A BRIEF HISTORY OF BATHS, SHOWERS AND WASHING
By Tim Lambert
The Egyptians are known for their cleanliness (they bathed frequently) and they used many cosmetics. Meanwhile in Babylon before 2,000 BC a form of soap was made. The Greeks knew that diet and exercise and keeping clean were important for health. The Greeks even invented a form of shower, which sprayed bathers with water.
Most Greeks washed in a bowl on a pedestal called a louterion though the rich sometimes had bathrooms. People rubbed themselves with olive oil then rubbed it off with a tool called a strigil.
The Romans also knew that dirt encourages disease and they appreciated the importance of cleanliness. They built aqueducts to bring clean water into towns. In Roman towns an important building was the public baths. In Roman times people went to the baths not just to get clean but also to socialise. Roman Baths consisted of a frigidarium or cold room, a Tepidarium or warm room and a caldarium or hot room. You usually finished with a dip in a cold pool. To clean themselves Romans rubbed their skin with oil and scraped it off with a tool called a strigil. (The Romans also made soap).
Roman women also used razors, pumice stone, tweezers and depilatory creams to remove unwanted body hair.
It is a myth that during the Middle Ages people were dirty and smelly. Most people cared about their appearance and tried to keep themselves clean. The Vikings were certainly known for their cleanliness. In the Middle Ages their bathhouses in many towns were people could pay to have a bath. Furthermore in Northern Europe in the Middle Ages people took sweat baths.
In the 14th century Edward III installed a bathroom in the Palace of Westminster. Other people made do with wooden tubs in their bedrooms.
Furthermore in the Middle Ages there was an important soap making industry in England (although many people made their own soap at home). In the Middle Ages people used combs and tweezers. They also used toothpicks and mouthwashes.
In the Middle Ages in monasteries streams provided clean water. Dirty water was used to clear toilets, which were in a separate room. Monks also had a room called a laver where they washed their hands before meals.
The Tudors cared about their appearance. People carried mirrors made of glass or steel. They also carried combs and used tweezers, ear scoops and bone manicure sets. Again it is a myth that the Tudors were dirty and rarely washed. It was difficult for ordinary people to have a bath because it was hard to heat a large amount of water at once. However in the Summer people sometimes had a bath in the local river. Otherwise they heated a cauldron of water and had a strip wash. Or they could have a 'dry wash' by rubbing themselves with clean linen. Many Tudors made their own soap, which they scented with plants like lavender and rose. They also used artichokes for deodorant.
In the 16th century bathrooms were very rare but Henry VIII had a bathroom in Hampton Court Palace. It had a simple boiler for hot water.
In the 17th century people used toothpicks but in the latter part of the century toothbrushes were introduced. (Toothbrushes came from China. They were first mentioned in 1498). People also made scented soaps. In the 18th century an Indian word 'shampoo' was adopted by the British. Then in 1767 Englishman William Feetham invented the first modern shower. However in Britain showers did not become common until the late 20th century.
In the late 19th century middle class homes began to have bathrooms. Having a bath was also made much easier by the development of gas water heaters. Working class houses with bathrooms were first built around 1900 and in the 1920s council houses were built with bathrooms. However at that time bathrooms were still a luxury. As late as the early 1960s many homes in Britain did not have a bathroom.
From about 1800 portable metal bathtubs gradually replaced wooden ones and in the 19th century some people used hand-pumped showers.
In the 19th century toothpaste was sold in jars until 1892 when Washington Sheffield invented the collapsible toothpaste tube. Meanwhile in 1888 the first modern deodorant was invented. It was called Mum.
Women first began to shave under their arms in the 1910s. They first began to shave their legs after the end of the First World War when dresses became shorter. The first modern razor for women was made in 1915. Disposable razors for women followed in 1975.
In the 19th century most homes also had a scullery. In it was a 'copper', a metal container for heating water for washing clothes. The copper was filled with water and soap powder was added. To wash the clothes they were turned with a wooden tool called a dolly. Or you used a metal plunger with holes in it to push clothes up and down. Wet clothes were wrung through a mangle to dry them.
Hand operated washing machines have been around since the 18th century. It is disputed who made the first electric washing machine but it was sometime in the early 1900s. In Britain washing machines first became common in the late 1950s and 1960s. Meanwhile a woman named Josephine Cochran invented the first practical dishwasher in 1886. Hers was worked by hand but an electric dishwasher was made in 1922.
People used to wash their clothes with soap flakes. The first synthetic detergent was invented in Germany during the Frist World War. In the following decades detergents were gradually improved and became more common.