Vintage Hygiene Practices That Are the Very Opposite of Clean

People Used Pots as Toilets

Centuries ago, homes didn’t have bathrooms—so people kept chamber pots by their beds for nighttime emergencies. In the morning, they’d either dump the contents themselves or have a servant do it.

Though convenient, the stench was overwhelming, especially with pots of waste sitting in bedrooms all night. Hygiene standards were shockingly low, but this was just another part of everyday life.