A Brief History of Plumbing Services

Thousands of years ago, human beings were hunters and gatherers, traversing the terrain looking for berries to eat and animals to kill. These primitive beings were free to drink from the river and go to the bathroom wherever they chose, because they could simply move onto the next location when the hunting was sparse.

Societal developments changed humans from hunters and gatherers to agricultural communities that set up in one location and grew crops there. This new “town” was the center for established society, meaning that the people could no longer simply leave their waste behind on the trip to a new area. They needed to invent a way to properly dispose of fecal matter.

Ancient Toilets

Believe it or not, there are actually signs of plumbing dating back to 2700 B.C. in the Indus Valley Civilization. While we may consider it a modern luxury, its routes trace back nearly 5,000 years.

Many of the major improvements were made during the Roman Empire’s dominance. Ancient Rome had public outhouses as some of the earliest toilets that were important centers for business and meetings. They even had water systems that transported the fecal waste downstream in lead pipes, which would remain the material of choice until the late 1800s when the United States adopted galvanized iron and then settled on copper.

De-Contaminating Water

Another big advance in the field was to create underground plumbing that was more protected from contamination. Previously, water was collected in above ground storage, where it was more likely to become a cesspool.

In 1854, a cholera outbreak in London made de-contaminating the drinking water more important. New theories were beginning to be developed concerning microscopic germs causing diseases.

The early 1900s saw the scientific work of two U.S. Army Majors, Carls Rogers Darnall and William J.L. Lyster, lead to the invention of the Lyster Bag. This device purifies water in a bag filled with calcium hypolchlorite and allowed water to be stored in water towers for consumption.

Los Angeles Plumbing

Today, we have companies like Rooter Experts who specialize in all aspects of Los Angeles Plumbing . If you have a problem with your toilet or water transportation, give us a call at 888-488-4808

Follow us on Twitter @RooterExperts for fun blogs, like this one about The Simpsons Plumbing Myths .