How often do you think about the drains in your home or the larger drainage pipes in the streets. Probably hardly ever, or one when you see the road cornered off for a Drain Lining Company like https://www.wilkinson-env.co.uk/sewer-repairs-drain-lining-concrete-cutting/ to fix any issues with cracks and splits in the pipework.
Our drains are incredibly important to prevent us from walking around ankle deep in waste and filth. There is a long history of civilisations creating drainage systems to help with the removal of waste products as well as providing access to clean water. Here is a brief timeline of our all important drains.
2500 BC – The Ancient Egyptians idolised water and it was used for spiritual initiations as well as other symbolic rituals and so creating a way in which clean healthy water could be provided along with the removal of dirty water was incredibly important.
800 BC – The Romans have been credited with developing early versions of many of our modern day technologies such as underfloor heating and sewer systems. These sewer systems removed dirty water from the bathhouses and allowed them to be replaced with clean refreshing water.
1775 – Alexander Cumming is credited with creating hte first version of our two piece flushing toilet system. It was in 1775 that the design received its patent.
Alexander Cumming and the S-trap
One of the most important steps in the story of household drainage came in 1775, when the Scottish inventor Alexander Cumming became the first person to patent a flushing toilet. Cumming was mainly known for making watches and scientific instruments, but his work on sanitation is what made his name. A flushing system had already been pioneered by John Harington, yet it left a stubborn problem: bad smells kept rising from the toilet even after it had been flushed.
Cumming improved the flushing mechanism so that it cleared waste more effectively, and he added a bend in the pipe known as the S-trap. The bend holds a small amount of water in the system at all times. That simple pocket of water, together with the S shape of the pipe, stops gases created in the sewers from travelling back up the pipework and into the home.
Modern toilets still rely on the same two ideas: a flushing mechanism and a water-holding bend in the pipe. When a plughole starts to smell, it is often a sign that something in the drain is blocked or that the trap is not doing its job.