The Art of Indoor Plumbing

     Indoor Plumbing comes from the word indoor, which means it is situated inside a structure, and plumbing, a system of pipes which carries clean water inside the establishment and carries waste water out directly to the sewage. It is a system used to pump out water for various purposes. It has helped in accessing cold and hot water in order to live in comfort and to maintain hygiene. Though indoor plumbing is an essential component of modern civilization, it ironically defeats the purpose of it by polluting the environment through the dumping of waste in the sewage.

     The Romans were one of the first civilizations to invent indoor plumbing. The Roman public baths, or known as the thermae, were used for hygienic and cultural purposes. A system of eleven aqueducts were used to transport water into Rome. They had a complex sewage system which was covered with stones similar to modern sewers. The system of indoor plumbing of the Romans eventually shaped modern plumbing. 

   Modern plumbing includes two sub systems which respectively bring clean water in and remove waste water. Pressure is exerted into the water to allow it to travel all over the structure. Before entering the pipes inside the house, it passes through a meter that registers the amount of water used. 

     The most important purpose of indoor plumbing is to prevent the spreading of diseases. Health risk events, such as the lack of plumbing in Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta which cause village diseases, have proved the fact that plumbing does majorly contribute to health benefit. Studies have shown that households without indoor plumbing have increased the rates of diseases three times higher than households with indoor plumbing. Households that lack water service make it more difficult for people to clean themselves, which makes the spread of bacteria easier. 

    Indoor plumbing is a big factor that makes people's lives convenient. It is easier to access water with just the lifting of the valve seat, or known as the faucet handle. It also brings comfort through the privacy of the household or more specifically privacy inside bathrooms. Before indoor plumbing, bathing was done through the carrying of water from the wells back and forth into the household. Since it was a long process, people bathed less. 

   Cold water is easily accessed from the main water supply. In order to receive hot water, an additional step must be applied. A pipe carries water to the water heater. From the heater, another pipe carries the heated water to fixtures that require it. A thermostat adjusts the temperature of the water through the device's utility which is connected to the valve of the water supply.

   Though indoor plumbing is one of the most useful inventions made, it also serves as a factor for damaging the environment. Drainage systems must go through the process of Waste Water Treatment Plant before bringing the water to rivers and streams, but not many follow this, especially developing countries who cannot afford to create facilities and equipments to filter out all the sewage. Similar to oil, water will be a global crisis. As it is a fact that the world's population is increasing every second, the demand of clean water is also increasing but all the demand cannot be supplied, because sources of clean water are fast depleting due to partially lack of water recycling facilities. 

~ChubbyBunnyCarrot486_ID2

References:

 [1] Plumbing Basics - HowStuffWorks. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/plumbing/plumbing-basics-ga.htm

[2] Village diseases linked to lack of plumbing | Alaska Dispatch News. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.adn.com/article/20100411/village-diseases-linked-lack-plumbing

[3] Most Important Technologies in History. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.collegetermpapers.com/viewpaper/1303461208.html

[4] Sanitation in ancient Rome - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Retrieved August 3, 2015, from https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanitation_in_ancient_Rome