The convenience of indoor plumbing may be thought about and appreciated from time to time, but many people never think about how important these plumbing systems are for health and safety. It may seem crazy to think of medieval Europe, when people relieved themselves in chamber pots and then simply dumped the contents of those containers out the window. This not only led to disgusting odors but also to outbreaks of serious disease such as cholera. In modern times, Plumbers in Bremerton Wa, install toilets and sewer pipes that connect to municipal sewer lines or private septic systems. Sewage, for the most part, is kept away from people, and contained in pipes, tanks, and sewage treatment plants.
Dumping of chamber pots into the street was probably not as common as some individuals claim. Nevertheless, other ways of disposing of organic waste material were also problematic. In many homes, latrines were connected to cesspools that had to be emptied by men employed to do so. Houses without these facilities might use buckets that the residents emptied into a nearby field or stream. This obviously led to land and water pollution. An even worse problem involved public toilets that emptied directly into waterways.
In developed countries, people have not needed to worry about these kinds of situations for many years. Even those that choose not to have indoor plumbing for religious reasons are more careful about waste disposal than was true in medieval Europe. However, it wasn’t all that long ago that no efficient municipal sewer systems existed in even the largest cities. London, for instance, finally saw an effective system constructed in the late 1800s.
Being able to immediately wash hands after using a toilet is another aspect that is not only convenient but important for health reasons. Trillions of germs are spread by unwashed hands, and some of those are disease-causing bacteria. That’s why people need to have sinks with faucets installed in or next to bathrooms with toilets. As everyone goes about daily life, they may never think at all about modern plumbing even though it’s important for disease prevention. However, the systems are a primary reason why outbreaks of certain diseases are increasingly rare.
