The Toilet Through The Ages
Sanitation has always been an issue to deal with throughout the ages. Poor sanitation led to illness and the ability to get rid of waste was a must. We often assume the toilet is a modern invention, but the loo goes way back.
Ancient Toilets
Archeology show us flush toilets are very ancient. The Indus Valley civilization, located in modern India, had underground sewers and flush toilets in 2600-1900 BC. The Minoan civilization also had underground sewers and flush circa 2000-1600 BC. Of course, the Ancient Romans are famous for their open-air public toilets and the very wealthy had toilets in their house.
A Toilet Renaissance
When the Roman Empire fell, the knowledge of plumbing and lots of other things were lost and mankind had to grope their way back to toilet enlightenment. During the time of Queen Elizabeth I, her godson John Harrington wrote an scathing article about his peers and included in it a description of his flush toilet. A strange place for it, but he described a toilet which boasted a mechanical value to seal off the toilet and a tank of water to flush. This is the basic design for the toilet we use today.
Now humans had relearned the basics, the first patent came about for toilets by adding a constant pool of water in the toilet. For the next 300 years, the toilet evolved by little improvements. The 1700’s gave us improvements on the flushing mechanism and flow of water. The 1800’s produced better drainage and valves which leaked less. The 1900’s moved the water tank onto the toilet itself and the modern toilet was complete.
The Modern Toilet
Now we have a wonderful device which saves us from carrying waste outside. Yet, these beautiful creations are so much a part of our lives we can’t live without them. What can we do when our porcelain pal breaks? The basics such as plunging clogs are within our abilities, but major issues are best left to experts. Why? One issue is the toilet is not an easy fix and trying to repair it often leads to more money to fix the mistakes. Also, when you are fixing toilets you have to deal with your water pipes and potential exposure to nasty biological materials.
This requires training to keep from creating a messy and unhealthy disaster. So, while we are happy to have our bathroom buddy after years of discovery and improvment, to keep it up and running it’s best to send for the pros.
If you’re ever having toilet troubles in your Chattanooga home call Metro Sewer and Plumbing at (423) 855-0967!