Although many things were more affordable for the middle class during the Industrial Revolution, the working class’s living conditions were quite poor. There were issues of overcrowding in not just the neighborhoods, but in the households as well (Solomon). In one household, there could be up to three families living together.

In addition, these households had inadequate water supply. Street taps would supply a limited amount of water to up to 30 households. For example, one street tap for the 30 households would sell for an hour a day and only a few times per week (Solomon). Furthermore, water wasn’t the only issue the working class had to live through during these times. In the households that did have water closets and sewer connection, the drainage was inadequate. The water closets would be located in the cellars and in many cases, they would overflow or leak. Since the homes in the neighborhood would share a wall, the occupants would find their cellars flooded with excrement from the other household if it leaked (Wright).

The occupants of these neighborhoods suffered from higher fatality rates than the others. They were affected by chronic illnesses, shortened life spans, and a high infant mortality rate in which 15 out of 100 infants died within a year of birth (Solomon).

One of the illnesses that took countless lives was cholera. It spread through contamination of water by leaky sewers that fed into wells and rivers. Since water was pumped from the rivers to provide drinking, cleaning, and cooking, neighborhoods near the contaminated pumps suffered high fatalities from the cholera bacteria (Solomon). Cholera could be identified by the symptoms the victim would develop. Intense diarrhea, cramps, vomiting, and fevers were a few that the victim would demonstrate. The most intense part of the illness was the rapturing capillaries that resulted in death (Solomon).