Since the dawn of history, mankind has been faced with the problem of creating suitable toilets. Because with the appearance of cities, hygienic toilet use had to be solved for larger and larger communities, thus, the history of toilets is closely intertwined with the development of anti-clogging. In our two-part article series, we introduce our readers to the development of anti-clogging.

From public toilets to private toilets

Although in ancient times we cannot yet speak of a "toilet" in the modern sense, but public toilets already existed in the Roman Empire. The inhabitants of the eternal city usually did their work in latrines made of stone. The "contents" of the toilets reached the sea through a canal full of water, whose salt water also served disinfection purposes. Because these public toilets could be used by thousands of people every day, Thus, at intervals it may have been necessary to make latrines blockage troubleshoot. Of course, the Romans did not yet have the modern drain with cleaning agents and granules, but vinegar and baking soda were already known at that time, and was used to prevent minor or major "accidents"..

The situation was different in the villages in the Empire, where the latrines were built inside the walls of the houses. Because these latrines were not connected to city sewer systems, so they often got clogged. The forefathers of unblockers were sewer cleaners and manure carriers. The latter arranged for a cartload of manure to be transported for Roman money equivalent to the price of an amphora of wine, which was usually used to feed the lands.

Concealed hygiene…?

As in many other things, the Middle Ages also brought significant regression in terms of toilets. With the fall of the Roman Empire, the large canal systems were also destroyed, thus, due to the lack of sewerage in the settlements, people did their work in so-called night vessels, the contents of which were poured into the street during the day. Due to the sewage and faeces covering the streets, the population of the settlements of the time was usually decimated by huge epidemics, so in many cities, made mandatory in the decree, for homeowners to build a shade chair at the end of their garden. At the same time, our ancestors living in medieval villages did not need the specialist to prevent clogging by, since usually the male members of the family were able to clean the shade chairs and the digestion pits themselves.

In today's sense anti-clogging became important in homes with the spread of flush toilets. More complex structures are more easily clogged, like the shade chairs with a simpler structure. A radical change in the history of toilets occurred at the dawn of the modern era, when the English toilet was invented.

Double zero histories

Modern toilets are called English toilets for a reason, since water-flushing drainage structures first appeared in the archipelago. Although the invention of the English water closet in 1778 is attributed to Joseph Bramah, with early English toilets as early as I. We can meet in Queen Elizabeth's court. The queen is said to have liked the new invention so much, that he installed several such structures in his home. In spite of that, Shade chairs were still used in most of Europe for centuries, and these modern restrooms are just a 19. they could begin their conquest in the second half of the century.

With the rapid development of urban sewer systems, flush toilets could also be found in homes. At the same time, the U-shaped bends of the structures that paved the way for modern hygiene were more easily clogged, as the shadow chairs once were, therefore, it was often necessary to use the help of a specialist to remove the blockage. Not to mention the invention of toilet paper, which can be considered both a blessing and a curse from the point of view of civilization. The former shell, Humanity using a wet sponge attached to a stick or even tree bark could thus get its hands on such an indispensable hygienic tool, which is one of the most common causes of clogging. (Well known, How often can too much toilet paper clog the toilet bowl?) In any case, the Chinese were ahead of the West in this as well, since in the east already the 6. century they used this, while Western civilizations only a 19. From the end of the century, they started using toilet paper to create hygiene for the lower body.

A triumph of technology

However, demand created its own supply, thus, modern techniques also gave a huge boost to the development of anti-clogging. Nowadays, we can choose from a number of methods to fix problems in the toilet or drain. Thanks to the rapid development of technology, we can use as many tools as possible to eliminate unsolicited blockages, from pipe inspections with cameras to trace searches. Not to mention the numerous chemicals and granules, the proper application of which can all contribute to the remedy of various "household accidents"..