Bathroom - History of Appleton and America

Bathroom - History of Appleton and America

Indoor bathrooms had a profound effect on Americans and their homes as the bathroom was designed, not only to provide convenience, but to combat disease.

For example, there are no surrounds on the tub and sink.  This was called the “Sanitary Method."  It permitted servants to scrub both the inside and the outside of each fixture with harsh soap to prevent disease.  To be clear, Victorians had not yet widely accepted the germ theory of disease.  They just knew that thorough cleaning helped keep everyone healthy.

The tub is made of zinc because it didn’t rust.  It was located in front of the window because UV light helped sterilize it, but again, no one understood the process.  A large window was also important for ventilation.

Indoor bathrooms were still in their infancy and flush toilet technology was a long way from being perfected.  Initially, toilets did not use traps to prevent sewer gas from entering the house, sometimes with explosive consequences.  They also did not flush terribly well, as the siphon method was not invented until the late Eighteen Eighties.  Instead, contents had to be pushed out.  In this regard, the high tank on the wall in Victorian bathrooms helped immensely, as it added velocity to the water to aid in flushing.  Finally, as beautiful as this bathroom is, it still used led pipes.

Some of the other items here are typical of a bathroom of the time.  This includes shaving pieces such as the razor, strop, brush, soap, and mug.  It also includes a curling iron which was heated over a kerosene lamp, often with disasterous results for a lady's head and hair.