally Posted by Mr. Rosewater

There are adjustable, temporary screens available in England. They look like this. They fit in an open sash (double hung) window, expand to the width of the window and are held in place by the sash. They are not as good as a screen that covers the entire window, but they are better than nothing.

When I lived in NYC, I had these in every apartment I lived in. They're great when you don't have any alternative. And they kept the cats from leaping through an open window and plummeting to their death.

[Colophon]

Originally Posted by Carnac the Magnificent!

Before any Europeans freak, I think I'll revise that downward to 2 kilowatts.

Even 2kW sounds a hell of a lot, unless lightbulbs are bigger in America too of course

That's twenty 100-watt bulbs, all burning at once.

I know for a fact that I don't even own twenty lightbulbs, and even if I did, they most assuredly wouldn't all be on at the same time.

<Jim Royle>
"It's like Blackpool illuminations in here -- and I'll bet the bloody immersion's on and all!"
</Jim Royle>

[Colophon]

Originally Posted by Carnac the Magnificent!

Euros, behold the wonders of a window screen!


http://www.crystalclearwindows.com/w...%20screen1.jpg

Well that's great if you have sash windows, but most modern houses in the UK have windows that open by hinging outwards, like this one.

The windows in my house are like this, and I can't see how you'd fit a screen on easily.

[WhyNot]

Originally Posted by Colophon

Even 2kW sounds a hell of a lot, unless lightbulbs are bigger in America too of course

That's twenty 100-watt bulbs, all burning at once.

Then yeah, that sounds about right. I've got a ceiling fan/light combo in three bedrooms, one dining room and one living room. Each one has 4 lightbulbs. I don't know if they're 60 watt or 100 watt. I also have a bulb in the kitchen, one in the pantry, and either three or six in the hallways (I don't know if they're one or two bulb fixtures, we haven't had to change them yet.) Two in the bathroom. That 25 or 28. OH! And six others in the living room in sconces on the walls. So 31 or 34. And a reading lamp next to my bed, which is on only when the ceiling light isn't.

And I live in an average sized Chicago apartment. It's not even a house.

Of course, there's no bloody need for all those bulbs to be on at once. But tell that to my husband and kids!

[Mr. Rosewater]

Originally Posted by Colophon

Well that's great if you have sash windows, but most modern houses in the UK have windows that open by hinging outwards, like this one.

The windows in my house are like this, and I can't see how you'd fit a screen on easily.

Well, then you would need something more like this, a fitted casement screen. Sorry I couldn't find a better picture, but the screens go on the inside, allowing you to open the window out.

[groman]

Originally Posted by Colophon

Even 2kW sounds a hell of a lot, unless lightbulbs are bigger in America too of course

That's twenty 100-watt bulbs, all burning at once.

I know for a fact that I don't even own twenty lightbulbs, and even if I did, they most assuredly wouldn't all be on at the same time.

My parents living room used to be lit with 700 Watts of light (2x300Watt Halogen + 100W near the entrance). If the three members of the household were all in different rooms that house could've easily crossed 3KW of light alone. Plus the three or four working computers, CRT monitors , TV, air conditioning, electric washer and dryer, oven - I wouldn't be surprised if that house peaked around 80 - 100 amps.

Now, LCDs, CF lights, probably a lot lower.

[Colophon]

Originally Posted by groman

My parents living room used to be lit with 700 Watts of light (2x300Watt Halogen + 100W near the entrance). If the three members of the household were all in different rooms that house could've easily crossed 3KW of light alone. Plus the three or four working computers, CRT monitors , TV, air conditioning, electric washer and dryer, oven - I wouldn't be surprised if that house peaked around 80 - 100 amps.

Now, LCDs, CF lights, probably a lot lower.

Wow. I just totalled up every light in my house (3 bedrooms, one used as a study) and it doesn't even reach 1kW. Did your parents wear sunglasses indoors?

[GorillaMan]

Ditto what Colophon said, and that's including some annoying multiple-bulb arrangements in the kitchen. Replace the low energy bulbs in main rooms with 100W ones, and I'm still not hitting a kilowatt. Even in the family house I grew up in, you'd have to count every exterior light plus the fluorescent tubes in the garage to be past 2KW.

[CalMeacham]

I've looked a little, an it seems people inthe 18th and 19th centuries had covers for dishes, pitchers, and mugs to keep flies out. The biggest region I can find is the cupboard called a Pie Safe, which had doors maqde of tin with holes punched in it to let air circulate. The idea of putting some sort of block over the windows, rather than the containers, doesn't seem to have caught on until later (where did Eve get her figure of 1880 from?).


You can say people didn't mind the flies if you want -- but the Congress in Philadelphia complained about them, though (playwrite Peter Stone didn't make that uop). And I was appalled at the number of flies in the kitchens at some of the historical recreations we attended this summer. Surely the idea of putting mosquito netting-type fabric over the windows must have occurred to someone before 1880.

[Carnac the Magnificent!]

Originally Posted by GorillaMan

Ditto what Colophon said, and that's including some annoying multiple-bulb arrangements in the kitchen. Replace the low energy bulbs in main rooms with 100W ones, and I'm still not hitting a kilowatt. Even in the family house I grew up in, you'd have to count every exterior light plus the fluorescent tubes in the garage to be past 2KW.

In my kitchen ceiling alone, I have 800 watts (eight bulbs at 100 W ea.), then there's the ceiling accent lights, the downwash lights, the cabinet lights, toe kick lights, desk light, range lighting, over-sink lighting, yadda yadda yadda.

In case you're wondering, I've got klieg lights in the loo.

[David Simmons]

Originally Posted by CalMeacham

I've looked a little, an it seems people inthe 18th and 19th centuries had covers for dishes, pitchers, and mugs to keep flies out. The biggest region I can find is the cupboard called a Pie Safe, which had doors maqde of tin with holes punched in it to let air circulate. The idea of putting some sort of block over the windows, rather than the containers, doesn't seem to have caught on until later (where did Eve get her figure of 1880 from?).


You can say people didn't mind the flies if you want -- but the Congress in Philadelphia complained about them, though (playwrite Peter Stone didn't make that uop). And I was appalled at the number of flies in the kitchens at some of the historical recreations we attended this summer. Surely the idea of putting mosquito netting-type fabric over the windows must have occurred to someone before 1880.

When you live around livestock you have lots of flies. On the farm the screen doors were black with them The technique for entering was to bang the door a couple of times then hurriedly open it and slip inside. Then you grabbed the fly swatter because a few got in anyway. All the farm houses I was in had flypaper hung various places. Up until the end of the 19th century and even into the first couple of decades of the 20th, everone lived with livestock. There were always horses stabled somewhere nearby.

[Enola Straight]

Originally Posted by Sattua

In the Little House on the Prairie books (set in 1870s/1880s) they will sometimes buy a length of something called "mosquito netting" to put over the door opening. It is described as being pink. I don't know if it was wire, or an open-weave fabric, or any other details--possibly it was also infused with a chemical that kept mosquitos away (and maybe that's why it was pink?)

I remember a LHotP tv episode where a kid "borrowed" a neighbor's front screen door to act as a sieve to pan the local river for gold with Laura Ingalls.

Turns out it was just Iron Pyrite...fool's gold.

So the tech was available to Rural America in the Late 1800s.

[GorillaMan]

I think David Simmons is onto something. Why try to eliminate flies from the whole house, when you're going to see them everywhere else you spend (most of) your time, and can easily cover the few food items which need covering? The ideal of a hermetically-sealed house isn't something many people from the early 20th century would recognise.

[capybara]

Lucky Nava in Spain gets dry and hot; I have spent many warm months in places like Amsterdam and Bruges and Ghent-- you know, humid towns with lots of CANALS. With no tradition of screened windows a living hell (I'm one of those mosquito-bait types). The Europeans do, however, have a marvellous plug-in mosquito death-ray device that works wonders by emiting a tiny bit of nerve toxin (made, of course, by Sara Lee!). At first I was wary, but then good nights' sleep won me over. I'm a convert, but they're probably illegal in north America. . . would probably kill the parrot. . .
I do think the hermetically-sealed household is a post 1950s concept and perhaps even a white American thing. When I lived in Hawaii it was just accepted that you shared your house with a variety of critters and you dealt with it in various ways. Washington state: "Oh my God, there's a FRUITFLY in the kitchen!" Hawaii: "Huh. . . think that gecko in the living room will manage to eat that entire roach? Oh, would you put that rat outside?"

[Sattua]

Originally Posted by Enola Straight

I remember a LHotP tv episode where a kid "borrowed" a neighbor's front screen door to act as a sieve to pan the local river for gold with Laura Ingalls.

Turns out it was just Iron Pyrite...fool's gold.

So the tech was available to Rural America in the Late 1800s.

Not that you'd use the television show as a historic reference.

[David Simmons]

Speaking of flies ...

I'm reminded of the story by writer H. Allen Smith.

A barber stood up one day, walked to the screen door and rippied it off.

When asked why he replied, "I finally figgered it out. That screen door just nacherly attracts flies."

[Elendil's Heir]

The folks in the recent PBS historical-reenactment series "Texas Ranch House" didn't clean up soon enough after a big dinner party, and before long they had a fly infestation that looked like something out of the Book of Exodus. Yikes.

[Elendil's Heir]

I should've added: the show was set in the late 1860s, and there were apparently no screen windows available at the time.

[CalMeacham]

I looked up some things last night. I can't find where or when they started making wire mesh/wire cloth/ wire gauze commercially, but it was clearly available at least on a small scale by 1815, when Davy did his experiments that resulted in the safety mining lamp. Those experiments, in turn, must have unleashed an industry in making mesh for those lamps )which were widespread as a result of Davy's work), if one didn't exist already. But it wouldn't necessarily have resulted in window-size pieces of mesh.

[dangermom]

When I lived in Denmark, the flies nearly drove me mad. In summer, they were all over the place, and every single morning a fly would buzz around my face and wake me up. I would hide under the duvet, and it would just lie in wait for me, buzzing around (I could hear it through the fabric). Argh! Danish people just didn't seem to mind and watched in bemusement as my hostdad (a German) and I manically swatted flies.

Anyhow, I love our screens. We can keep the windows open all evening without getting zillions of moths and mosquitos, and we have the wonderful invention--a whole-house fan--so that every night and morning we can suck tons of fresh cool air into the house before it gets hot without also sucking in every bug in the neighborhood. (I think people only have them where there are very hot days and nice cool nights; I've never seen them anywhere else I've lived, but here everyone has them).

[spingears]

Originally Posted by Carnac the Magnificent!

I've heard that early 20th century houses typically weren't outfitted with window screens, meaning that warm weather found flying and crawling insects entering through open windows.

In the late 20's the house, in a small town,
had a screened back porch. None on other windows.

In the 50's window screens were rare throughout the rural south.