Brief History of Bathrooms

Bathrooms in the past were shared public spaces, with little to no privacy. In Pompeii, the bathroom was an area that contained latrine blocks with seats as slabs of stone which contained holes for the users. A sponge was passed as a shared form of toilet paper. In the beginning of the nineteenth century, Britain was undergoing a large development change in extension of cities and a largely growing population. This led to industrialization, and the growing population began to stress the sewage and drainage systems. The demand for clean water and sanitary conditions called for a “greater  state  intervention  and  town  planning  controls” (Greed 54). Before sewer systems, people with fortunate homes had built in rooms that would collect sewage underground with trap-door-like installations.  The previous uses of public toilets may have worked in the past, but would create public health problems in the rapidly growing population which lived in urban areas. However, hygiene was not the main concern for people, which would dispose of their sewage by waiting for the waste collectors to come, or piling it in a garden. The spread of cholera and other deadly diseases made improved public hygiene measures important, with a major outbreak in 1832 (Greed 36). 

Christian Home Layouts

The first figure displays the floor plan of a standard Christian home. The use of sliding-windows to the floor can be transformed into greenhouses in the winter. The layout aims to display the preservation of labor and expenses; not only through the interior architecture of the building but also through the furniture. The furniture is first seen to be on display on the ground-floor, followed by the furniture within the second story, and finally the basement.

The second floor plan is that of a kitchen and stove room. The chimney and stove are placed in a way that ventilates the whole house. A sliding creates a separation between the two rooms, to preserve the smells and heat within each designated room. Shelves line the sides of the stove room, and boxes for storing stove appliances are placed by the stove. 

The third floor plan shows the attic, or second story. The primary use of the attic was utilizing the headed roofs and warmth for summer seasons. Large closets surrounded the walls up the ceiling. 

The fourth floor plan is one of the basement. Refrigerators were placed in the basement, along with other baskets for storage. The basement would be insulated and plastered with water-lime. Laundry was also done downstairs, and the basement contained wash-tubs with plugs, which allowed for easy drainage. 

The Earth-Closet

The earth-closet was invented by Rev. Henry Moule, of Fordington Vicarage, Dorsetshire, England. The premise of the earth-closet is to utilize clay and decomposition found in soil to desiccated organic waste contained in the soil to absorb and preserve all the unpleasant odors and all the fertilizing substances, and acts as l design for weighing and dispersing in the storage or container below a sufficient quantity of rinsed dry soil to completely cover the firm faeces and to collect the waste. The plan that is placed under the seat is designed to be easily removed when needed (Beecher-Stowe 407).

The following figure displays the construction of the earth-closet. “A hopper-shaped reservoir, made of galvanized iron, is supported by a framework at the back of the seat, which rests on the framework a, a,” writes Beecher, Catharine Esther in the book, American Woman’s Home: Or, Principles Of Domestic Science : Being A Guide To the Formation and Maintenance Of Economical, Healthful, Beautiful, and Christian Homes. An iron level is connected to the right side, which controls the portable box at the bottom of the reservoir, allowing the contents to fall below the seat. Then, the box is able to go back to its original position, and becomes refilled when the handle drops (Beecher-Stowe 409). 

China created a totally recyclable bathroom system, in which not a particule of manure is lost in, and everything that is sent out within drains and sewers from the water-closets  toilets is collected in a tidy manner and used for fertilizer; the earth-closet. The earth-closet is a system that alleviates the most unpleasant aspect of domestic labour and avoids the unappealing and toxic effluvium that is unavoidable in all family homes.The basic theory of the building is very similar to something like a water-closet, although in the place of water the earth is dried. The product formed has no harmful odor and is the finest type of fertilizer. The production of the earth-closet is not more expensive than the water-closet; and when taking into accountability the work for plumbers, the almost unavoidable problems and disturbances of the water-pipes resulting from the clumsy installation or use of water-works are recognized, the earth-closes it in itself much cheaper, while being an amplifier of useful material (Beecher-Stowe 403).

George E. Waring published writing on the Earth-Closet for the “The Tribune Association” of New York. Warning was previously a successful agricultural engineer for the New York Central Park, and focused much of his attention to sanitization within agricultural engineering. In this publication, Wang wrote, “It is sufficiently understood, by all who have given the least thought to the subject, that the waste of the most vital elements of the soil’s fertility, through our present practice of treating human excrement as a thing that is to be hurried into the sea, or buried in underground vaults, or in some other way put out of sight and out of reach, is full of dan- ger to our future prosperity.The large class who will fail to feel the force of the agricultural reasons in favor of the reform which this pam- phlet is written to uphold, will realize, more clearly than farmers will, the importance of protecting dwellings against the gravest annoyance, the most fertile source of disease, and the most certain vehicle of contagion” (Beecher-Stowe 405).

Bibliography

Beecher, Catharine Esther. “The American Woman’s Home: or, Principles of Domestic Science; Being a Guide to the Formation and Maintenance of Economical, Healthful, Beautiful, and Christian Homes.” Find in a Library with WorldCat, www.worldcat.org/title/american-womans-home-or-principles-of-domestic-science-being-a-guide-to-the-formation-and-maintenance-of-economical-healthful-beautiful-and-christian-homes/oclc/7875017.

Greed, Clara. Inclusive Urban Design: Public Toilets. 1st ed., taylor & francis, 2003.

History of public safety and restrooms.

Image Sources 

Beecher, Catharine Esther. “The American Woman’s Home: or, Principles of Domestic Science; Being a Guide to the Formation and Maintenance of Economical, Healthful, Beautiful, and Christian Homes.”

Mediastorehouse. “Print of Colonel George E Waring, American Engineer and Sanitarian Who Revolutionised Street Cleaning in New York. Late Nineteenth.” Lebrecht Music & Arts Photo Prints, 13 Feb. 2013, lebrecht.printstoreonline.com/colonel-george-e-waring-american-engineer-8371685.html.