History of Indoor Plumbing Details Homeowners Should Know

By gaining insight into how past civilizations lived, we can build a new appreciation for the technology available to us today. This is particularly true when you consider our use of indoor plumbing and how plumbing has helped to shape societies and define eras.

In this latest post, our team at Oliver's Plumbing looks at the history of indoor plumbing as we share some of the details you should know about the technology.

Private Toilets are Not a Recent Invention

You might think that private toilets were a more recent creation, built after we learned about viruses and bacteria. But the archeologists have discovered the many had private toilets in ancient civilizations.

In the Indus Valley Civilization, for example, homes in many towns had private toilets for their inhabitants to enjoy and use. The wastewater from the toilets was diverted to local waterways and cesspits.

And it’s in the Indus Valley Civilization that archaeologists have also discovered the earliest use of covered sewers.

Flush Toilets Gain Fashion with Marie Antoinette

The population of Versailles, France in the 18th century did not have access to the type of freshwater and cleaning facilities we enjoy today. And the streets and businesses would often have a foul stench according to books from the time.

It was around this era when Marie Antoinette had asked for her own flush toilet system. Her toilet was an early version of the modern flush toilets and still required others to remove the waste from the palace, as the flushing mechanism wasn’t connected with local sewers.

Sensor Systems in Use in Japan in the 1980s

Now we jump forward a little to the sensor technology put in place in Japan in 1986 when the first sensor-based flushing system was invented.

This invention was created with the idea of minimizing the contact between the person and the toilet, and with the greater understanding of the impact of bacteria and germs on our general health.

Sensor-based flushing systems quickly become popular across the globe as a way of preventing the spread of disease and providing additional convenience to the modern public toilet user.

So now you have a better idea of the origins of that modern toilet in your bathroom space. Consider your plumbing options and spare a thought for those that had to live without this modern convenience in past eras.