Other Factors
Cotton is sensitive to both temperature and humidity. To heat the mill a heating system is provided, wrought iron pipes are suspended at a height of 7 feet (2.1 m) and carry steam under pressure, heating to 100 °F (38 °C). Rules of thumb suggest that 1 square foot (0.093 m2)of heating surface was needed to heat 100 cubic feet (2.8 m3). In summer the system was barely used but in winter the boilers would be fired up two hours before the shift started so the mill would have time to warm up. As heat was applied the humidity dropped, so a system of humidifiers were employed. There were two types of atomisers; which played an air jet against a jet of water in the room and the type that injects a stream/air mixture into the room.
The other service that is required in a mill is a fire fighting system. Many methods were used to drive a sprinkler system throughout the mill, in later mills the roof would be flat and waterproofed to form a shallow tank. Other later mills used the top of each stair tower as a location for enclosed tanks and supplemented the supply with water from the town mains. Water for the sprinklers had to be protected from freezing and evaporation. The water pressure needed to be above 7 psi, and the header tank at least 15 feet (4.6 m) above the highest sprinkler.
The provision of light, water tanks and heating system defined the structure and shape of the mill.
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