What's with the bathroom double sinks as a new standard of bath amenities?

[Texas Proud]

Our original sink from 1955 was pink (with a matching tub and toilet) and had 2 metal legs for support. NO STORAGE! And on top of that the surface of the sink was rounded so you couldn't put anything on it. Just dumb. A cabinet vanity with a door (for the wastebasket and cleaning supplies) and 2 drawers for TP and "feminine supplies" was our first improvement.

Well, if you are going to go back THAT far... the first bath that I used was when I was a kid... it also was pink tile on the floor and walls, but white sink, tub and toilet. The sink did not have legs, but hung on the wall.... we had a small medicine cabinet over the sink. My dad added a storage place on the other side of the sink by cutting through the sheetrock, putting in shelves and adding a door.

As a kid, you only know what you have, so it was just fine for the 5 kids who had to share it..

 

[HFWR]

Nothing new. I remember my grandparents had a two-holer...

 

[NYEXPAT]

If there is no bidet, then a double sink is mandatory!

 

[packrat44]

I have as much desire for 2 sinks in the same bathroom as I do for 2 commodes in the same bathroom. If 2 sinks are really needed to be used at the same time, walk a few feet to another bathroom.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

We've had double sinks in our master bath since 1980. I can't imagine being without that feature. When we bought our last house in 2010 we gutted the place and updated everything since it was built in 1991. Relative to bathrooms, one big change we made was to replace the cabinets to the new standard height. I just measured mine and they are 32" high to the top of the countertop. I think the old ones were probably 28".

Still, I always use the guest bath as it is more convenient for me. I even used the shower in the guest bath since it eliminated me wiping down the glass walls of the shower in the master bath. Then we got smart and renovated the master bath shower area. Got rid of the garden tub and glass enclosed shower and made a walk in shower. So neat. No scrubbing or wiping down of glass walls. It's all tile and I now use this shower exclusively. Love it! I remember posting this with photos back in September.

 

[foxfirev5]

After several homes we definitely went with a single sink and more counter space in our master bath. We were able to put additional drawers in the cabinets for more storage. And yes we can both brush our teeth at the same time.
Likewise I don't see the advantages of granite countertops. We had old stone tops for our cabinets when I was a kid. They stained and were a pain in the neck.
Like my dad said when we were building our first house with cedar siding - "what, can't you afford maintenance free aluminum?"
Form follows function not that latest fad.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

Well, if you are going to go back THAT far... the first bath that I used was when I was a kid... it also was pink tile on the floor and walls, but white sink, tub and toilet. The sink did not have legs, but hung on the wall.... we had a small medicine cabinet over the sink. My dad added a storage place on the other side of the sink by cutting through the sheetrock, putting in shelves and adding a door.

As a kid, you only know what you have, so it was just fine for the 5 kids who had to share it..

Texas Proud, I'm going to do you one better going THAT far back. When I was a kid our bathroom consisted of a sink and a toilet. No built in tub. Twice a week mom would bring in the Wheeling galvanized wash tub and set it in the middle of the bathroom. Then haul hot water from the basement to fill the tub. I'd get my bath, then mom and then dad in the same tub. Just keep dumping water out back and bringing up more from the basement. Looking back, that was a hell of a lot of work. No wonder we didn't get a full bath every day. On the "off" days we took what dad called "cat baths". You just washed up the best you could out of the sink including lifting up your feet into the sink. I think it was 1946 when dad "modernized" the bathroom and we got a built in tub. It was right after the war and I was about 10 years old. Were these the good old days?

 

[Katsmeow]

When I was a kid our bathroom consisted of a sink and a toilet. No built in tub. Twice a week mom would bring in the Wheeling galvanized wash tub and set it in the middle of the bathroom. Then haul hot water from the basement to fill the tub. I'd get my bath, then mom and then dad in the same tub. Just keep dumping water out back and bringing up more from the basement. Looking back, that was a hell of a lot of work.

Reminds me of visiting my grandparents in the early-1960s. Not only did they not have a tub, they had no toilet in the house. They had an outhouse
We would take baths in the kitchen in the big wash tub (they would heat water up on the stove...they did have a sink in the kitchen but the house had no bathroom). Needless to say I didn't particularly enjoy having to spend a week at their house.... (they also had no phone but that paled in significance to the lack of a bathroom).

 

[haha]

Reminds me of visiting my grandparents in the early-1960s. Not only did they not have a tub, they had no toilet in the house. They had an outhouse
We would take baths in the kitchen in the big wash tub (they would heat water up on the stove...they did have a sink in the kitchen but the house had no bathroom). Needless to say I didn't particularly enjoy having to spend a week at their house.... (they also had no phone but that paled in significance to the lack of a bathroom).

My maternal GPs were the same. Can't say I minded being free from being chased into the bathtub every evening. I loved to spend time out there on the farm. There was no electricity either. They used kerosene lights (called coal oil back then, or more like "call earl"). I remember back in the 60s being in villages or farms in Mexico which were the same, when it got dark, it was dark! I loved it.

Ha

 

[JOHNNIE36]

Just read an article about the "old days" wheere taking a bath was an adventure. The article said that back when, the father as head of the household, got his bath first, then the wife and then the kids in decending order of age. The baby was the last. Guess they didn't change the water much like my folks did and by the time the baby was finished, the water was pretty bad. Hence the old saying, "don't throw the baby out with the bath water".

 

[ERD50]

My maternal GPs were the same. Can't say I minded being free from being chased into the bathtub every evening. I loved to spend time out there on the farm. There was no electricity either. They used kerosene lights (called coal oil back then, or more like "call earl"). I remember back in the 60s being in villages or farms in Mexico which were the same, when it got dark, it was dark! I loved it.

Ha

We spent one summer with an outhouse as our house was being built (I was ~ 9 YO). I survived, can't say I enjoyed it. We did have electricity though.


I came across this a few years ago - imagine the effort (over 2 hours/day, a 15 step process each day) just to have refrigerated food!

IcyBall Operations Manual


Crosley IcyBall


-ERD50

 

[Lisa99]

Two sinks and separate closets are a must in our master bath for marital harmony. DH is a slob and with his sink and closet on the other side of the room I can deal with it.

 

[BigMoneyJim]

Many years ago my granddad was telling us about sharing bathwater and sink washwater, and my brother observed that today we insist on fresh clean water to pee in.

(If I recall correctly, Nords has/had solar-heated fresh water to pee in.)

 

[Major Tom]

Many years ago my granddad was telling us about sharing bathwater and sink washwater, and my brother observed that today we insist on fresh clean water to pee in.

My family in the UK leave the toilet unflushed if we've only been using it for #1's, in order to save water. If guests come round, we temporarily suspend the habit until they've gone. I do the same thing in my place. My SO finds it a bit off-putting, so I don't do it when she's here. She had used to think that I was merely being lazy, until I explained to her that it was in order to use the water more wisely. She still thinks it's a bit distasteful, but I see it as a practical measure.

 

[haha]

My SO finds it a bit off-putting, so I don't do it when she's here. She had used to think that I was merely being lazy, until I explained to her that it was in order to use the water more wisely. She still thinks it's a bit distasteful, but I see it as a practical measure.

Cheaper to pay a water bill than to find another girlfriend. Also more certain. Consider trying flush after use method. I have water with my condo fee, so if I don't use it somebody else will.

Ha

 

[Major Tom]

Cheaper to pay a water bill than to find another girlfriend. Also more certain. Consider trying flush after use method. I have water with my condo fee, so if I don't use it somebody else will.

Ha

I don't do it to save money (it wouldn't save me anything anyway), but to conserve water. In other words, for the greater good - same reason my family in the UK do it.

My LBYM habits are fairly well-developed, but I'm not that cheap

 

[haha]

I don't do it to save money (it wouldn't save me anything anyway), but to conserve water. In other words, for the greater good - same reason my family in the UK do it.

My LBYM habits are fairly well-developed, but I'm not that cheap

I see. I didn't think of that because there is water everywhere where I live.

Ha

 

[NW-Bound]

...even with double sinks, we NEVER used the 2nd one...

My wife does not want us to use both sinks in the master bath. Too many to clean, she says. I don't care either way, and so she has her way.

If nothing else, it provides a "backup" sink to use when one of them is leaky or clogged.

Yep. When one started to leak, I shut off that side, and we have been using the other one, until I have the time to fix the faucet.

It's been more than 10 years now, I think.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

My family in the UK leave the toilet unflushed if we've only been using it for #1's, in order to save water. If guests come round, we temporarily suspend the habit until they've gone. I do the same thing in my place. My SO finds it a bit off-putting, so I don't do it when she's here. She had used to think that I was merely being lazy, until I explained to her that it was in order to use the water more wisely. She still thinks it's a bit distasteful, but I see it as a practical measure.

When I lived in Ft. Myers, FL in the 90's the neighboring community of Cape Coral was having a water problem and had a contest for a slogan that could inspire water conservation. The winner was: "If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down"

 

[Nords]

(If I recall correctly, Nords has/had solar-heated fresh water to pee in.)

The toilet seat is so comfy on cold mornings!

20 years ago my Dad's church did some major renovations, which did not go well. When they finally opened for services again, one of the women noted that the ladies' room lacked hot water. It was the pits of winter so this was quite an annoyance. The plumber was non-responsive. Dad finally ended up troubleshooting the water heater, replaced a bad element, and turned it on. It started making hot water, so he called it "fixed".

Next week there was quite a buzz among the ladies, and lots of traffic in the ladies' room. When the reverend announced that the water heater was working again there was actually laughter and scattered applause-- from the women. Dad mentioned that he'd never had so many women so grateful to him just for fixing a water heater.

Dad's a widower, so it was a few weeks before the word filtered back to him. It turned out that the plumber had incorrectly reconnected the bathroom water piping, and when he fixed the water heater then the toilet in the ladies' room was flushing with hot water. Between the cold porcelain and the hot water, the stall temperature was "just right"-- and apparently the flushes were worth watching.

The church ended up leaving it that way until the weather warmed up.

 

[Sirka]

use recirculating pump to get hot water..

"If it's yellow, let it mellow."

We adopted similar procedure after moving to So Cal. There is a on going water shortage here, even though our new governor declared it was over last year. Well, maybe that is why we had NO snow this winter.
Anyway, If you flush every other time, you save 50 % of water. So that works for us.
We also use recirculating pump to get hot water to the shower and the 2 sinks. Just push the button and wait a few sec., while the not so warm water circulates back to the water heat; and wallah, water is nice and hot. It saves water and time. Is any one else using it?

 

[Chuckanut]

I live in a house with one bathroom for three bedrooms. The addition on on extra sink area in the corner of the master bedroom has made all the difference. Especially when all the others in the house are females!!!