It's now safe to drink the water in Gadsby's Tavern. Back when George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, the Marquis de Lafayette and many others dropped in to Alexandria's Gadsby's Tavern across the street from the courthouse, they drank rum punch with their meals. The water often made people sick.
Water is necessary for life, but the nation's founders used it as little as possible.
Faces and hands were washed more or less regularly. But full baths occurred only three or four times a year. Even the wealthiest citizens had but a few changes of clothes. Gadsby's Tavern has changed little from the time Washington joined his friends at tables in front of the fireplace in the main downstairs room for meals, drink and the lively exchange of news. Women weren't served with the men.