Bathroom

A bathroom is a room in which people wash their bodies or parts thereof. It can contain one or more of the following plumbing fixtures: a shower, a bathtub, a bidet, and a sink (also known as a wash basin in the United Kingdom). A toilet is also frequently included. There are also specific toilet rooms, only containing a toilet (often accompanied by a sink), which in American English tend to be called "bathrooms", "powder rooms" or "washrooms", as euphemisms to conceal their actual purpose, while in British English they are known as the "loo," "water closet" or "WC", or just "toilets" or possibly "cloakrooms" - but also as "lavatories" when they are public.

Historically, bathing was often a collective activity, which took place in public baths. In some countries, the shared social aspect of cleansing the body is still important, for example with sento in Japan and, throughout the Islamic world, the hammam (also known in the West as a "Turkish bath").

The term for the place used to clean the body varies around the English-speaking world, as does the design of the room itself. A full bathroom generally contains a bath or shower (or both), a toilet, and a sink (wash basin). An en suite bathroom or en suite shower room is attached to, and only accessible from, a bedroom. A family bathroom, in British estate agent terminology, is a full bathroom not attached to a bedroom, but with its door opening onto a corridor. A Jack and Jill bathroom (or connected bathroom) is situated between and usually shared by the occupants of two separate bedrooms. It may also have two wash basins. A wetroom is a waterproof room usually equipped with a shower; it is designed to eliminate moisture damage and is compatible with underfloor heating systems.

In the United States, there is a lack of a single definition. This commonly results in discrepancies between the advertised and actual number of baths in real estate listings. Bathrooms are generally categorized as: a "master bathroom", containing a shower and a bathtub, adjoining the largest bedroom; a "full bathroom" (or "full bath"), containing a toilet, a sink, and either a bathtub with a shower or a bathtub and a separate shower stall; "half bath" (or "powder room") containing just a toilet and a sink; or "3/4 bath" containing a toilet, a sink, and a shower.^{[citation needed]} However, usage varies; in some U.S. markets, a toilet, sink, and shower are considered a "full bath", and outside real estate the term "bathroom" is commonly used for a room containing a toilet and a wash basin, and nothing else.

In Canada, "washroom" is the preferred term for such a room in both homes and public facilities.

Bathrooms often have one or more towel bars or rings for hanging towels.

Some bathrooms contain a bathroom cabinet for personal hygiene products and medicines, and drawers or shelves (sometimes in column form) for storing towels and other items.^{[citation needed]}

Some bathrooms contain a bidet, which might be placed next to a toilet.