did they have toilets in the 1800s

By the late 1800s, many workers’ homes in industrialised areas of Britain were built with outside toilets but it was well into the 20th century before indoor facilities were finally a familiar sight in houses, regardless of the occupants’ class.

Full Answer

How did people go to the toilet in the 1870s?

In the 1870s, most folks did their business—as infrequently as possible—in two ways: in a hole in the ground, or in a chamber pot (often concealed in a “commode,” “cabinet chair,” or box-like “close stool”). A “toilet” was just a dressing table or washstand, a meaning that eventually got flushed away when water closets adopted the moniker.

How did people use the toilets in ancient Rome?

Wealthy people had their own toilets but the Romans also built public lavatories. In them, there was no privacy just stone seats next to one another without partitions of any kind. Despite the public lavatories many people still went in the street. After using the toilet people wiped their behinds with a sponge on a stick.

When did the first toilet come out?

The first flushing-rim toilet made its debut in 1824. If you’re still reeling from the revelation that Thomas Crapper wasn’t the fountainhead of flushing, hold on to your toilet seat, because this modern marvel isn’t even really called a toilet: It’s a water closet.

Were medieval toilets necessary before indoor plumbing?

While it would take until the advent of indoor plumbing in the mid-1800s to standardize the marvelous innovation of toilets, the medieval toilet was certainly an ingenious — and necessary — step toward that historic invention. After learning about the medieval toilet, read about 10 medieval execution methods that define cruel and unusual.

Were there toilets in the early 1800s?

In the 19th-century toilet, pans were made of porcelain. They were usually decorated, embossed, or painted with attractive colors. Seats were of wood and cisterns were often emptied by pulling a chain. At first toilet bowls were boxed in but the first pedestal toilet bowl was made in 1884.

When did humans start using toilets?

The first toilets The earliest known toilets were found in the Indus Valley Civilization in northwestern India and Pakistan, dating to around 2800 BC. The indoor toilet was still a few thousand years away, so these were built into the outside of homes and had vertical chutes that emptied into cesspits or street drains.

Did they have indoor plumbing in the 1800s?

It wasn't until the 1800s that people grasped the relation between poor sanitary practices and illness. Until the 1840s, indoor plumbing only existed in rich people's homes. However, in 1829, Isaiah Rogers built eight water closets in the Tremont Hotel of Boston, which made it the first hotel to have indoor plumbing.

Did they have toilets in the 1850s?

In 1850s America, most people relied on privies and outhouses for their bathroom needs. But the Davis family of Natchez, Miss., had something few other Americans did: indoor hot-and-cold running water and an indoor toilet.

When did humans start wiping their bums?

About 1 Million Years AgoThe Stone Age (About 1 Million Years Ago) For thousands of years, stones were the go-to wiping objects.

What year did toilets flush?

The flush toilet was invented in 1596 but didn't become widespread until 1851. Before that, the “toilet” was a motley collection of communal outhouses, chamber pots and holes in the ground.

What did 1800s bathrooms look like?

Bathrooms were often wood panelled with hand painted, porcelain tiles. For the early, wealthy Victorians the wash stand was a piece of bedroom furniture, with heavy ornamentation and white marble tops. Until plumbing became commonplace in the late 1800s/early 1900s a porcelain bowl and jug were the basin and tap.

When did showering become common?

In the US bathtubs (and bathing for health reasons) were widely accepted by the 1880s, but showers did not become as widespread until the 1930s-40s. There was a perceived health benefit from the powerful streams of water, akin to a sauna or other physical stimulation, but many thought this could be overdone.

What were restrooms called in 1800s?

Water Closet A “toilet” was just a dressing table or washstand, a meaning that eventually got flushed away when water closets adopted the moniker. In the 1880s, the earliest flushing water closets were made to resemble familiar chamber pots and commodes.

How often did people bathe in the 1800s?

In Victorian times the 1800s, those who could afford a bath tub bathed a few times a month, but the poor were likely to bathe only once a year. Doctors advised against bathing believing it had a negative effect on health and on the appearance of the skin.

How did Victorian ladies go to the toilet?

Chamber pots did not always have to sit below a commode. For ease of use, Victorian women could simply hold the chamber pot in their hands, rest a foot on the top of the chair, and hold the chamber pot underneath the skirts.

Did they poop in chamber pots?

Chamber Pots Chamber pots were used by women to collect waste overnight. When they were finished, the contents would be thrown over balcony/out the window with the accompanying words of “garde loo” which is French for “watch out for the water.” Muck-rackers were hired to help keep the streets walk-able.

When did toilets become sewers?

In the 1880s, working toilets were wed to working sewers, and the world was changed forever. Forget antibiotics, the steam engine, central heat, and the electric light—flushing toilets and sewer systems are arguably the most important innovations of the 19th century (which one on that list would you give up last?), making modern urban civilization possible and keeping disease at bay.

What era did high tank toilets rule?

High-tank toilets ruled the bathroom during the Victorian era.

When did toilets become more efficient?

The trajectory of the toilet after its gloriously decadent heyday in the 1890s is one of continued innovation and improvement. Between 1900 and 1910, the early washout closets were replaced by more efficient washdown and siphon-jet models; high tanks transitioned to low tanks; and ornamentation—besides the occasional tasteful beading—virtually disappeared in favor of smooth, white, sanitary (i.e., easy to keep clean) surfaces.

When were water closets invented?

In the 1880s, the earliest flushing water closets were made to resemble familiar chamber pots and commodes. In fact, entire bathroom suites—tubs, lavatories, water closets, foot baths, and sitz baths (for soaking nether regions)—were elaborately encased in carved and stained woodwork that was closer to the parlor than the privy.

What did bathroom suites look like?

Early bathroom suites, like this 1885 J.L. Mott example, were designed to look like furniture, with fixtures encased in heavy, often carved, wood. (That’s the toilet, front left.)

Who invented the flush toilet?

It was actually in the 1590s that Sir John Harington, a godson of Queen Elizabeth I, introduced the first flush toilet. Harington’s self-described “privie in perfection” was a noisy, valved contrivance called the Ajax. It worked well enough that Elizabeth allegedly installed one (the first “royal flush”?).

Is Thomas Crapper a water closet?

If you’re still reeling from the revelation that Thomas Crapper wasn’t the fountainhead of flushing, hold on to your toilet seat, because this modern marvel isn’ t even really called a toilet: It’s a water closet.

When was toilet paper invented?

As a commodity Toilet Paper as we know it was launched in 1857, however the use of paper for cleaning was much much older, a Chinese Schoolar wrote in 589 AD

What was the purpose of the pitcher in the toilet bowl?

You could see the track through it and feel the cold air as you were sitting on it. A pitcher of water allowed rinsing the toilet bowl and washing hands.

How did the expansion of American shipbuilding during the Golden Age of Sail actually serve to disadvantage the industry after the answer?

The expansion of American shipbuilding during the Golden Age of Sail actually served to disadvantage the industry after the Civil War . Americans found themselves saddled with expensive shipbuilding apparatus designed for working wood and canvas sails, made obsolete by the sudden popularity of metal hulls and steam. British builders, by contrast, had made no large investment in wooden windship technology and were able to update their shipyards directly to metal and steam production without taking a loss. The vessels remaining in the US merchant fleet after the Civil War were described as "old, obsolete, and nearly worthless craft." [ii]

How did the shipbuilding industry change during the Clipper Ship Era?

It can be demonstrated that the US shipbuilding industry was simply no longer competitive and that a change to steam-driven, metal-hulled vessels was essential to reinvigorate US ocean shipping. With modern wood-working and wood-turning apparatus installed during the Clipper Ship Era, American shipyards could crank out their best work at as little as 60 percent of the cost of British builders, who generally did not invest in such devices. It can be demonstrated that the US shipbuilding industry was simply no longer competitive and that a change to steam-driven, metal-hulled vessels was essential to reinvigorate US ocean shipping. Americans found themselves saddled with expensive wood shipbuilding apparatus made obsolete by the sudden popularity of metal hulls and steam. British builders, by contrast, had made no large investment in wooden windship technology and were able to update their shipyards directly to metal and steam production without taking a loss. The failure to accomplish this change may have served as a primary mechanism for much of the decline in US foreign carrying trade while concurrently explaining the sustained growth of the coasting trade and inland navigation where wood based technologies were still both efficient and economical. [i]

What was the name of the ship that arrived in Sidney in the late 1800s?

On a dark night in the late 1800's a RMS steamer inbound into Sidney Australia was making 18 knots the lookout advised the Officer of the watch that they were being overtaken from astern by a Sailing Ship. The next morning when the steamer arrived in Sidney they inquired as to what Sailing Ship had arrived earlier that morning it was the Cutty Sark.

What did the Romans use to spread disease?

The ancient Romans (and possibly others at the time) used sea sponges on sticks. These were communal, and thought kept in buckets of vinegar or seawater between uses, almost certainly spread disease.

When was the Wyoming built?

The American vessel Wyoming was a wooden six masted schooner built and completed in 1909 by the firm of Percy & Small in Bath, Maine. It was the largest known wooden ship ever built, but it was technologically obsolete when launched.

When was the toilet invented?

Toilets in the Modern World. In 1596 Sir John Harrington invented a flushing lavatory with a cistern. However, the idea failed to catch on. People continued to use chamber pots or cesspits, which were cleaned by men called gong farmers. (In the 16th century a toilet was called a jakes).

What did people do after using the toilet?

After using the toilet people wiped their behinds with a sponge on a stick. Toilets in the Middle Ages. In the Middle Ages toilets were simply pits in the ground with wooden seats over them. However, in the Middle Ages, monks built stone or wooden lavatories over rivers.

What was the name of the box of clay over a pan?

Also popular in the 19th century were earth closets. An earth closet was a box of granulated clay over a pan. When you pulled the lever clay covered the contents of the pan. In rural areas flushing lavatories did not replace earth closets until the early 20th century.

Why did the Romans build sewers?

The Romans also built sewers to collect rainwater and sewage. (They even had a goddess of sewers called Cloacina!). Wealthy people had their own toilets but the Romans also built public lavatories. In them, there was no privacy just stone seats next to one another without partitions of any kind. Despite the public lavatories many people still went in the street. After using the toilet people wiped their behinds with a sponge on a stick.

What were the toilets made of in Ancient Egypt?

In Ancient Egypt, rich people had proper bathrooms and toilets in their homes. Toilet seats were made of limestone. Poor people made do with a wooden stool with a hole in it. Underneath was a container filled with sand, which had to be emptied by hand. (If you were wealthy slaves did that!)

What are the toilets called on a ship?

Onboard a ship the toilets are called the heads. Originally they were just wooden boards with holes cut in them hanging over the sides of the ships. They were placed at the head of the ship.

What was the name of the toilet in medieval castles?

When the tide went in and out it would flush away the sewage. In Medieval castles, the toilet was called a garderobe and it was simply a vertical shaft with a stone seat at the top. In the later Middle Ages, some towns in Europe had public toilets.

What was the medieval toilet?

For those familiar with an outhouse, the medieval toilet is its massive stone-built predecessor. Relegated to the private alcoves of a fort, medieval toilets were nothing but openings that led into a latrine or castle moat below.

What were the downsides of medieval toilets?

The largest downside to the medieval toilet was the fact that there was almost no practical way to avoid the stench. It was unfortunately not always the case that medieval toilets were situated in privy chambers containing a window, in which case aromatization through herbs was relied on.

What was medieval toilet paper made of?

Meanwhile, medieval toilet paper consisted of a bunch of hay. This was rarely an issue when it came to clogging or cleanliness, though 12th-century monk Jocelin de Brakelond recounted that this once nearly caused a fire.

How did the palace keep invaders at bay?

By building toilets with shafts that emptied into courtyards or cesspits around the palace , invaders could be kept relatively at bay.

Did the sailors get decent pay?

Though they were forced to live in isolated homes, they reportedly received decent pay per ton of excrement that they removed.

Was washing a medieval toilet burdensome?

Additionally, washing a medieval toilet was burdensome. Those unfortunate enough to be tasked with the duty threw buckets of water down the toilet shaft or rerouted rain from the gutters.

Where were bathrooms in the 19th century?

By the beginning of the 19th century, when homes were being built in Brooklyn Heights, Greenwich Village, and the other early settlements of New York City, there were no bathrooms in these houses. There was the tub stored in the pantry, and a chamber pot under every bed, and the privy out back.

What was the best sanitary material in the Victorian era?

As the Victorian age progressed towards the 20th century, tile became the wall covering of choice, heralding a rage for sanitary-ness, and tile , especially plain white tiles, were the best sanitary materials available, the glazed surfaces perfect for frequent and relatively easy cleaning.

What was the first pipe in America?

The first pipes in America were wood. They were bored out elm or hemlock tree trunks, joined together with pitch. The first piped water in Boston was a system of wooden pipes leading from Jamaica Pond to Boston Harbor. Wooden pipes were used until the early 1800s, when cast iron pipe was developed.

What is the tradition of the Turkish bath?

The traditions of the hammam, or “Turkish bath” is equally well known throughout all of the Arab world, giving rise to bathing chambers of great beauty, admired to this day. And in the East, the steam baths of Japan have been in use almost as long as the baths of the ancient Western World. Everyone loves a good bath.

What was the first bathtub?

The first bathtub was a body of water, with man/woman first splashing to get clean, and then discovering the ability to swim. Ancient Roman latrines. Photo by Fubar Obfusco.

Why did people stop bathing in the winter?

As plague ravaged the lands, public bathing stopped, as people thought that bathing with others would cause the plague to enter through “miasmas” of steamy hot water. This continued throughout the Renaissance.

When was the first hotel to have indoor plumbing?

In 1829 , the Tremont Hotel in Boston was the first hotel to have indoor plumbing, with eight water closets built by architect Isaiah Rogers. They were on the ground floor of the hotel, and were powered by a water storage system on the roof, gravity fed to flush the toilets into a sewer system.

What did the early toilets have?

These early toilets usually had a cistern or tank above to hold water with a pipe running down to the toilet. When the handle was pulled, it opened a trap door sending water to wash the waste into a sewer or cesspool .

What was used to wipe the toilet back then?

There was no toilet tissue back then. People used leaves, grass, or even dry corn cobs for wiping.

What did the early Nashville settlers learn about sanitation?

City and town leaders then learned that good sanitation methods would keep disease from spreading. Early Nashville settlers had chosen to build Fort Nashboro close to a spring. By 1826, water from the spring was being pumped into the public square reservoir through wooden pipes.

When were sewers built in Nashville?

Sewers made from brick and clay were constructed in Nashville beginning in 1823. Most dumped into springs and the river. Picture Credits: Photograph entitled, “cluttered outhouses.”. Although this photo was taken in 1905 in New York City, it shows how a city outhouse may have looked in the 1800s.

When were people not private about their bathroom habits?

Back 200 years ago , people were not private about their bathroom habits. During early years on the frontier, people would go behind a tree or in the woods. Most houses had a chamber pot which was just a round bowl. They would use this pot during the night or when the weather was too bad to go outside. There were both indoor and outdoor privies, ...

Where do sewers dump their waste?

In the past, sewers usually dumped waste into rivers and streams.

Where are the toilets in the Roman fort?

As far as team building goes, that likely beats a trust fall. The toilets at the garrison at Vercovicium, now called the Housesteads Roman Fort, are some of the best-preserved Roman toilets in Britain; they might also be some of the best and earliest examples of workplace toilets in the world. Wherever the Romans went, they brought their culture, ...

What was the toilet at Vercovicium?

The toilets at Vercovicium were in a rectangular room with stone benches lining the longer walls. Every 18 inches or so, there was a hole in the bench; it’s plausible that this hole would have had a wooden seat, almost exactly like a modern toilet seat, positioned around it.

Why do Amazon workers pee in bottles?

This April, the question of workers’ rights and restrooms was in the news after the revelation that Amazon workers in a British warehouse were allegedly urinating in bottles to avoid being punished for taking bathroom breaks. The only toilets, according to James Bloodworth, a journalist who went undercover as an Amazon warehouse worker to write a book about low-wage jobs, were hundreds of feet away, across the warehouse floor and down four flights of stairs. Workers, Bloodworth said, were worried they’d get in trouble for taking too long. That’s only the latest such incident—in 2009, for example, workers at a meatpacking factory in Lancashire complained to their union after they were asked to clock out for bathroom breaks.

How many people lived in London in the 14th century?

This was possible for a while, but by the 14th century, London’s population had grown to around 80,000, and the situation had gotten out of control.

How did human waste affect the industrial age?

As the agrarian economy gave way to the industrial age, human-waste removal went through seismic social and technological shifts, all of which had repercussions for the workplace. For much of London’s history, for example, human waste was simply dumped into the streets—or into the Thames or the city’s lost rivers, such as the Fleet, that have been since paved over. This was possible for a while, but by the 14th century, London’s population had grown to around 80,000, and the situation had gotten out of control.

Where are the toilets at Sketch Club?

The very exclusive toilets at Sketch Club, in central London, a haunt of media types and celebrities. “If you were being generous, you could say it was a sort of lack of planning,” says Cook.

Where is Louise Clements pub?

The facilities at Louise Clements Pub, a traditional pub in central London, close to Soho and the British Museum. In 1974, an act of Parliament, bundled into a law dictating the health-and-safety obligations of employers, made the expectation of adequate facilities for workers official.

What was the purpose of the round tub in the 1800s?

Tubs came in a variety of designs and materials. We have two in our home that would be period for the 1800’s right up into the 1900’s and each serves a great purpose in keeping our family clean.

When was the Mosely tub made?

The Mosely tub was manufactured between 1880-1900. The Mosely tub was unique as it had a water heater that was hid in the cabinet, thus eliminated the need to carry hot water from the stove. How that worked I couldn’t personally say unless it was set us as a boiler system through the cookstove or home heating source.

How much water does a bathtub take?

However one of the enticing benefits of such a tub is it requires less then 10 gallons of water and can accommodate a wash on the spur of the moment.

Why was the Utility with Class so popular?

One reason this unit was so popular, because as stated, most homes did not have a bathroom as we know it today and even if they did have a “water closet” the source of the hot water was found in the kitchen, the wood cook stove of course.

Was taking baths up to the last century easy?

Taking baths up unto the last century was not quite as easy as the above. Nope, it required planning, it required want to and it required some muscle.

Can older children fit in a relic?

Even older children can fit nicely in one of these relics of the past.

Toilets in The Ancient World

See more on localhistories.org

Toilets in The Middle Ages

Toilets in The Modern World

Toilets Today

A Timeline of Toilets