Toilet – Its History And Reality
For a long time, our ancestors did not care much about sanitary and hygiene issues: in European cities, sewage and sewage was thrown out of windows directly into the street, and even in the 18th century , palace balconies and neighboring bushes often served. in Versailles as a place to relax.
It is possible to consider the ancestor of the toilet sink to be a porcelain bedside vase, given to noble people in France, or an ordinary stool with a hole, used for the same purposes in Germany. But the traditional toilet sink, like a bowl with an expansion tank, was invented by the Englishman Thomas Crapper. American “crapper” which means toilet comes from the surname of its inventor. This business Englishman, being first an ordinary sanitary technician in Chelsea, set up the company and within a few years supplied Buckingham and Windsor palaces with sanitary equipment and water dispensers.
His economical metered water discharge system in the form of a tank secured Crapper’s place in the history of sanitary engineering. Since the first sample was created, a variety of sanitary equipment such as sinks, urinals, bidets and sinks of different types appeared on different continents and in different countries. And at first glance they all seem similar, except for the country of origin.
However, the national priorities are notable: the Scandinavians, for example, concentrated on improving water supply and flushing systems, the Americans and Germans traditionally make large toilets, and the production of the Italians is distinguished for original decoration and moldings. The Japanese converted a toilet sink into a mini laboratory for analysis.
Sinks became colourful, painted, gilded and decorated with moldings. However, still most buyers prefer traditional white color and classic shapes of sanitary equipment. All the sanitary equipment is still made of porcelain and earthenware. Distinguishing one from another at first glance is often difficult even for an expert because the products are covered with glazes or colored glazes. From the point of view of operational characteristics, porcelain is considered to be less porous, has a lower water absorption factor and therefore absorbs less dirt and smells less.
Structurally, washbasins differ in their connection to the water discharge (and this is important when choosing a washbasin model for your flat): there are washbasins with vertical discharge (towards the floor) and horizontal or inclined discharge (towards the wall ). Washbasins with cistern, like bathrooms, can be separated when a cistern and a washbasin are mounted separately, and combined, being the monobloc. Monoblocs are easier to assemble and lower in height (if the economy of a venue is important), but they are considerably more expensive than “isolated” models.
A feature of a discharge tank can be its work in one mode when all the water is discharged at once, and in two modes, which allows all the water to be discharged at once and half. Such a tank has two flush buttons and saves a lot of water. The classic toilet sink was always mounted on the floor, but now there are wall-mounted models. They are mounted together with a hidden tank, so the whole system looks very light and even elegant.
In sanitary equipment, as well as in furniture, the design of a model and its decoration is an important point. What could be changed in the way of a toilet sink? And yet, there is a variety of styles in sanitary ceramics such as classic, avant-garde, retro, and there are also fashion trends. Among them, the tendency to the maximum rotundity of the forms, the softness of the lines and the popularity of the color white, as a symbol of cleanliness.
The national traditions of the country of origin also play a certain role in the creation of fashionable collections of sanitary equipment. It is also true about the “small details”, creating the retro-style atmosphere, such as various inscriptions, fastening details, chains. Thus, on the porcelain handle of the cistern that reproduces one of the first Victorian Crapper’s sinks, the following inscription is found: “pull and go”.
“Examining” the market for modern sanitary equipment and devices, we can only feel sorry for our ancestors, having to go out in the frost and rain to get to the blown-up hut or bare night vases with their contents in a house until morning.