The people behind our plumbing systems

There are inventors and thinkers credited with some great advancements in technology but one area that we couldn’t survive without and probably think about the least is that of our plumbing systems and the elements that go with it. We have the luxury of running water whenever we need it and flushing doors and all of it located indoors without the need for us to brave the elements and walk miles like the people of some developing countries still have to do. Those Emergency Plumber Gloucester individuals like the ones at www.hprservicesltd.com/emergency-plumber-gloucester/ are the modern-day heroes when it comes to alleviating all of our plumbing and water issues.

But are you aware of any of the people who are credited with the inventions that made all of this possible?

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Joseph Bazalgette is the man that we can thank for the modern-day sewers. Back in 186, he created the sewage system in London. It can be said that this was more a feat of engineering rather than invention. The life of the residents of the city of London was changed dramatically by the invention of the sewers. The system meant that the waste from the city was piped out in an easterly direction towards the sea rather than being tipped into the Thames River like the existing system. This system is still very much in use today.

The Romans brought about the advanced use of faucets and early stopcocks to deliver water to individual buildings and to prevent the water from flowing the wrong way – or rather the way they didn’t want it to be flowing. Egyptians and Greeks utilized valves in a similar way to divert the water flow to produce drinking water and water to irrigate their crops.

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John Michael Kohler is the man we can thank for the long luxurious soaks in the bath. In 1883 he invented the first bath. He added decorative feet to it. He made the bath with an enamel covered, cast-iron horse trough. Since then we have tweaked with design slightly but the concept remains very much the same from in Kohler’s day.

The toilet was actually invented by John Harrington in 1596 and was mass produced and adapted by Thomas Crapper who is often credited with the invention. Thomas Crapper made many adjustments to the early design and was the man who brought about the increase in popularity of the toilet.

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