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Further Reading on Green Bathroom Renovation
Books
The Bathroom Alexander Kira
This is the single most important document explaining how we poo and pee, how our fixtures are so poorly designed; it's a must for anyone designing a bathroom.
The Japanese Bath by Bruce Smith and Yoshiko Yamamoto
Get down and dirty with this excellent guide for Westerners explaining the whys and wherefores of Japanese bathing from an American point of view:
"In the West, a bath is a place one goes to cleanse the body. In Japan, one goes there to cleanse the soul. Bathing in Japan is about much mor than cleanliness, though cleanliness is certainly important. It is about family and community -- the washing of each other's backs before bathing. It is also about being alone and contemplative, time to watch the moon rise above the garden. The idea of taking time and care with one's bath in Japan is as important as taking time and care with the cooking and serving of a meal. There is also a ritual to taking a Japanese bath, a prescribed order of rinsing, washing, and soaking that is passed down from one generation to the next. The Japanese Bath delves into the aesthetic of bathing Japanese style--the innate beauty of the steps surrounding the process along with sixty full-color illustrations of the light and airy baths themselves. A Zen meditation, the Japanese bath cleanses the soul, and one emerges refreshed, renewed, and serene."
Clean and Decent: The Fascinating History of the Bathroom and the Water-Closet
You'll get everything you wanted to know (and maybe more) in humorous review of the history of the toilet:
"Who would have supposed that the Romans had insulated hot water pipes? That Queen Elizabeth I had a valve water-closet? That Louis XIV had cushions in his bath? That sponges have sex? Clean and Decent, says the author, "is meant to entertain, even if scholarship does keep breaking through." Engrossing and amusing, this classic illustrated history of the bathroom and water-closet, first published in 1960, suggests that more may be learned about the past from lavatories than from battlefields."
Poop Culture: How America is Shaped by its Grossest National Product by Dave Praeger
This guide to poo is scatalogical and full of sh*t:
"The mastermind behind poopreport.com, first-time author Praeger takes a scatological and sociological look at what we so thoughtlessly leave behind. As the title might suggest, Praeger isn't one to mince words (his tone is captured well in the opening line, "With enviable ease, poop slid out of the mechanical anus and onto the conveyor belt below"), but neither does he let the subject matter devolve to sophomoric humor. Instead, Praeger meticulously excavates the politics of poop, societal attitudes toward it and how both affect our culture and everyday lives. Propelled by a keen nose for trivia, Praeger chronicles everything from the rise in epidemics that led to better sanitation practices, culminating in the widespread adoption of the toilet, to the use of feces in art. Readers will also learn about the history of toilet paper, why toilets weren't commonplace in England until World War I and how to use a bidet properly. Happily, Praeger keeps things light but respectful throughout, even in a discussion of scatological satire; as such, his enlightening guide may very well represent the ultimate in bathroom reading material."
Small Bathrooms/Petites Salles de Bains/Kleine Badezimmer edited by Simone Schleifer
Learn why smaller is better in this thorough guide.
Web resources:
K+BB Green, a blog for the green kitchen and bath design business.
Poop Culture, the blog to go along with Dave Praeger's book, listed above.
Other Articles of Interest
SCIENTIST AT WORK: CHARLES GERBA; On Germ Patrol, at the Kitchen Sink
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