The History of the Toilet
Human bodies excrete waste products. Excretion happens and, barring some weird mutation, always will. What has changed, and will likely continue to change, is the disposal of the excreted matter. Flush toilets haven’t always been around and may be replaced with something newer and better in the future.
The First Use of Toilet
The word toilet has several meanings. It originally referred the process of personal grooming, usually by ladies, done while sitting at a dressing table.
The table would be covered with a “toilette” or small cloth. Although the phrasing is seldom used nowadays, it was common before the 19th century to refer to grooming as “completing one’s toilet” or “she’s at her toilet.”
Eventually toilet referred to the room we now usually call the bathroom. It wasn’t until relatively modern times that the fixture we use to dispose of waste matter was called a toilet.
Most contemporary homes, especially in the Western world, have flush toilets. Because of the plumbing necessary to make toilets work, bathrooms have become a central feature of buildings, from the first drawings to the finished structure.
Flushing Through the Ages
Flush toilets must connect to a water source needed to fill a tank attached to a pedestal on which we sit. Pressing a handle causes the water to flood into the bowl of the pedestal, where it washes away excreta. The water and solids flow into a septic tank or sewer. After that, it’s out of sight and out of mind for most people.
Regardless of what people used to call them, they’ve had versions of toilets for millennia that used water to remove human wastes. Nomads had the freedom to eliminate whenever or wherever they felt the need to do so. People who settled in a fixed place had to find effective ways to remove excreta from in or near their abodes. Water was a natural choice.
At least 5,000 years ago drains were built that used water to wash away human waste, sometimes into a river, lake or ocean. In some instances, the toilet was a hole in the floor, with a stream of water running beneath the hole.
Wherever people had flowing water, they tried to find a way to use it for flushing. Some of those ways were far more efficient and sanitary than others.
Twenty-first Century Improvements
Although the flush toilet as we know it has been put to good use for centuries, it’s undergoing improvements. The amount of water used per flush has been reduced in recognition of the fact that water is a finite resource.
“Smart” toilets can be used for measuring blood sugar and other medical monitoring. Seats can be heated and built-in fans can whisk away odors.
If you live in the area, and are having toilet troubles, Call NixCo Plumbing at (513) 398-5907 and find out how you can get your toilet back!