Translating…
Do you use the bathroom from time to time?
Of course you do. What would we do without modern bathroom plumbing. We probably take what used to be a luxury for granted these days.
And the modern bathroom is a relatively recent development. It became as we know it today in the early part of the 20th century. And actually very little has changed since then.
Of course, bathing has been around from the beginning of man. Bathing was usually done in public except for the rich and privileged. It was largely a communal experience until the 17th and 18th centuries. That’s roughly when the outhouse came in-house. The bathroom would never be the same.
But today’s bathroom is actually a pretty complex engineering feat. All the faucets, fixtures, and finish work that go into today’s bathroom has created not only an important room for the home but today we often have more than one … or two … in our homes. How many of us grew up with large families and only one bathroom. I know I did. The trend to multiple bathrooms did not start until the 1960’s.
And of course the main use of our bathrooms is personal hygiene. We clean, primp, apply makeup and of course relieve ourselves in today’s bathroom. We have showers, bathtubs, sinks, toilets, and other standard fixtures. But we also have a fleet of primping tools in our bathrooms. This includes hairdryers, shavers, special lighting, toothbrushes (even electronic one) s, and any number of other appliances that we now take for granted in our bathrooms.
But the heart of today’s bathroom is still the fixtures that make up the main reason we use a bathroom in the first place … toilets, showers and sinks. The underlying engineering of these fixtures has changed little in the last 100 years except to make them more efficient. The pipes and process that makes it all work is still the same. Water comes into the house, travels to the various fixtures, and then the waste water is removed through another series of piping. Gravity is still the core science that governs the entire process. Water has to flow downhill.
I guess you could say the only things that have really changed is the cosmetics of the fixtures. Porcelain has given way to new materials like china, stone, and metal. Faucets now offer many designs and styles that can match a bathroom’s decor. It’s an interior designers dream come true.
Issues of accessibility has also changed the look of many of our bathroom fixtures. Handles for the elderly and wheelchair access has caused many changes to take place. The bathroom is more available than ever.
Eventually functionality gave way to aesthetics in the early 20th century. New colors, shapes and designs appeared on all our fixtures. It was a brave new world in plumbing. Floors changed. Lighting changed. Materials changed. Our bathrooms got larger and really became more important rooms in our homes.
And today we are much more environmentally conscious so “green” fixtures and processes have become popular. We don’t want to waste water anymore. It has become a precious commodity. So “low-flow” toilets and showers are more and more common. It’s all a good thing. And after all, as long as it still looks good, we don’t really care.
Enjoy your bathroom plumbing. We’ve come such a long way.