English lit--What's the deal with drains?

Cafe Society
1

I was recently reading an anthology of English short stories (from the Strand magazine), and once again encountered what seems to be an odd obsession on the part of English authors of a Certain Era: drains.

For example, a newly-married couple is looking for a house to rent, and find one for an unusually good price. The catch: the servants think it’s haunted. However, the protagonist is sure that it’s just a problem with the drains.

Alternatively, there’s no haunting problem, but the young couple, upon examining the house, want some form of assurance that the drains are in good shape. You’ll also see drains cropping up in Jeeves & Wooster, and even in the first season of Black Adder.

Can anybody shed any light on this fixation on drains?

2

Well, badly insulated plumbing can produce disturbing sounds, and major leakages do wreck your home.

Thus, in times prior to the invention of welding and PVC, good craftsmanship might have been even more important than it is today.

In other words: I don’t know.

3

Remember the drains in those days led to the cesspool. If they didn’t work properly, they could cause fits of the vapors.

In other words, they would stink to high heaven.