Image: Marktplaats.

The lavet is a typically Dutch invention that was mainly used in social housing in the 1950s and 1960s. It was produced up to 1975, with a total production of about 1 million. The lavet is somewhere between a sink and a bathtub. It consists of a plateau with a raised edge, in which on one side is a 40 cm deep tub with a diameter of almost 60 cm. Unique to the design is the multi-functionality. The lavet fulfilled the functions of a bathroom and laundry room but required ​​only one square meter of space.

The tub was very suitable for washing (several) children, but adults could also take a hip bath with some dexterity. There was even the possibility to take a shower standing in the tub. The lavet was also great for hand washing clothes. The manufacturer of the washbasin marketed a washing machine and accompanying centrifuge that fit in the washbasin. The tub was also practical for gardeners: they could rinse large quantities of vegetables in it before preserving them.

Image: Marktplaats.

Image: Ralph van der Kamp. Source: Joostdevree.nl.

Image: Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed.

Thanks to Melle Smets.

Sources: 

• Het lavet, Joostdevree.nl
• Het Lavet, Wikipedia NL

Update:

Reader Ramino sends us some information about a similar artifact in Argentina. “The MASI (Mueble Artefacto Sanitario Integral) was developed by the Argentinian research institute CEVE (Centro Experimental de la Vivienda Económica, a joint between an NGO and the  national research council). It is (was?) made of plastic, to make both production and installation simpler and cheaper, as it is designed for cheap social housing. It seems there are two versions (one wider, and  one more compact), which integrate sink, toilet and shower, and the main idea is to reuse the sink’s greywater to fill the toilet’s deposit. Unfortunately, I don’t think it has had a very big adoption.” See:

• http://www.ceve.org.ar/componentes-1.php
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6CH7rDBjcY

With L’Increvable you change each component when needed. You don’t have to be a handy(wo)man: the Increvable website guides you through each component maintenance thanks to well-documented tutorials and each new component is delivered with proper tools.

You buy the washing machine in flat-pack form and then you assemble it yourself : it gives you the opportunity to get to know the machine. The traditional 30 kg (60 lbs) of cement ballast are replaced by a water tank. The latter is automatically filled during the first use of the machine. This means that the machine can be made lighter again when it needs to be moved.

By removing all highly technical and hardly replaceable parts from the structure and built with such specifications from the ground up, the Increvable is destined to be easily manipulable by the mere user. The missing technologic parts (i.e. touchable screen) do change the User Experience in a very fundamental way, giving maybe to some of us a certain old school feel to the tech but adds several dozens of years before obsolescence as a result.”

See & read more: 1 / 2 / 3. Thanks to Christopher Santerre.

Some machines require both power and water. A household example is the washing machine. By using a small water wheel, the water that is needed to wash the clothes can also serve to power the machine. Washing machines powered by water from the town mains were quite common in the early decades of the twentieth century. The pictures show a portable American model called the “Washerette” (see it in operation in this video). It was connected to a faucet and put on the sink or bathtub so that exhaust water could be easily captured. The images were found at Smokstak.

“GiraDora is a blue bucket that conceals a spinning mechanism that washes clothes and then partially dries them. It’s operated by a foot pedal, while the user sits on the lid to stabilize the rapidly churning contents. Sitting alleviates lower-back pain associated with hand-washing clothes, and frees up the washer to pursue other tasks. It’s portable, so it can be placed nearby a water source, or even inside on a rainy day. It reduces health risks like joint problems, skin irritation, and mold inhalation. Most importantly, it uses far less water and cleans clothes faster than conventional hand-washing.”

Hat tip to Kaan Ozdurak.