How plumbing has changed over the centuries

We can trace the origins of plumbing right back to the Ancient Greeks and the Ancient Romans. Both these two civilizations made significant advances in how we use water to remove waste and clean ourselves. It is because of this primitive work that we are now able to receive immediate emergency plumber assistance in Melbourne today.

The island of Crete was the site of one of the big discoveries, which was a flushing toilet. The Minoan Palace of Knossos, created in 1700 BC, housed the first such device which held a small reservoir of water which then washed waste away into a complex pipe system that was laid under the palace floors during construction. This device showed incredible innovation, but sadly was buried in the ruins of the city for many years. The closest anyone else came to this invention was in England in the 16^th century when Sir John Harrington was credited with something very similar in design to the ancient version. And then, it was a further 200 years before the modern flushing toilet was developed by Alexander Cumming. So we have Greece to thank for basic sanitation, and Rome to thank for a dedication to personal hygiene.

The Greeks are also the ones who are able to boast the mastery of distinguishing hot and cold water. Despite this impressive luxury, the toughened Spartans believed that a hot shower or bath was not manly. Instead, their preferred rinse consisted of a slave pouring a bucket of cold water over them, in an instant refreshment. It is this mindset that prevented the widespread use of early hot water systems in Greece. The Romans however, had a different idea, and made the most of steaming baths. For the Ancient Romans, bathing was an act of socializing as well as getting clean. The impressive public baths that the city is renowned for now lie in ruins, although even this hint of the former structure is enough to leave most onlookers in awe.

These baths required massive amounts of water, and so the problem of water transportation was one of the big issues that needed solving. The magnificent Roman aqueduct was formed and built throughout the city. These structures were meticulously measured so that they slanted only several degrees over vast distances. The Romans understood the property of water to seek the lowest point, and so used this gravity to their advantage. Unfortunately, they were yet to appreciate the scientific concepts of germs and stagnant water, which is why the baths were a place of disease spreading.

In many other cultures, this lack of understanding about the dangers of human waste would be highly detrimental. London's rivers were soon putrid and foul, as ware was simply flushed straight into these waterways. Early plumbing relied on lead and wood, meaning that the 1666 Great Fire of London counted much of the plumbing in its list of casualties. The word plumbing comes from the Latin term 'plumus' meaning lead. While the very first pipes were made of wood and clay, the Romans soon discovered the benefits of using metal, particularly lead, to craft their water systems.

While today's domestic plumbing industry is focused on completing the job efficiently, in the beginnings of plumbing, the focus was about invention. Today, we are able to enjoy highly developed systems which are only posible thanks to these early innovations. We have so much more knowledge about sanitation and disease that many of the early problems have been able to be overcome. Unfortunately, even with this knowledge and technology, plumbing issues can still occur, and the best course of action is to find a solution as quickly as possible. Get in touch with a respected emergency plumber specialist in Melbourne, Block Drains Melbourne from Chadoak at http://chadoak.com.au.