Do the Amish Have Running Water? (Amish Lifestyles) (2024)

FAQs

Do the Amish Have Running Water? (Amish Lifestyles)? ›

The Swartzentruber Amish do not have modern running water in their homes. Water arrives through a single line and is either pumped by hand or delivered by gravity from an external cistern. In 2013, Fillmore County adopted an ordinance requiring most homes to have a septic system for the disposal of gray water.

Electricity is not allowed, but the use of propane-powered motors is. While they can use a commercial laundromat, most Amish women do laundry using a motor, located outside the house that drives a shaft that rotates an agitator in the drum of a washtub.

The core of the legal showdown: What the Amish do with their poop. Instead of indoor plumbing and toilets, they use outhouses. They then dip out their waste by bucket, treat it with lime, mix it with animal manure and spread on their farm.

Most Old Order Mennonites have telephones, running water and hydro, and use freezers and washing machines but not dryers. The community allows for two phones per family, but without accessories on the phones. They do not use fax machines, computers, television, or radios.

Personal hygiene routines may vary from family to family. However, most Old Order Amish men only bathe on Saturdays during winter, but many use sponge baths during the week. This is because there are no bathtubs in their homes, and bathing can take up a lot of time that could be spent on other essential tasks.

While the Swartzentruber Amish use some technology, they do not own or drive automobiles, own telephones, have electric lights, or use modern flush toilets, and they supply water to their homes using a cistern.

Instead of flushing toilets, outhouses are commonly used. This is true of the most conservative Amish, the Swartzentruber Amish. Interestingly, even communities that have indoor plumbing, sometimes still use outhouses. Farming communities use waste as fertilizer for their fields.

Instead, whenever she needed to go to the bathroom, she needed to walk to an outhouse and use crumbled up pieces of newspaper or magazines. 'We would take any kind of newspaper... and we would take the paper and just rip it,' she said. This applied year-round - even when there was snow on the ground.

The Amish can still take a hot shower, they simply hook up their hot water tank to a gas or propane fueled energy source. While some use those energy sources to power washing machines, laundry day can become an all-day event for other families who use traditional washboards.

Vinegar: This is a primary ingredient in every Amish cleaning tonic and does a great job of sanitizing surfaces, cutting through dirt and grease, and deodorizing.

Do Amish people take showers? ›

While bathing is more common amongst the Amish, they do also take showers. Again, it's very dependent on the community and the individual family. Some Amish families have gas-powered hot water heaters to take showers. There are even some communities that have large indoor showers just like we do.

Amish are not allowed to marry anyone outside their religious circle, even Mennonites. A Mennonite wishing to marry an Amish should convert and be baptized into the Amish church. Other faiths may view Mennonites and Amish to be similar in faith. However, marriage between these two congregations is not allowed.

Several denominational statements have set forth the official positions of the Mennonite churches on issues related to families. The 1963 Mennonite Confession of Faith stated that marriage should be a monogamous, heterosexual lifetime commitment.

Dental Health Behavior.

Almost two-thirds of this Amish population reported brushing their teeth less than once a day, while only 1.3 percent brushed twice or more a day; 2.6 percent reported never having brushed their teeth.

The Amish stay up after dark, but they go to bed early: typically between 9 and 9.30pm in summer, and more like 8.30-9pm in winter. Most people start work at around 5.30am, so they're often up by 4.45am.

The Swartzentruber Amish do not have running water in their homes, at least as most would understand it. Water arrives through a single line and is either pumped by hand or delivered by gravity from an external cistern.

The Old Order Amish don't use electricity because they believe it is against God's will. They use gas or propane for cooking and heating water and telephones for emergencies. They use battery-operated flashlights for night-time chores and other battery-operated equipment, such as portable fans.

Aside from gas lights and stoves, many other appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines can also be run on gas. Amish also allow batteries, which can be used for lighting lamps. Furthermore, some Amish people own windmills, which generate power for their homes.

It's essentially about plumbing — specifically, the disposal of gray water. The Swartzentruber Amish do not have modern running water in their homes. Water arrives through a single line and is either pumped by hand or delivered by gravity from an external cistern.

Keeping Cool Indoors

Many Amish homes are built with plenty of windows to help circulate the air and bring in the cooler overnight temperatures. They open the windows on the top floors to help the heat escape while the family retreats to the lower grounds within their homes for comfort.