During the Middle Ages, which lasted from about the 5th century to the late 15th century, people often did dirty things because they didn’t know much about medicine, there wasn’t much in the way of public health facilities, and people had different cultural norms. Here are some of the most obvious dirty habits: personal hygiene issues, trash disposal, dirty water sources, food storage and preparation, and other problems.
Did you know that in the Middle Ages, individuals used urine to treat bruises and cuts? Hygiene techniques evolve over time. What one age considers normal can appear unclean to subsequent generations. Typically, these adjustments are beneficial since they help to reduce preventable diseases. The medieval age wasn’t known for cleanliness. Let’s look at some of the dirty habits from that time.
1. They utilized urine to cure wounds
In olden days, people also used urine for bruises and open wounds. However, utilizing urine in this manner has some drawbacks. Urine is not totally clean and contains bacteria that develop more when stored for an extended period of time. Using stored urine on wounds can cause infection. Fortunately, modern wound-cleaning medications have replaced the need to use urine. There are many interesting things to learn about medieval times. Even though their ways were not very clean, it’s amazing to see how much we have improved. However, we should no longer follow these outdated hygiene practices.
2. They weren’t constantly using soap.
Many folks did not wash their hands with soap. They may merely sprinkle some water on their hands and then dry them. When they used soap, they frequently did not scrub for the required 20 seconds. Even if your hands appear to be clean, they may still contain bacteria that cause illness.
3. They didn’t bathe frequently.
How many times a day do you shower? Most likely, your answer is more than what people did in the Middle Ages. In those days, people would wait a few days before taking a bath. It might seem strange now, but it wasn’t their fault. It wasn’t always easy to get water, so people couldn’t take baths very often. To wash, a lot of people went to lakes, streams, and rivers. For people who couldn’t swim well, this was very dangerous. That’s why people also went to public baths.
4. There was nothing weird about being naked in public.
In olden days, many cultures had public bathing. The Romans were known for having big bathhouses. Most people took baths in rivers and streams during the spring and summer. At that time, this wasn’t seen as bad or odd. To heat water, it took a long time and cost a lot of money. To save money and time, many people shared the bath water. But since people are still people, public bathing became linked to being sexual as well. Japan still has a practice of letting everyone bathe in hot springs. Men and women bathe separately, though, so it’s not common for people to meet and hook up in public baths.
5. Soap Was Made from Whatever People Had.
Today, soap is made from similar ingredients. In the olden days, people used many different things to make soap. Sometimes they used lime and soap. Other times, they combined wood ashes with lard or oil. They then formed the soap into cakes and bars, adding dried flowers and smells such as lavender. The quality and scent of soap varied according on one’s wealth. Unfortunately, some individuals manufactured soap with lye, which was so potent that it might harm the skin if scrubbed too vigorously. For those who couldn’t afford the ingredients, they substituted soapwort, a flower noted for its cleaning powers.
6. They used the same bath water.
You might not want to visit a bathhouse from medieval times. The warm bath would not feel so relaxing once you know where the water came from. To heat the water, they used wood. Since getting water wasn’t easy, once someone was done with their bath, the next person would use the same water without changing it. A few people would keep going like this. People would sometimes share the same bathroom at the same time. You won’t be using someone else’s bath water because modern bathhouses have plenty of clean water.
7. They utilized rivers as toilets.
If you ever return to medieval times, do not drink from the rivers. People used them as public toilets. There were no proper toilets or running water, so they had little options. Rich families had latrines, whilst others relied on rivers and lakes to discharge themselves. As you can expect, this contaminated the water soon. The majority of the water around was contaminated and unsafe to drink. So, what were people drinking? They avoided lakes and ponds because they would become sick. Instead, they consumed alcoholic beverages. Some writers in the 15th century even advised pregnant women to drink wine rather than water.
8. In addition to rivers, they used Cesspits as toilets.
Before there were toilets, people used cesspits, which were basically holes where they did their stuff. Sometimes these holes were near streams, allowing waste to flow away. However, these facilities were extremely nasty and unpleasant, similar to the dirty temporary toilets you often see. Rich people tried to have bigger and better bathrooms, but if they couldn’t use those, they’d use a pot and empty it later. It was all so gross that even kings and queens had people to help them. At night, workers called “Gong Farmers” would come and clean out the cesspits when they got too full, kind of like how we have people who clean septic tanks now.
9. Their houses did not have concrete floors.
They spread straw mixed with herbs on the ground. This lasted for a long time but was difficult to clean because dirt and moisture accumulated, making the house smell terrible. Furthermore, pests such as rats might easily hide in the straw. When the plague showed up, people desired better floors. Wood flooring gained popularity because they were easy to clean. People cover these hardwood flooring with rugs, animal hides, or carpets. Rich folks had floors made of clay or marble.
10. They emptied chamber pots on the streets.
In the past, people kept pots beside their beds to pee and poop at night. But what they did with it in the morning was very disgusting. They’d throw the items out their windows onto the streets below. If you were not careful when walking, you could get sprayed with nighttime urine. Some places even flung crap out their windows! Instead of face masks, they wore bags over their noses to block off the odors. They would place flowers in the bags to conceal the stench.
11. Teeth Were Cleaned with Twigs and Mallows
In ancient times, folks didn’t have dentists like we do now, but they still wanted their teeth to sparkle. However, they didn’t use toothbrushes. Instead, they grabbed twigs or hazel sticks wrapped in cloth and picked at their teeth and gums. Some even chewed on mallow to keep their teeth clean. Mint leaves, fennel, and anise seeds were also widely used to freshen breath. And guess what? They washed their lips with a solution of water and vinegar to eliminate germs!
