How have bathrooms evolved? Toward sustainability
The closure of bathhouses and the belief in the harmfulness of bathing in the early modern era did not cause societies to completely give up using bathtubs, which were soon joined by other bathroom innovations—bidets, elaborate combinations of showers and bicycles, all the way to today’s whirlpool tubs. In the era of the climate crisis, sustainability is also increasingly making its way into our bathrooms.
Groundbreaking inventions
The 16th century was marked by the closure of public bathhouses in France, England, and Spain. However, health resorts using water from mineral springs continued to operate, with the most famous being those in Baden, Switzerland, and Bath, England. These resorts later played a significant role in reintroducing water to society.
However, until the 18th century, bathing was avoided as much as possible in favor of using perfumes and oils and changing undergarments frequently. Although Louis XIV was not yet a fan of using water for hygiene, his successor, Louis XV, equipped his apartments in the first half of the 18th century with a bathroom featuring two bathtubs, one for lathering up and the other for rinsing off the lather. Over time, the furnishings were reduced to a single movable copper tub. Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI, used a tub on wheels.
As early as the 16th century, bidets—known as “chairs of purity”—began to appear in wealthy homes; these were elongated vessels placed on a stand or cabinet, used for washing intimate areas. Over time, they took on an increasingly exclusive form—they were made of ceramics, tin, and even gilded bronze or silver. Elaborate two-person models were also constructed, in which the bidets were joined back-to-back, took the form of a small sofa, or unfolded into a chair for sitting.
In 1767, William Feetham invented the first shower that did not require the assistance of servants. Using a hand pump, water was transported to a basin that was emptied onto the bather’s head via a chain. This invention was subsequently refined by, among others, by Vincenz Priessnitz, considered the true creator of the modern shower, and Gaston Bozerian, who sought to combine hygiene with physical fitness by designing a shower activated by pedaling.
In the 18th and even the 19th century, most hygiene routines were performed not in bathrooms, but in bedrooms. Even Queen Victoria bathed in a portable tub, and she paid for the hot water supplied to it from funds allocated for clothing and personal items. Plumbing systems providing access to running water did not become widespread until the late 19th century.
While the wealthy segment of society was getting used to bathing again, the poorer classes were not only unable to afford it but also did not consider it a necessity, even after special public bathhouses and laundries were established for them.
Toward Modern Bathrooms
From the 19th century onward, bathrooms became an integral part of middle- and upper-class homes. The discovery of germs meant that hygiene once again took a prominent place in daily rituals, and the use of a bathtub or shower ceased to be demonized. With technological advances, the use of private bathing facilities became increasingly popular, a trend fueled by the invention of gas and later electric water heaters. The materials used in bathrooms also underwent changes—wood was increasingly replaced by elegant tiles.
The poorer classes were still forced to frequent public bathhouses, which no longer enjoyed the same popularity and esteem as they had a few centuries earlier. For those reluctant to use public bathhouses, a “take-out bath” service emerged in France in the early 19th century, under which all necessary items—including a bathtub, bathrobe, bath sheet, and water at the customer’s chosen temperature—were delivered to the customer’s home. Wastewater was then drained into the street sewer via a hose. An alternative to public baths and “baths to go” was the use of a portable tub filled by hand with water from a well or bathing in a river.
Starting in the early 20th century, apartment buildings with bathrooms began to appear, though they did not become more widespread until the middle of the century. Nevertheless, as late as 1902 in the U.S., it was not uncommon for a single bathtub to serve an entire neighborhood—that is, over 2,700 people. Around this time, however, production methods were improved—cast-iron, enameled, porcelain, or ceramic bathtubs began to replace those made of copper, tin, and wood, and a worker was able to produce 10 bathtubs in a day (compared to just one per day produced by the entire factory as recently as 30 years earlier). This led to an increase in the availability of sanitary fixtures.
The 20th and 21st centuries brought rapid changes in the realm of bathrooms and their fixtures. These rooms became increasingly larger and were more often divided into two separate spaces: one for bathing and one for the toilet. Whirlpool tubs, jacuzzis, and automatically controlled showers became widely available. Hygiene became an integral part of daily life. Increasing attention is also being paid to the eco-friendliness of bathing and handwashing, to solutions that reduce water and energy consumption, as well as… our time. Removing transient microflora with soap is the simplest way to maintain health when we have access to running water. Among soaps, foam soaps are the most economical and therefore the most eco-friendly, as less water is needed to rinse them off your hands. Foam soap lasts up to three and a half times longer than traditional liquid soap. It’s also worth paying attention to the formulations of these products. Eco-friendly formulations contain fewer chemicals. Soap formulations should be based on natural, mild ingredients, free of allergens and artificial dyes. You should check whether the cleaning product contains harmful compounds such as chlorides or triclosan. It is important that detergents contain nourishing and moisturizing ingredients and have been dermatologically tested.
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