Water heater collection of Larry Weingarten from around the world. Source - Wikimedia

 

A hard day's work deserves a warm shower in the evening or  sauna treatment at a luxury spa. Its the easiest way to remove tiredness and become fresh. But do we have any idea how our ancestors used to deal with the luxury of spa to remove tiredness?!

Before the introduction of electricity in late 19th century in India, the richer lot which included the royal families, aristocracies, nobility and upper class educated families depended on manual heating of water for day to day bathing especially in winter and in certain parts of north India. It was after the arrival of Europeans that the habit of using hot water round the year got ingrained in India. 

Originally electric water heaters was invented by an English painter Benjamin Waddy Maughan in 1868 in England known as geysers, but it was the modified version of Maughan made by a Norwegian mechanical engineer named Edwin Ruud in 1889 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in U.S.A. The Ruud Manufacturing Company is still active today making water heaters inclusive of water storage model.

From 1889 onwards, when electric water heaters started producing commercially in Europe, England and in America due to harsh winters over there, rich Indian families starting from the royalties started importing these electric water heaters from outside India due to colonial English influence and exposure. Here in the photo, we can see an antique electric water heater of water storage model in the bathroom of the ladies wing of the Rajmandir Palace of erstwhile Panna royal family in Panna, Madhya Pradesh, India.

From the time of Great Bath of indus Valley civilization, till  today's abundant supply of luxury spas and the ancient bath chambers or hammams, electric water heaters were the first bathing luxury after the start of the industrial revolution which is still continuing today.