typically, cold water flats did not have built-in showers installed; tenants who wished to bathe would heat pots of water by stove and add the heated water to a bathtub. they, also, typically had no central heating. often some type of cooking stove, either wood or coal, was the only heat source and was kept going most of the time. wood or coal embers could be banked in the small stoves overnight so a fire could be easily started early in the morning. a gas cooking surface was often just a grate with jets. tenants would also keep warm by use of kerosene or electric space heaters, hot water bottles, or much later, electric blankets.