| Early Bathrooms |
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Hygiene has always been an essential part of society. Though indoor plumbing is a modern development for the average person it has served rulers and the rich for thousands of years. It was just too dang expensive to redirect water flow and to construct sewer systems! Only the rich and famous could afford the costs. Then some entrepreneur or official up for re-election decided to share the costs among many and the public bath was born. It included huge communal bathtubs near a source of flowing water. Individuals, families, and even strangers bathed together—though good manners forbade bathers from staring at each other. In many societies today, communal bathing continues to be a part of daily life. As populations grew, private bathing became more important to individuals. Houses often had inside bathing tubs, but the water source was still outdoors meaning someone had to lug the water in pails, heat it on a stove, and pour it into the tub and jump in before it cooled. Servants became the rage. Of course, everyone still had to go outdoors for other bathroom duties so outhouses or privys were still a necessity. Remodeling Words An outhouse is any habitable structure outside the main building, though typically meaning a structure with a toilet. A privy is a private room or other structure including an outhouse with toilet. Along came the industrial age when cities grew and communal bathing and outhouses were getting out of hand. Fortunately, industry was able to figure out how to make common things and even some uncommon ones at lower cost. More people could afford pipe and newfangled faucets. Simple by modern standards, the indoor bathroom soon became the rage. Every house had to have one. Today, ingenuity continues its trek toward more and more bathroom amenities: Vichy showers, bidets, hydrotherapy tubs, and music systems. Hey, why not?! Bathrooms are more than functional, they are therapeutic, a place to go beyond basic personal hygiene toward comfort and relaxation. Chances are, there are many options available to your bathroom that weren’t economically feasible when the home you may live in was built. You can upgrade your bathroom(s) with features and amenities that can add value to your life. Go for it!
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