When was indoor plumbing first used

By the mids, lawmakers and medical professionals agreed that sanitary plumbing was necessary for public health.

Hygienic guidelines and plumbing codes helped guide the installation of hygienic systems throughout the United States. In , Alfred Moen invented the single handle tap. After burning his hands multiple times with the hot water from his two-handle faucet, Moen felt the need for a single handle mixer tap that still exists today.

In the s, due to wartime iron, steel, and copper restrictions, American manufacturers had to evolve. These restrictions ended up introducing cast iron and plastics to the manufacturing industry, resulting in improved plumbing materials.

Showers are also a modern invention. However, iterations of showers have existed since Ancient Greece when the Greeks invented a precursor to modern showers in which the bather was sprayed with water. Ancient Romans used bathing as a way to socialize in public bathhouses. In the Middle Ages, people paid to have a bath at the town bathhouse.

William Feetham, an Englishman, invented the first mechanical shower in Then the person could pull a chain to release the water over their body. With the advent of indoor plumbing, showers became more popular and eventually evolved into the modern showers we use today. Drinking fountains developed over the last one hundred years or so. Halsey Willard Taylor and Luther Haws invented the first modern drinking fountain in the early s. Upstairs plumbing was later introduced when President Franklin Pierce was in office.

Image by McClatchy DC. Thomas Crapper patented his valve-and-siphon design, updating the modern toilet in the process. His work revolutionized the modern concept of plumbing. Flood was first founded in Washington, D. The company started serving Northern Virginia and Maryland as it grew. Image by John C. The elevated water tank became the most contemporary closed toilet water tank and bowl that most people have in their bathrooms today. Image by Buildipedia.

Due to a shortage of copper after wartime requirements, non-metallic, and plastic piping systems were first introduced for toilets. Image by Kohler. This Council helps to ensure that all future developments and endeavors follow a strictly enforced code and standard in all their projects.

Image by Inspections on Time. Not everyone has time to be a plumbing expert — we get it! Flood or schedule service online. You must be logged in to post a comment. Aug Posted by John C. Flood In Featured , General , Plumbing 0 comment. Gabrielle-Wise said that when she was young, most of the homes in the community were shotgun houses: small and narrow with two or more rooms laid out in a straight line from front to back. They were cheap and generally lacked amenities like indoor plumbing.

About two decades later, in , the town of Exmore was debating the installation of indoor plumbing to cover the southern part of Exmore. The New Road area is in the north, and residents in the community wanted to be included in the plans. The local government was trying to secure the funding to put that system in, but ultimately the plan was defeated. Still, residents in New Road wanted indoor plumbing. In , most of the housing in New Road was owned by absentee landlords, so the Wises and other community members decided they would become landowners.

To them, it seemed like the only way to get the infrastructure they needed. The group had a set of approaches to its work, according to the NYU Wagner case study. The goals were to be ambitious and stick to it, present a truly united front, retain autonomy, and gain allies.

The organization used the funds to purchase 30 acres of property from those absentee landlords. As a philanthropy, the institute could help. And it did have that impact.

Ownership meant power. After being renters for generations, New Road residents were on the path to be property owners who had a bigger influence on the politics of the town and control over decisions in the New Road area of town. After the New Road Community Development Group bought the properties, it designated the lots for residential and commercial use, with the intention to create jobs and address economic disparities in Exmore.

The community organizers researched various communal models of ownership to figure out what would work best for them. The group formed an organization that would work like a collective when it comes to negotiations and communication, but the properties would be divided and be owned by each individual family, Gabrielle-Wise recalled.

Each homeowner bought a lot, and New Road Community Development Group worked with local and state government to structure housing finances so that all homeowners could build on their respective lots.