Bodily Cleanliness

My views on cleanliness changed a lot when I moved to Turkey. To start out, we had a wood-burning water heater. Once, to get the wood to catch fire, I squirted kerosene on the smoldering wood. Not a good idea.....as they say in TV, do NOT try this at home. I didn't look too bad once my bangs and eyebrows grew back out again.

Then, IF you did get the water heater going, it produced a small quantity of luke-warm water, which drooled out of the shower head in drips and spurts. Trying to get wet, soaped, hair washed and rinsed before the "hot" water ran out should be an Olympic sport....or a Mack Sennett comedy. It DID make for marital closeness as we were usually both in the shower at the same time, trying to get the most out of the not-so-hot water. Forget any notion of a nice soak in a "hot bath".

I learned quickly that a tea-pot of water, heated to a divine temperature, added to half a bucket of cold water and transported to the shower would give you as good a head-to-toe washing as 45 minutes of preparation as described above. All you needed was a plastic cup and a wash cloth and you'd be as clean as God made you.
 
Jujube, that teapot bath sounds similar to bucket baths we took in India years ago. We'd heat a bucket of water with a electric immersion stick thing, then take it into the bath shed, use a plastic cup to pour the water over our heads, shampoo, lather body and rinse. Worked pretty good. But boy, was I glad to get back to our bathtubs and showers after that.
 
In Uganda we had indoor plumbing but no water heater, so our showers were cold. And since the water came from a well it was really cold. We had a separate shower room which was quite big. On the days I washed my hair I would boil a couple of kettlesful of water and put them in a big basin in the shower along with some cold water. I'd shampoo and shower in the cold water with the knowledge that when I was done I could dump a huge basinful of hot water over me.
 
Ameriscot said:
In Uganda we had indoor plumbing but no water heater, so our showers were cold. And since the water came from a well it was really cold. We had a separate shower room which was quite big. On the days I washed my hair I would boil a couple of kettlesful of water and put them in a big basin in the shower along with some cold water. I'd shampoo and shower in the cold water with the knowledge that when I was done I could dump a huge basinful of hot water over me.
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Currently we live in a condo and are at the back of the condo property. This also means that we are at the "end" of the water supply lines. Thanks be to God that we are retired. Showering between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. is an exercise in futility. The water comes out in a limp stream. The best time is after midnight or later. Full force then and I can rinse my hair properly!. :D
 
I prefer to shower in the morning because the hot water helps my body to limber up and it helps me to wake up. If I've been playing in the garden during the day and have reason to shower before bedtime, then I will shower then too, but always in the morning first.
 
Ameriscot...oy, no hot running water and I would curl up and croak. Hot baths to soothe painful legs, and steamy showers are better than sex...
 
fureverywhere said:
Ameriscot...oy, no hot running water and I would curl up and croak. Hot baths to soothe painful legs, and steamy showers are better than sex...
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At least once a month we would check into a hotel and have long hot showers. But at home I'd normally do my workout and get all hot and sweaty and then jump in the cold shower. Temps where we lived were normally in the upper 70's - low 80's.
 
I am not a regular shower or bath person. I take sink baths and wash my hair in the sink, too. I do like to take a good long hot bath at times, too.
 
The subject of personal cleanliness came up on another board I frequent. One woman reports that she never shampoos her hair; she just uses a combination of vinegar and soda. I can imagine that she goes around smelling like a salad, huh?

Another one advocates using "pet enzymes" for feminine hygiene purposes between showers. What the .......? Where do people come up with this stuff?
 
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