Just to point out that floor drains
Didn't or don't always translate into dry wash days. *LOL*
Didn't or don't always translate into dry wash days. *LOL*
Floor drains
- Thread starter thomasortega
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philr
Well-known member
My sister lives part time in Brazil and told me she had a floor drain even in the kitchen in her appartment! The only kitchens I have seen here with a floor drain are those in restaurants!
I have one in my basement which is close to the boiler and water heater and I have one in my garage but that's the only two places you can expect to see this in houses around here.
My sister also told me that in Brazil, you're not expected to throw toilet paper in the toilet as it could cause some plumbing issues. I don't know if that's true everywhere in Brazil but to North Americans, that's weird and this is something I couldn't adapt to!
Other things like heated shower heads are things I wouldn't have thought existed if she had not told me about them (she had a regular water heater and hot water at the tap at her home). I get that cold water isn't near as cold as here.
I have one in my basement which is close to the boiler and water heater and I have one in my garage but that's the only two places you can expect to see this in houses around here.
My sister also told me that in Brazil, you're not expected to throw toilet paper in the toilet as it could cause some plumbing issues. I don't know if that's true everywhere in Brazil but to North Americans, that's weird and this is something I couldn't adapt to!
Other things like heated shower heads are things I wouldn't have thought existed if she had not told me about them (she had a regular water heater and hot water at the tap at her home). I get that cold water isn't near as cold as here.
Yes, floor drains are extremely normal in kitchens, bathrooms (usually next to the toilet), balconies in apartments (can you imagine somebody washing the balcony floor on the 30th floor and the water falling outside? Nah, nasty).
I don't understand the "electric" showerheads until today. There are dozens od models, from the cheapest one (usually bought by very poor people or installed in those government housing program to high end models that are extremely fancy.
The only advantage i can see is reducing the construction cost, as the house doesn't have a water heater and there is only the cold pipe running througout the house. The shower has only one simple valve.
Low end showerhead models usually have 5500W power and a selector with three positions: off, 50% and 100%.
DUring the summer, you can keep it at 50% and it will be ok, and save some electricity. During the winter the water is colder so 100% is required.
The fine adjustment on temperature is made by opening more or less the tap. The less you open, the hotter it gets.
As they don't have enough power, during very cold winters you need to open the tap barely enough to give pressure to turn the showerhead on. Otherwise you'll have a cold shower LOL.
High end models have more powerful heating elements (7500W to 12.000 W) and some of them have an electronic selector, almost like a dimmer. Some also have built in pressurizing pumps.
With those you can have extremely hot showers with plenty of water.
The only thing i miss about the Lorenzetti Jet Master Shielded with pump i had in my bathroom in Brazil was the water pressure and volume. It has absolutely nothing to do with those ridiculous Eco-Nazi showerheads here in the US.
I like to shower with water, real water, lots of water. Not with a waterpik.
I'm very hairy, all over my body (except the head as I'm bald) Think of a pain to rinse using an american drip counter showerhead. The brazilian showerhead looks like i'm showering with a fire hose.
Now back to the floor drains in the kitchen, It's impossible NOT to love them.
Of course we don't wash the kitchen floors every day, we use mops and now even swiffer, just like in the US. But everybody knows it's not the same as really washing, with water, lots of water, scrubbing with suds and then rinsing and seeing all the dirt going down the drain.
When i bought my apartment it was still under construction and one of my requirements was that all the floors were slightly slant to the floor drains. I chose all the furniture with tall feet so once in a while, i could literally use a garden hose and wash all the floors and the water would flow straight to the drains. I never had to use a squeegee to push the water. The only thing i had to lift were the small area rug in the living and the dining room and the small mats next to the bed.
And when you have hi gloss procelanatto (i regret so much i chose that because women wearing skirt would always be embarrassed as the floor was like a mirror), you soon discover it's impossible to keep it perfectly clean and with no marks using only mops.
Other reason i HATED the floor i chose was that even a single eyelash on the floor would look like it had a giant neon arrow blinking and it would be screaming "look, I'm here".
If I spent 2 days without vacuuming and mopping the floor, it looked like the apartment was abandoned for a decade and sooner or later I would see a tumbleweed rolling in the living room, so nasty and dirty the floor was.
I don't understand the "electric" showerheads until today. There are dozens od models, from the cheapest one (usually bought by very poor people or installed in those government housing program to high end models that are extremely fancy.
The only advantage i can see is reducing the construction cost, as the house doesn't have a water heater and there is only the cold pipe running througout the house. The shower has only one simple valve.
Low end showerhead models usually have 5500W power and a selector with three positions: off, 50% and 100%.
DUring the summer, you can keep it at 50% and it will be ok, and save some electricity. During the winter the water is colder so 100% is required.
The fine adjustment on temperature is made by opening more or less the tap. The less you open, the hotter it gets.
As they don't have enough power, during very cold winters you need to open the tap barely enough to give pressure to turn the showerhead on. Otherwise you'll have a cold shower LOL.
High end models have more powerful heating elements (7500W to 12.000 W) and some of them have an electronic selector, almost like a dimmer. Some also have built in pressurizing pumps.
With those you can have extremely hot showers with plenty of water.
The only thing i miss about the Lorenzetti Jet Master Shielded with pump i had in my bathroom in Brazil was the water pressure and volume. It has absolutely nothing to do with those ridiculous Eco-Nazi showerheads here in the US.
I like to shower with water, real water, lots of water. Not with a waterpik.
I'm very hairy, all over my body (except the head as I'm bald) Think of a pain to rinse using an american drip counter showerhead. The brazilian showerhead looks like i'm showering with a fire hose.
Now back to the floor drains in the kitchen, It's impossible NOT to love them.
Of course we don't wash the kitchen floors every day, we use mops and now even swiffer, just like in the US. But everybody knows it's not the same as really washing, with water, lots of water, scrubbing with suds and then rinsing and seeing all the dirt going down the drain.
When i bought my apartment it was still under construction and one of my requirements was that all the floors were slightly slant to the floor drains. I chose all the furniture with tall feet so once in a while, i could literally use a garden hose and wash all the floors and the water would flow straight to the drains. I never had to use a squeegee to push the water. The only thing i had to lift were the small area rug in the living and the dining room and the small mats next to the bed.
And when you have hi gloss procelanatto (i regret so much i chose that because women wearing skirt would always be embarrassed as the floor was like a mirror), you soon discover it's impossible to keep it perfectly clean and with no marks using only mops.
Other reason i HATED the floor i chose was that even a single eyelash on the floor would look like it had a giant neon arrow blinking and it would be screaming "look, I'm here".
If I spent 2 days without vacuuming and mopping the floor, it looked like the apartment was abandoned for a decade and sooner or later I would see a tumbleweed rolling in the living room, so nasty and dirty the floor was.
philr
Well-known member
Another thing that apparently isn't popular in Brazil is bathtubs. My sister's husband who's from Brazil told me he didn't think it was an appropriate way to wash ourselves in a bath! I told him I almost always take my bath but then I either fill it again with clean water to rinse myself or rinse with the shower!
BTW, there used to be a time when water saving wasn't a concern and our sinks didn't have areators and our showers were not as restricted! I just replaced the crappy water saving shower I had in my basement with a slightly older one that throws some water! I think taking a shower now uses more water than taking a bath but since I seldom use it, it's not a concern to me! I did the same with 3 faucets that I replaced with old ones without aerators. Now there's plenty of water coming out and it doesn't take a minute before I get hot water! I still need to replace the one in my kitchen one with an older faucet.
About floor drains, I guess since most homes have their kitchen and bathrooms on a wood floor here, that's another reason why having a floor drain would require a lot of sealing work... Even my laundry room that's behind my garage at ground level has a wood floor a few inches above the concrete slab and it's the same for most of my basement. The ceramic tiles aren't directly over the concrete. Instead of drains, there are 3 power outlets in the floor of my basement. I'm wondering what would happen if it gets flooded as I have to walk across that room to shut off the breakers. I have a few other reasons to wish it never happens!
I noticed that refrigerators in Brazil are often raised on tall legs (as seen on the last two pics), I guess it's to avoid that the bottom part rusts because of water on the floor? I've never seen such a thing here or in the US.
BTW, there used to be a time when water saving wasn't a concern and our sinks didn't have areators and our showers were not as restricted! I just replaced the crappy water saving shower I had in my basement with a slightly older one that throws some water! I think taking a shower now uses more water than taking a bath but since I seldom use it, it's not a concern to me! I did the same with 3 faucets that I replaced with old ones without aerators. Now there's plenty of water coming out and it doesn't take a minute before I get hot water! I still need to replace the one in my kitchen one with an older faucet.
About floor drains, I guess since most homes have their kitchen and bathrooms on a wood floor here, that's another reason why having a floor drain would require a lot of sealing work... Even my laundry room that's behind my garage at ground level has a wood floor a few inches above the concrete slab and it's the same for most of my basement. The ceramic tiles aren't directly over the concrete. Instead of drains, there are 3 power outlets in the floor of my basement. I'm wondering what would happen if it gets flooded as I have to walk across that room to shut off the breakers. I have a few other reasons to wish it never happens!
I noticed that refrigerators in Brazil are often raised on tall legs (as seen on the last two pics), I guess it's to avoid that the bottom part rusts because of water on the floor? I've never seen such a thing here or in the US.
Yep,. Bathtubs are not very popular in Brazil, except on more higher end houses and apartments (usually a giant jacuzzi in the master bathroom) and most people first dream about having a bathtub then after they have it for some time, usually using it as a giant laundry hamper, they dream about getting rid of "that darn think that nobody uses and is a pain to keep clean".
Well, needless to say MY bathtub was probably the most used bathtub in Brazil. During the summer i use to take 5 baths per day, and also keep it full with plain cold water for a 2 minute dip every hour or so, only to cool down my "internal radiator" LOL
_____
Those feet you see (main character on many jokes about being poor, by the way) were popular in the 70's and 80's.
They are actually rollers to easily move the fridge or the stove to clean under it.
A few years later, manufacturers started to use that american style nut with a round nylon cap, so one could easily drag the appliance on ceramic floors without scratching it.
More recently, about 15 years ago, most manufacturers started to make the appliances with high bottoms and a plastic skirt on the front, so to clean the floor under it was super easy, just pull the skirt, clean, and put the skit back and rollers just like many american fridges.
Howadays nearly all fridges in Brazil have this high bottom. BOL models you can see a huge gap and high end models have a removable plastic skirt.
In the 60's or 70's, I don't remember what manufacturer did something quite interesting, if i'm not mistaken it was GE. The fridge had some sort of flexible skirt that you could connect a vacuum cleaner and it would float just like a hoover constellation and one could drag the fridge literally with one finger.
The average housewife in Brazil drags the fridge and the stove at least once every two weeks to clean under them. More often if they are one of those "proud housewifes". Attachments like that under appliance want would be seen as a joke in Brazil. I can even iamgine housewives sayign "What? just vacuum? No washing? Yuck! This is for lazy women that have nasty kitchen and probably clean the bathroom with a spray and paper towel."
To understand that better, we also have to understand many family structures in Brazil are just like in the USA 100 years ago. The old school sexist thing. The man works, the woman stays home cleaning and cooking, the house must be MORE-THAN-IMPECABLE when the man arrives from work. Incredibly, dishwashers are not so popular in Brazil as they are here because of the stigma "if I have a dishwasher, my friends and relatives will think i'm a lazy woman or I'm not "woman enough".
Unfortunately there is also that culture" man work, woman work". A man doing laundry will always trigger stupid homophobic jokes like "Are you a faggot? this is momen's work!"
Women cook, do laundry, iron, take care of the kids, and if they drive is to take the kids to school or to go to the supermarket. Men work outside, fix things, should have no idea how to turn on a washing machine or a vacuum cleaner or know the difference between a broom, a mop or a squeegee. Men should never dare to cook (that's a women's work), but man must make the barbecue while women make salads and desserts. Women doing barbecure triggers the "is she a truck driver lesbian?" stupid jokes.
My mom bought a KA dishwasher here in the us and took it to brazil in 1964, more than a decade before the very first dishwasher (Brastemp) was released in Brazilian market.
Since then, we never lived without a dishwasher and until recently, visitors would see the dishwasher in the kitchen and say "Do you have health issues? injuries in your arms or you're just lazy? Yuck, i bet this thing doesn't clean as well as hand washing. If you invite me for dinner, please have the decency to wash the dishes properly by hand because i can't trust eating on dishes washed by that crappy machine made for lazy women."
Well, needless to say MY bathtub was probably the most used bathtub in Brazil. During the summer i use to take 5 baths per day, and also keep it full with plain cold water for a 2 minute dip every hour or so, only to cool down my "internal radiator" LOL
_____
Those feet you see (main character on many jokes about being poor, by the way) were popular in the 70's and 80's.
They are actually rollers to easily move the fridge or the stove to clean under it.
A few years later, manufacturers started to use that american style nut with a round nylon cap, so one could easily drag the appliance on ceramic floors without scratching it.
More recently, about 15 years ago, most manufacturers started to make the appliances with high bottoms and a plastic skirt on the front, so to clean the floor under it was super easy, just pull the skirt, clean, and put the skit back and rollers just like many american fridges.
Howadays nearly all fridges in Brazil have this high bottom. BOL models you can see a huge gap and high end models have a removable plastic skirt.
In the 60's or 70's, I don't remember what manufacturer did something quite interesting, if i'm not mistaken it was GE. The fridge had some sort of flexible skirt that you could connect a vacuum cleaner and it would float just like a hoover constellation and one could drag the fridge literally with one finger.
The average housewife in Brazil drags the fridge and the stove at least once every two weeks to clean under them. More often if they are one of those "proud housewifes". Attachments like that under appliance want would be seen as a joke in Brazil. I can even iamgine housewives sayign "What? just vacuum? No washing? Yuck! This is for lazy women that have nasty kitchen and probably clean the bathroom with a spray and paper towel."
To understand that better, we also have to understand many family structures in Brazil are just like in the USA 100 years ago. The old school sexist thing. The man works, the woman stays home cleaning and cooking, the house must be MORE-THAN-IMPECABLE when the man arrives from work. Incredibly, dishwashers are not so popular in Brazil as they are here because of the stigma "if I have a dishwasher, my friends and relatives will think i'm a lazy woman or I'm not "woman enough".
Unfortunately there is also that culture" man work, woman work". A man doing laundry will always trigger stupid homophobic jokes like "Are you a faggot? this is momen's work!"
Women cook, do laundry, iron, take care of the kids, and if they drive is to take the kids to school or to go to the supermarket. Men work outside, fix things, should have no idea how to turn on a washing machine or a vacuum cleaner or know the difference between a broom, a mop or a squeegee. Men should never dare to cook (that's a women's work), but man must make the barbecue while women make salads and desserts. Women doing barbecure triggers the "is she a truck driver lesbian?" stupid jokes.
My mom bought a KA dishwasher here in the us and took it to brazil in 1964, more than a decade before the very first dishwasher (Brastemp) was released in Brazilian market.
Since then, we never lived without a dishwasher and until recently, visitors would see the dishwasher in the kitchen and say "Do you have health issues? injuries in your arms or you're just lazy? Yuck, i bet this thing doesn't clean as well as hand washing. If you invite me for dinner, please have the decency to wash the dishes properly by hand because i can't trust eating on dishes washed by that crappy machine made for lazy women."
philr
Well-known member
The refrigerators which could be moved with the blower from a vacuum cleaner were GM Frigidaire. It was marketed as a Canadian invention for 1965 models and US models had it the next year in 1966. In Canada, they even got portable dishwashers with a built-in blower motor and that Ride-Aire feature.
You say this was also available in Brazil?
See the link below for more info.
http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?56464
You say this was also available in Brazil?
See the link below for more info.
http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?56464
philr
Well-known member
And another picture here:
http://www.automaticwasher.org/TD/JPEG/BASKET/2014/20140721/philr-2014072118471803437_1.jpg
http://www.automaticwasher.org/TD/JPEG/BASKET/2014/20140721/philr-2014072118471803437_1.jpg
" Didn't or don't always translate into dry wash days. *LOL* "
Well, not when you're using an array of obsolete labor intensive laundry devices... so much easier with modern fully automatic washers hooked up to hot and cold water and a functional drain standpipe.
"electric shower heads"
Well, I really could have used one of those a few weeks ago when my water heater was on the fritz. On the other hand, I wonder how many people have been electrocuted by malfunctioning electric shower heads.
High bottom fridges
Reminds me of visiting some friends living in Hawaii a few decades ago. In the course of conversation they offered up that fridge in Hawaii don't last very long, because of the humidity. They tend to rust out. I imagine parts of Brazil might also be rather humid.
Well, not when you're using an array of obsolete labor intensive laundry devices... so much easier with modern fully automatic washers hooked up to hot and cold water and a functional drain standpipe.
"electric shower heads"
Well, I really could have used one of those a few weeks ago when my water heater was on the fritz. On the other hand, I wonder how many people have been electrocuted by malfunctioning electric shower heads.
High bottom fridges
Reminds me of visiting some friends living in Hawaii a few decades ago. In the course of conversation they offered up that fridge in Hawaii don't last very long, because of the humidity. They tend to rust out. I imagine parts of Brazil might also be rather humid.
Bingo! The fridge was frigidaire.
"On the other hand, I wonder how many people have been electrocuted by malfunctioning electric shower heads."
As far as I know, not even a single accident. Maybe with the first ones decades ago.The theory is like a mini electrical water heater.
How many people in the us were electrocuted by faulty electric water heaters?
Here in the us is kinda normal to see electric instant water heaters, usually installed under sinks.
"On the other hand, I wonder how many people have been electrocuted by malfunctioning electric shower heads."
As far as I know, not even a single accident. Maybe with the first ones decades ago.The theory is like a mini electrical water heater.
How many people in the us were electrocuted by faulty electric water heaters?
Here in the us is kinda normal to see electric instant water heaters, usually installed under sinks.
Back to the showerheads, now there are some fancy hybrid models. You select a temperature you want and it detects the inlet temperature.
Great if you have a solar system and don't want to run the backup heater in the tank.
When the water starts to arrive cold, because you used all the hot water in the tank, it gradually kicks in, so you can't notice any temperature difference
Great if you have a solar system and don't want to run the backup heater in the tank.
When the water starts to arrive cold, because you used all the hot water in the tank, it gradually kicks in, so you can't notice any temperature difference
In Australia you have to have floor drains in bathrooms and laundries. They either drain through the wall to the outside, they just have a little plastic flap on the outside or they are part of a wet drain. The rooms fixtures drain through the floor drain to keep the trap primed but it’s open to the floor in case of spillage.
The rooms are waterproofed with a fiberglass type sealant that goes over the blue board or concrete. You then tile over the top. They’re not designed here generally so you can hose the room out, but more so if you have a spill the water goes down the drain rather than through the house.
I’ve seen them in houses here as early as the 60s, but they only became a requirement in the 80s.
The rooms are waterproofed with a fiberglass type sealant that goes over the blue board or concrete. You then tile over the top. They’re not designed here generally so you can hose the room out, but more so if you have a spill the water goes down the drain rather than through the house.
I’ve seen them in houses here as early as the 60s, but they only became a requirement in the 80s.
I remember one of my cousins having a Frigidaire with the air-ride feature, as did my mom's friend Frances.
not all parts of Australia.....
Here in Victoria, floor drains in bathrooms and kitchens are not required, and are unusual. We didn't put one in when we built our house, but should have.....
A few days ago my partner put a few things into the LG front loader, didn't quite shut the door properly, put it on and went outside. Unfortunately the door lock cut off switch hasn't worked for years, I left it that way as I quite like being able to add something to the wash without waiting for the door to release.
I spent that evening vacuuming up the mess with a wet and dry vac. 3 full vacuum cleaner drums at 25 litres per drum, plus a bit more. I had to remove the kickboards under the cupboards in the laundry and kitchen. What a mess!!! The side panels of the cupboard in the laundry have swollen and will need to be replaced.
the door lock will be fixed soon...
Should have fitted a floor drain...
Here in Victoria, floor drains in bathrooms and kitchens are not required, and are unusual. We didn't put one in when we built our house, but should have.....
A few days ago my partner put a few things into the LG front loader, didn't quite shut the door properly, put it on and went outside. Unfortunately the door lock cut off switch hasn't worked for years, I left it that way as I quite like being able to add something to the wash without waiting for the door to release.
I spent that evening vacuuming up the mess with a wet and dry vac. 3 full vacuum cleaner drums at 25 litres per drum, plus a bit more. I had to remove the kickboards under the cupboards in the laundry and kitchen. What a mess!!! The side panels of the cupboard in the laundry have swollen and will need to be replaced.
the door lock will be fixed soon...
Should have fitted a floor drain...
