The architect explained why a window was needed between the toilet and the kitchen: it was the key to survival
The window between the toilet and the kitchen is the most mysterious part of the old architecture. Residents of Khrushchev and DOS buildings are still perplexed as to who needed to do it and why. But experts have a very simple explanation.
Why a window between the bathroom and kitchen - folk versions
Trying to somehow explain to themselves the presence of such a window in an apartment, people came up with various versions. Here are the most popular ones:
Gas explosion
The presence of a window between the kitchen and the bathroom or a combined bathroom is explained in different ways. Most citizens are inclined to consider the truthful version that is associated with a gas explosion - they say that the shock wave will knock out the frame, and the wall will remain intact and unharmed. But if such a trick could really save the house from destruction, this window would still remain part of architectural projects. We see the opposite picture - it cannot be found in any of the new buildings. Moreover, such window openings began to be made back in the days of Tsar Nicholas II, although general gasification of multi-storey residential buildings began only in the 60s of the last century.
Emergency access to the premises
Another common version is that if a person, while in the bathroom or toilet, suddenly feels unwell, you can get into a locked room through the window and help him. However, there are even more inconsistencies here:
- Firstly, the window is located too high to make it convenient to climb into the bathroom.If you can still put a stepladder on the kitchen side or move a table to the wall, then in the bathroom you will simply have to jump down, risking injury to yourself or someone who is already in the bathroom.
- Secondly, it does not open, which means you will have to spend extra time removing the frame. In addition, not everyone has sufficient skills and physical strength to pull off such a trick. Breaking the glass is also not an option, because the fragments will fly apart and can injure both the one who is in the bathroom and the one who is trying to get in there. It is much easier to install a locking device on the door, which can be opened from the outside if necessary.
Expert answer
As the architects say, there are two reasons for the appearance of a window in the wall between the bathroom and the kitchen. Moreover, they are in no way connected with each other and are significantly “separated” in time.
Simplifying your life
Multi-storey buildings were not always equipped with those household amenities that we take for granted. There was no running water - you had to go to a well or pump for water, there was no restroom - the common area was located somewhere in the yard, there was no gas - food was cooked on a primus stove. And there was no electricity yet. In order to somehow illuminate a dark room, it was necessary to light a candle or kerosene lamp.
At the same time, the only dark room in the apartment where sunlight did not penetrate was the bathroom - to wash themselves, people were forced to use candles or kerosene stoves even during daylight hours. But here another problem arose - the lack of normal ventilation. The bathroom quickly filled with soot and fumes, which could cause problems with breathing and the functioning of the cardiovascular system.
Many deaths could have been avoided by providing natural light in the bathroom. It was for this purpose that in tsarist times a small window was designed in the walls between the bathroom and the kitchen. Not much sunlight penetrated through it, but there was enough of it for a person to navigate the space around him.
Fighting tuberculosis
In the middle of the last century, the problem with lighting still persisted - there were frequent interruptions in the supply of electricity. In addition, after the war, a tuberculosis epidemic began, and the government took all possible measures to stop it. Therefore, building codes appeared requiring the presence of windows in bathrooms or combined bathrooms - this way sunlight could enter rooms with high humidity and low temperature, thereby disinfecting the air and killing Koch's bacillus (mycobacterium that causes tuberculosis).
Even if something from the past seems stupid, ridiculous and useless, rest assured that it will have a story that will completely change your attitude towards this subject. The same thing happened with the window between the toilet and the kitchen - at one time this simple architectural solution helped save millions of lives.
I agree, for additional lighting and saving energy: there is no need to turn on the lights there during the day. Very convenient in provincial towns, where power outages are not uncommon.
This is the first time I've heard about the first versions. But you don’t even have to think about lighting. Tuberculosis is also news to me!☺
About tuberculosis it is very doubtful. First of all, it is not just sunlight that has a disinfecting effect, but its UV component, which is not there in the depths of the kitchen, especially if it is not direct light (and in 99.9999% of cases it is not direct). And the last nail in the coffin of this version is that UV does not penetrate through glass. In general, to assume that what reaches the bathroom through this window can dry out something there, such as mold or disinfect Koch’s bacillus, you need to have a very developed imagination :-))))
Modern bathrooms and bathrooms have no windows. But the material is mainly plastic panels.Dry and light, a little earlier, 20-30 years ago, those who sealed the windows, and the walls remained separated by tiles and plaster, quickly developed black mold. After restoring the window, the problem disappeared. The conclusion is up to you.
mold appeared apparently in those whose hoods were sealed “to keep cockroaches out.” If the mirror fogs up, install a forced exhaust and there will be no mold.
How to relieve yourself comfortably in a toilet with a window when someone is sitting in the kitchen. That's the whole answer. Kitchens are 5 square meters and the ceiling is 2.65 there..
The toilet was not made adjacent to the kitchen; a bathtub is adjacent to the kitchen, and the toilet is located behind it. In any case, this is how it was in our apartment built in 1957 (“Stalinka”)
Stalinka 1958 in St. Petersburg. The toilet is adjacent to the kitchen. There was a window, but during recent renovations it was destroyed. They sewed it up, leveled it, and now it’s a normal wall.
And in my private house, the window in the bathroom facing the street is broken, and there is light, and you can check
I wonder how sunlight could soak Kok's stick, if the glass cuts off the ultraviolet component that can soak any stick.
Well, at least someone is on topic ;-)
A window is needed for light.
There was no window in my bathroom. Black mold really liked this. The fan didn't help. It was possible to remove the mold only by cutting through the window.
I saw an option with a small window onto the street
And we had windows into the bathroom and further into the toilet - very convenient, you don’t have to turn on the lights during the day. We even increased them during the renovation. And the fact that there are people in the kitchen, they’re their own people, just think, they’ll hear splashing in the bathroom, it’s no good
I built a house for myself - I made a small window in the bathroom overlooking the street - in case of a power outage.
Well, damn it, according to the standards of sanitary regulations for insolation, this window has appeared.
This window was made to save lives in case of fire. Geyser in the bathroom and gas in the kitchen. Through such a window from the toilet to the bathroom, my mother saved my brother’s life (although it was high, she transported it by breaking the glass)
And how did it save?
Why go anywhere? Would your brother be locked in the closet or locked in the bathroom with the heater? Or in the kitchen with gas? Your story is crazy or your narrator is so-so.
What's the logic?
It’s also strange that the water heater is not in the kitchen, like most people’s, where the gas itself is. Take gas pipes to the bathroom.. Does the column have piezo ignition? There is a hood in the kitchen and also in the bathroom for the column separately and for humid air separately.. Of course you made a lot of things there..