{
"page": "indoor-plumbing-history-ohio.html",
"url": "https://www.openshowerco.com/indoor-plumbing-history-ohio.html",
"title": "How and when Ohio homes got indoor plumbing",
"record": "ohio-plumbing-water-sewer-wave-2026-09",
"generated": "2026-09-08",
"how_to_read": "Every sentence on the page traces to one of these claims. status \"verified\" means two independent publishers state it; \"single\" means one named publisher, named in the page's sentence; \"conflict\" means the documents disagree and the page prints both.",
"claims": [
{
"id": "C1",
"claim": "The Census Bureau's Historical Census of Housing Tables count a home as having complete plumbing when it has hot and cold piped water, a bathtub or shower, and a flush toilet.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "Complete plumbing facilities are defined as hot and cold piped water",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "Historical Census of Housing Tables: Plumbing",
"url": "https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/dec/coh-plumbing.html",
"published": "undated"
},
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "We asked... You told us: Complete Plumbing and Kitchen Facilities (Census Questionnaire Content, 1990, CQC-25)",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1990/cqc/cqc-25.pdf",
"published": "1990"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C2",
"claim": "Before 1990 the Census Bureau also required those facilities to be for the exclusive use of the people living in the unit, and it dropped that requirement in 1990.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "this requirement was dropped in 1990",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "Historical Census of Housing Tables: Plumbing",
"url": "https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/dec/coh-plumbing.html",
"published": "undated"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C3",
"claim": "In 1940 the Census Bureau counted 709,351 Ohio housing units lacking complete plumbing, 38.1 percent of the state's homes.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "OH 1,153,011 709,351 38.1%",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "Plumbing Facilities, 1940-1990, by state (data file plumbing-tab.txt)",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/tables/time-series/coh-plumbing/plumbing-tab.txt",
"published": "undated"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C4",
"claim": "Nationally in 1940, 45.3 percent of housing units lacked complete plumbing, so Ohio was well ahead of the country.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "US 19,174,344 15,852,098 45.3%",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "Plumbing Facilities, 1940-1990, by state (data file plumbing-tab.txt)",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/tables/time-series/coh-plumbing/plumbing-tab.txt",
"published": "undated"
},
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "Historical Census of Housing Tables: Plumbing",
"url": "https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/dec/coh-plumbing.html",
"published": "undated"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C5",
"claim": "The Ohio share lacking complete plumbing fell to 28.9 percent in 1950 and 12.8 percent in 1960, against 35.5 and 16.8 percent nationally.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "OH 1,660,123 673,766 28.9%",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "Plumbing Facilities, 1940-1990, by state (data file plumbing-tab.txt)",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/tables/time-series/coh-plumbing/plumbing-tab.txt",
"published": "undated"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C7",
"claim": "In 1970 the Ohio share was 5.2 percent, against 6.9 percent nationally.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "OH 3,269,060 178,108 5.2%",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "Plumbing Facilities, 1940-1990, by state (data file plumbing-tab.txt)",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/tables/time-series/coh-plumbing/plumbing-tab.txt",
"published": "undated"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C8",
"claim": "In 1980 the Ohio share was 2.0 percent, against 2.7 percent nationally.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "OH 3,994,575 82,701 2.0%",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "Plumbing Facilities, 1940-1990, by state (data file plumbing-tab.txt)",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/tables/time-series/coh-plumbing/plumbing-tab.txt",
"published": "undated"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C9",
"claim": "In 1990 the Census Bureau counted 32,908 Ohio housing units lacking complete plumbing, 0.8 percent, against 1.1 percent nationally.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "OH 4,339,037 32,908 0.8%",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "Plumbing Facilities, 1940-1990, by state (data file plumbing-tab.txt)",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/tables/time-series/coh-plumbing/plumbing-tab.txt",
"published": "undated"
},
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "Historical Census of Housing Tables: Plumbing",
"url": "https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/dec/coh-plumbing.html",
"published": "undated"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C10",
"claim": "The Census Bureau puts the Midwest region at 47 percent lacking complete plumbing in 1940 and 1 percent in 1990.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "In 1940, 68 percent of the homes in the South lacked complete plumbing",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "We asked... You told us: Complete Plumbing and Kitchen Facilities (Census Questionnaire Content, 1990, CQC-25)",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1990/cqc/cqc-25.pdf",
"published": "1990"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C11",
"claim": "In 1940, 67.2 percent of Ohio dwelling units reporting toilet facilities had a flush toilet in the structure for their exclusive use, and 5.7 percent shared one.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "TOILET FACILITIES FOR ALL DWELLING UNITS, BY DIVISIONS AND STATES: 1940",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "1940 Census of Housing, Volume II: General Characteristics, Part 1, United States Summary (definitions and Tables 40-43)",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1940/housing-volume-2/housing-v2p1-ch2.pdf",
"published": "1943"
},
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "1940 Census of Housing, Volume II: General Characteristics, Part 4, Ohio chapter (Table 7)",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1940/housing-volume-2/housing-v2p4-ch7.pdf",
"published": "1943"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C12",
"claim": "In the same 1940 count, 26.0 percent of Ohio dwelling units had an outside toilet or privy and 0.8 percent had no toilet or privy at all.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "Outside toilet or privy",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "1940 Census of Housing, Volume II: General Characteristics, Part 1, United States Summary (definitions and Tables 40-43)",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1940/housing-volume-2/housing-v2p1-ch2.pdf",
"published": "1943"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C13",
"claim": "Nationally in 1940 the outside toilet or privy share was 32.2 percent, so Ohio was better supplied than the country as a whole.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "United States 37,325,470 36,769,610 21,966,876",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "1940 Census of Housing, Volume II: General Characteristics, Part 1, United States Summary (definitions and Tables 40-43)",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1940/housing-volume-2/housing-v2p1-ch2.pdf",
"published": "1943"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C14",
"claim": "In 1940, 62.7 percent of Ohio dwelling units reporting bathing equipment had a bathtub or shower for their exclusive use, against 56.2 percent nationally.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "ALL DWELLING UNITS WITH PRIVATE BATH, BY DIVISIONS AND STATES, URBAN AND RURAL",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "1940 Census of Housing, Volume II: General Characteristics, Part 1, United States Summary (definitions and Tables 40-43)",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1940/housing-volume-2/housing-v2p1-ch2.pdf",
"published": "1943"
},
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "1940 Census of Housing, Volume II: General Characteristics, Part 4, Ohio chapter (Table 7)",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1940/housing-volume-2/housing-v2p4-ch7.pdf",
"published": "1943"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C15",
"claim": "Nationally in 1940, 39.1 percent of dwelling units reporting had no bathtub or shower anywhere in the structure.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "No bathtub or shower in structure",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "1940 Census of Housing, Volume II: General Characteristics, Part 1, United States Summary (definitions and Tables 40-43)",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1940/housing-volume-2/housing-v2p1-ch2.pdf",
"published": "1943"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C16",
"claim": "The 1940 census counted a bathtub or shower even when it ran cold water only and stood elsewhere in the building rather than in the home itself.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "supplied with running water (not necessarily hot water), is available in the structure",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "1940 Census of Housing, Volume II: General Characteristics, Part 1, United States Summary (definitions and Tables 40-43)",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1940/housing-volume-2/housing-v2p1-ch2.pdf",
"published": "1943"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C17",
"claim": "In 1940 the share of Ohio dwelling units with a private bath was 79.3 percent in urban areas, 37.3 percent in rural nonfarm areas and 16.6 percent on farms.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "Ohio 1,977,693 1,953,836 1,225,344 62.7",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "1940 Census of Housing, Volume II: General Characteristics, Part 1, United States Summary (definitions and Tables 40-43)",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1940/housing-volume-2/housing-v2p1-ch2.pdf",
"published": "1943"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C18",
"claim": "In 1940 the share of Ohio dwelling units with a private flush toilet was 39.6 percent in rural nonfarm areas and 16.7 percent on farms.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "ALL DWELLING UNITS WITH PRIVATE FLUSH TOILET, BY DIVISIONS AND STATES, URBAN AND",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "1940 Census of Housing, Volume II: General Characteristics, Part 1, United States Summary (definitions and Tables 40-43)",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1940/housing-volume-2/housing-v2p1-ch2.pdf",
"published": "1943"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C19",
"claim": "The Census Bureau found that in 1990, 3 percent of rural housing units nationally still lacked complete plumbing, against fewer than 1 percent in urban areas.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "Nationally, 3 percent of the housing units in rural areas lacked complete plumbing",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "We asked... You told us: Complete Plumbing and Kitchen Facilities (Census Questionnaire Content, 1990, CQC-25)",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1990/cqc/cqc-25.pdf",
"published": "1990"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C20",
"claim": "The Rural Electrification Administration, which made the household electric water pump practical on farms, was established by Executive Order 7037 on May 11, 1935.",
"status": "verified",
"quote": "I hereby establish an agency within the Government to be known as",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "The American Presidency Project, University of California Santa Barbara",
"title": "Executive Order 7037 - Establishing the Rural Electrification Administration",
"url": "https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-7037-establishing-the-rural-electrification-administration",
"published": "1935-05-11"
},
{
"publisher": "Economic History Association",
"title": "EH.Net Encyclopedia: Rural Electrification Administration",
"url": "https://eh.net/encyclopedia/rural-electrification-administration/",
"published": "undated"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C21",
"claim": "In its report to the Ohio State Board of Health for 1890, the Columbus health officer said a privy vault in the city had to be built of brick or stone at least eight inches thick and be watertight when finished.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "All privy-vaults must be built with walls and bottom of brick or stone",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "Ohio State Board of Health",
"title": "Annual Report of the State Board of Health of the State of Ohio (1890), municipal returns, Columbus entry",
"url": "https://archive.org/stream/annualreportofst1890ohio/annualreportofst1890ohio_djvu.txt",
"published": "1890"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C22",
"claim": "The same report says no privy vault could be built on a Columbus property that fronted a street or alley already carrying a sewer.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "nor can any privy-vault be constructed on any premises where there is a sewer",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "Ohio State Board of Health",
"title": "Annual Report of the State Board of Health of the State of Ohio (1890), municipal returns, Columbus entry",
"url": "https://archive.org/stream/annualreportofst1890ohio/annualreportofst1890ohio_djvu.txt",
"published": "1890"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C23",
"claim": "In the year that report covers, Columbus recorded emptying 1,186 vaults and disinfecting or flushing 357 more as abated nuisances.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "vaults, contents removed, 1,186; vaults, disinf. or flushed, 357",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "Ohio State Board of Health",
"title": "Annual Report of the State Board of Health of the State of Ohio (1890), municipal returns, Columbus entry",
"url": "https://archive.org/stream/annualreportofst1890ohio/annualreportofst1890ohio_djvu.txt",
"published": "1890"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C46",
"claim": "The Columbus City Health Code still deals with privies: section 221.01(q) treats a pit privy no longer in use as a hazard that must be filled, sealed or fenced.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "this includes a pit privy not in use, unless such a hazard",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "City of Columbus, Columbus Public Health",
"title": "Columbus City Health Code, section 221.01(q)",
"url": "https://www.columbus.gov/files/sharedassets/city/v/12/public-health/city-health-code-master_amended_12.11.25.pdf",
"published": "2025-12-11"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C24",
"claim": "Federal work-relief crews built 69,796 sanitary privies in Ohio, on the count the Federal Works Agency published for the whole program through June 30, 1943.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "SELECTED ITEMS OF PHYSICAL ACCOMPLISHMENT ON CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "Federal Works Agency, Work Projects Administration",
"title": "Final Report on the WPA Program, 1935-43, Table XVIII",
"url": "https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/files/docs/publications/wpa/wpaReports/1943_wpa_ReportProgressOfWPA_Final.pdf",
"published": "1946"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C25",
"claim": "The same table puts the national total at 2,309,239 sanitary privies built through June 30, 1943.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "United States 4,049 16,121 24,271 2,309,239",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "Federal Works Agency, Work Projects Administration",
"title": "Final Report on the WPA Program, 1935-43, Table XVIII",
"url": "https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/files/docs/publications/wpa/wpaReports/1943_wpa_ReportProgressOfWPA_Final.pdf",
"published": "1946"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C26",
"claim": "Ohio Memory's New Deal photographs include a sanitary privy campaign in Zanesville carried out with work-relief labor.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "Sanitary Privy Campaign in Zanesville, with free labor from the WPA",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "Ohio Memory, Ohio History Connection and the State Library of Ohio",
"title": "End of an ERAA: The WPA Years in Ohio",
"url": "https://ohiomemory.ohiohistory.org/archives/3362",
"published": "2017-06-30"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C27",
"claim": "The Census Bureau recorded 168 typhoid fever deaths in Columbus in 1908, a rate of 110.5 per 100,000 people.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "Denver, Colo. (54.8), and Columbus, Ohio (110.5)",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "Bulletin 104. Mortality Statistics: 1908",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1900/bulletins/demographic/104-mortality-statistics.pdf",
"published": "1910"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C28",
"claim": "The Census Bureau wrote that for 1908 only two large cities, Denver and Columbus, had typhoid death rates above 50 per 100,000.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "no state showed a rate equal to or above the limit of 50",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "Bulletin 104. Mortality Statistics: 1908",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1900/bulletins/demographic/104-mortality-statistics.pdf",
"published": "1910"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C29",
"claim": "The following year the Census Bureau counted 33 typhoid deaths in Columbus, a fall of 135 from 1908.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "58 Columbus, Ohio 33 168 -135",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "Bulletin 108. Mortality Statistics: 1909",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1900/bulletins/demographic/108-mortality-statistics-1909.pdf",
"published": "1911"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C30",
"claim": "The Census Bureau said the greatest relative decrease in typhoid deaths among the large cities in 1909 was in Columbus, where it had been epidemic in 1908.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "The greatest relative decrease was in Columbus",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "Bulletin 108. Mortality Statistics: 1909",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1900/bulletins/demographic/108-mortality-statistics-1909.pdf",
"published": "1911"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C31",
"claim": "The City of Columbus says its Scioto water purification plant on Dublin Road was completed in 1908 and calls it the first water plant to combine filtration and water softening.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "the first water plant to combine filtration and water softening",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "City of Columbus",
"title": "Water Treatment History, Department of Public Utilities",
"url": "https://www.columbus.gov/Services/Public-Utilities/About-Public-Utilities/Our-History/Water-Treatment-History",
"published": "undated"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C32",
"claim": "In the Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey five-year estimates, 104,442 of Ohio's 5,292,391 housing units lacked complete plumbing facilities, about 2.0 percent.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "0400000US39|5292391|464|5187949|2765|104442|2740",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "American Community Survey 2024 five-year estimates, table-based summary file, table B25047",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b25047.dat",
"published": "2026-01-29"
},
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "American Community Survey 2024 Data Releases, release schedule",
"url": "https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/news/data-releases/2024/release-schedule.html",
"published": "2026"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C33",
"claim": "The same table puts the national count at 2,442,443 of 143,775,355 housing units, about 1.7 percent.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "0100000US|143775355|10234|141332912|35854|2442443|27193",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "American Community Survey 2024 five-year estimates, table-based summary file, table B25047",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b25047.dat",
"published": "2026-01-29"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C34",
"claim": "For Franklin County the same estimates show 6,851 of 595,469 housing units lacking complete plumbing facilities, about 1.2 percent.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "0500000US39049|595469|328|588618|880|6851|840",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "American Community Survey 2024 five-year estimates, table-based summary file, table B25047",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b25047.dat",
"published": "2026-01-29"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C35",
"claim": "The current survey does not mean the same thing as the old census tables: the Census Bureau stopped asking whether a home has a flush toilet in 2016.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "In 2016, ACS no longer asked if the housing unit had a flush toilet",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "2024 American Community Survey Subject Definitions, Plumbing Facilities",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/tech_docs/subject_definitions/2024_ACSSubjectDefinitions.pdf",
"published": "2025"
},
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "Plumbing Facilities, Kitchen Facilities, Telephone Service, and Solar Panels (Why We Ask Each Question)",
"url": "https://www.census.gov/acs/www/about/why-we-ask-each-question/plumbing/",
"published": "undated"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C36",
"claim": "The Census Bureau itself warns that survey plumbing figures from 2008 onward should not be compared with earlier survey figures or with the 2000 census.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "Caution should be used when comparing ACS data on plumbing facilities",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "2024 American Community Survey Subject Definitions, Plumbing Facilities",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/tech_docs/subject_definitions/2024_ACSSubjectDefinitions.pdf",
"published": "2025"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C37",
"claim": "The Water Research Foundation's 2016 residential water study found showers were 20 percent of indoor household water use, about 26.9 gallons a day per home.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "Toilet flushing is the largest indoor use of water in single-family homes",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "Water Research Foundation",
"title": "Residential End Uses of Water, Version 2: Executive Report",
"url": "https://www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/WRF_REU2016.pdf",
"published": "2016-04"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C38",
"claim": "The same study found the average shower lasted 7.8 minutes, unchanged from the 1999 study, while baths were 3 percent of indoor use.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "The average duration held steady at 7.8 minutes per shower",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "Water Research Foundation",
"title": "Residential End Uses of Water, Version 2: Executive Report",
"url": "https://www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/WRF_REU2016.pdf",
"published": "2016-04"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C39",
"claim": "In a sub-sample of 94 homes the same study found showers took 39.1 percent of all the hot water a household used.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "the average daily household hot water use was 17.8 gallons",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "Water Research Foundation",
"title": "Residential End Uses of Water, Version 2: Executive Report",
"url": "https://www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/WRF_REU2016.pdf",
"published": "2016-04"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C40",
"claim": "Federal law limits any showerhead made after January 1, 1994 to 2.5 gallons a minute measured at 80 pounds per square inch.",
"status": "verified",
"quote": "any showerhead manufactured after January 1, 1994, is 2.5 gallons per minute",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "Office of the Law Revision Counsel, US House of Representatives",
"title": "42 U.S.C. 6295, Energy conservation standards, subsections (j) and (k)",
"url": "https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title42-section6295&num=0&edition=prelim",
"published": "undated"
},
{
"publisher": "US Environmental Protection Agency",
"title": "WaterSense: Showerheads",
"url": "https://www.epa.gov/watersense/showerheads",
"published": "undated"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C41",
"claim": "The same law limits gravity tank-type toilets made after that date to 1.6 gallons a flush.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "Gravity tank-type toilets 1.6 gpf",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "Office of the Law Revision Counsel, US House of Representatives",
"title": "42 U.S.C. 6295, Energy conservation standards, subsections (j) and (k)",
"url": "https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title42-section6295&num=0&edition=prelim",
"published": "undated"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C42",
"claim": "Both standards were added to federal law by the Energy Policy Act of 1992.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "Pub. L. 102-486, 123(f)(2), added subsecs. (i) to (k)",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "Office of the Law Revision Counsel, US House of Representatives",
"title": "42 U.S.C. 6295, Energy conservation standards, subsections (j) and (k)",
"url": "https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title42-section6295&num=0&edition=prelim",
"published": "undated"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C43",
"claim": "The City of Cleveland ran public bath houses from 1904 to 1954, opened because much of its housing had no bathing facility.",
"status": "verified",
"quote": "operated by the City of Cleveland from 1904-54",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "Cleveland Historical, Center for Public History and Digital Humanities, Cleveland State University",
"title": "Lincoln Park Baths",
"url": "https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/154",
"published": "undated"
},
{
"publisher": "Case Western Reserve University",
"title": "Bath Houses, Encyclopedia of Cleveland History",
"url": "https://case.edu/ech/articles/b/bath-houses",
"published": "undated"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C44",
"claim": "Cleveland Historical, published by Cleveland State University, says an 1899 survey found one bathtub for every 600 Cleveland homes.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "only one bathtub existed for every 600 Cleveland homes",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "Cleveland Historical, Center for Public History and Digital Humanities, Cleveland State University",
"title": "Lincoln Park Baths",
"url": "https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/154",
"published": "undated"
}
]
},
{
"id": "C45",
"claim": "Case Western Reserve University's Encyclopedia of Cleveland History says the city closed the last of them in 1954 because bathtubs in the home had become widely available.",
"status": "single",
"quote": "due to the wide availability of in-home bathtubs",
"sources": [
{
"publisher": "Case Western Reserve University",
"title": "Bath Houses, Encyclopedia of Cleveland History",
"url": "https://case.edu/ech/articles/b/bath-houses",
"published": "undated"
}
]
}
],
"conflicts": [
{
"claim_id": "C9",
"a": "0.8 percent of Ohio housing units lacking complete plumbing, 1990 decennial census",
"a_source": "S2",
"b": "about 2.0 percent of Ohio housing units lacking complete plumbing, 2024 ACS five-year estimates",
"b_source": "S13",
"printed": "print both, with the reason. This is not a real reversal. The 1990 census asked about hot and cold piped water, a flush toilet and a bathtub or shower; since 2016 the survey has asked only about hot and cold running water and a bathtub or shower, and the Census Bureau warns against comparing survey plumbing data from 2008 onward with earlier data. The page must state the definition change in the same breath as the two numbers or it will be quoted as evidence that Ohio housing got worse."
},
{
"claim_id": "C11",
"a": "1,315,300 Ohio dwelling units with a flush toilet in the structure for exclusive use, 1940, Table 40",
"a_source": "S4",
"b": "1,315,800 Ohio dwelling units with a private flush toilet, 1940, Table 41",
"b_source": "S4",
"printed": "print neither count; print the percent. Both tables print 67.2 percent for Ohio and both are the same underlying figure, so the difference is a scan misread of one digit, not a disagreement between the tables. The percent is printed identically in both and is what the page uses."
}
],
"sources": [
{
"id": "S1",
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "Historical Census of Housing Tables: Plumbing",
"url": "https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/dec/coh-plumbing.html",
"published": "undated"
},
{
"id": "S2",
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "Plumbing Facilities, 1940-1990, by state (data file plumbing-tab.txt)",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/tables/time-series/coh-plumbing/plumbing-tab.txt",
"published": "undated"
},
{
"id": "S3",
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "We asked... You told us: Complete Plumbing and Kitchen Facilities (Census Questionnaire Content, 1990, CQC-25)",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1990/cqc/cqc-25.pdf",
"published": "1990"
},
{
"id": "S4",
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "1940 Census of Housing, Volume II: General Characteristics, Part 1, United States Summary (definitions and Tables 40-43)",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1940/housing-volume-2/housing-v2p1-ch2.pdf",
"published": "1943"
},
{
"id": "S5",
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "1940 Census of Housing, Volume II: General Characteristics, Part 4, Ohio chapter (Table 7)",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1940/housing-volume-2/housing-v2p4-ch7.pdf",
"published": "1943"
},
{
"id": "S6",
"publisher": "The American Presidency Project, University of California Santa Barbara",
"title": "Executive Order 7037 - Establishing the Rural Electrification Administration",
"url": "https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-7037-establishing-the-rural-electrification-administration",
"published": "1935-05-11"
},
{
"id": "S7",
"publisher": "Ohio State Board of Health",
"title": "Annual Report of the State Board of Health of the State of Ohio (1890), municipal returns, Columbus entry",
"url": "https://archive.org/stream/annualreportofst1890ohio/annualreportofst1890ohio_djvu.txt",
"published": "1890"
},
{
"id": "S8",
"publisher": "Federal Works Agency, Work Projects Administration",
"title": "Final Report on the WPA Program, 1935-43, Table XVIII",
"url": "https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/files/docs/publications/wpa/wpaReports/1943_wpa_ReportProgressOfWPA_Final.pdf",
"published": "1946"
},
{
"id": "S9",
"publisher": "Ohio Memory, Ohio History Connection and the State Library of Ohio",
"title": "End of an ERAA: The WPA Years in Ohio",
"url": "https://ohiomemory.ohiohistory.org/archives/3362",
"published": "2017-06-30"
},
{
"id": "S10",
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "Bulletin 104. Mortality Statistics: 1908",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1900/bulletins/demographic/104-mortality-statistics.pdf",
"published": "1910"
},
{
"id": "S11",
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "Bulletin 108. Mortality Statistics: 1909",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1900/bulletins/demographic/108-mortality-statistics-1909.pdf",
"published": "1911"
},
{
"id": "S12",
"publisher": "City of Columbus",
"title": "Water Treatment History, Department of Public Utilities",
"url": "https://www.columbus.gov/Services/Public-Utilities/About-Public-Utilities/Our-History/Water-Treatment-History",
"published": "undated"
},
{
"id": "S13",
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "American Community Survey 2024 five-year estimates, table-based summary file, table B25047",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b25047.dat",
"published": "2026-01-29"
},
{
"id": "S14",
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "2024 American Community Survey Subject Definitions, Plumbing Facilities",
"url": "https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/tech_docs/subject_definitions/2024_ACSSubjectDefinitions.pdf",
"published": "2025"
},
{
"id": "S15",
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "Plumbing Facilities, Kitchen Facilities, Telephone Service, and Solar Panels (Why We Ask Each Question)",
"url": "https://www.census.gov/acs/www/about/why-we-ask-each-question/plumbing/",
"published": "undated"
},
{
"id": "S16",
"publisher": "Water Research Foundation",
"title": "Residential End Uses of Water, Version 2: Executive Report",
"url": "https://www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/WRF_REU2016.pdf",
"published": "2016-04"
},
{
"id": "S17",
"publisher": "US Census Bureau",
"title": "American Community Survey 2024 Data Releases, release schedule",
"url": "https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/news/data-releases/2024/release-schedule.html",
"published": "2026"
},
{
"id": "S18",
"publisher": "Office of the Law Revision Counsel, US House of Representatives",
"title": "42 U.S.C. 6295, Energy conservation standards, subsections (j) and (k)",
"url": "https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title42-section6295&num=0&edition=prelim",
"published": "undated"
},
{
"id": "S19",
"publisher": "US Environmental Protection Agency",
"title": "WaterSense: Showerheads",
"url": "https://www.epa.gov/watersense/showerheads",
"published": "undated"
},
{
"id": "S20",
"publisher": "Cleveland Historical, Center for Public History and Digital Humanities, Cleveland State University",
"title": "Lincoln Park Baths",
"url": "https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/154",
"published": "undated"
},
{
"id": "S21",
"publisher": "Case Western Reserve University",
"title": "Bath Houses, Encyclopedia of Cleveland History",
"url": "https://case.edu/ech/articles/b/bath-houses",
"published": "undated"
},
{
"id": "S22",
"publisher": "City of Columbus, Columbus Public Health",
"title": "Columbus City Health Code, section 221.01(q)",
"url": "https://www.columbus.gov/files/sharedassets/city/v/12/public-health/city-health-code-master_amended_12.11.25.pdf",
"published": "2025-12-11"
},
{
"id": "S23",
"publisher": "Economic History Association",
"title": "EH.Net Encyclopedia: Rural Electrification Administration",
"url": "https://eh.net/encyclopedia/rural-electrification-administration/",
"published": "undated"
}
]
}