Shower facts for kids
A shower is a place where people wash themselves. They stand under a spray of warm or hot water. Inside a home, a shower usually has a drain in the floor. Most showers let you control the water temperature and how strong the spray is. You can also adjust the showerhead.
Some showers have a simple nozzle that points down. More complex showers have a showerhead attached to a hose. This hose lets you hold the showerhead in your hand. You can then spray water on different parts of your body. A shower can be in a small shower stall. It can also be in a bathtub with a curtain or door.
Showering is very common in many parts of the world. It uses less water than taking a bath. A shower uses about 80 liters of water. A bath uses about 150 liters. This makes showering a good choice for daily cleanliness.
History of Showers
The very first "showers" were not built by people. They were natural waterfalls. People would stand under the falling water to get clean. This was easier than washing in a basin. A basin needed fresh water carried in and dirty water carried out.
Ancient people started to copy waterfalls. They would pour jugs of water over themselves after washing. This water was often very cold.
Early Indoor Showers
Some rich people in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia had indoor shower rooms. Servants would bathe them in private. But these showers were very basic. They had simple drains. Water was carried into the room, not pumped.
The ancient Greeks were the first to have advanced showers. They built aqueducts and sewage systems. These systems used lead pipes. They could pump water into and out of large shower rooms. Both rich and ordinary people used these communal showers.
These ancient Greek shower rooms have been found. One example is at the city of Pergamum. Pictures of these showers are also on old pottery. They look a lot like modern locker room showers. They even had bars for hanging clothes.
The ancient Romans also had showers. Their famous bathhouses, called Thermae, were all over the Mediterranean. You can even find them in modern-day England. Romans loved bathing often, sometimes every day. After the Roman Empire fell, these water and sewage systems stopped being used.
Images for kids
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A public shower room.
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A rib shower.
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A Brazilian electric shower.
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Repairing damaged tile in a shower stall with a caulking gun.
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Shower repair showing drain piping with a trap.
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This diverter valve mixes hot and cold water.
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A bathtub curtain.
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A shower curtain.
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A raisable shower door.
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A bathtub door.
See also
In Spanish: Ducha para niños
