MORE IMPROVISED SHOWER
Long suffering loyal minions might have already had their fill on how I go about washing my nasty butt, but since this is all about me you have no choice but to go along. Besides, this involves me admitting I'm wrong, eating crow and meekly begging for forgiveness, so you might as well stick around for that spectacle. But first, a word from our sponsor. I'm two thirds of the way through writing my newest masterpiece about life after the collapse. I'm guessing about two more weeks. So hang in there, I know you're all excited. Forthcoming books will not be as long. As much as I enjoy writing it is turning into a major event. I think twenty to thirty pages is a better goal than the currently projected eighty.
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I've been advocating a pressure weed sprayer for a shower. New, of course ( it's like anytime you write about alternate heat, if you don't put in the fresh air intake disclaimer someone is going to pipe up with an accusation you're trying to kill them ). You can get by with a half a gallon if you do the following. You wet down, soap up and then take a wet washcloth to wipe away the soap BEFORE you use the sprayer again to wash off. Otherwise the pressure is too weak to wash away the soap. The only problem with this method is that in the winter the fine mist instantly cools you down. I'm already taking a shower with fifty degree inside temperature. I don't need to make the process any more painful. And that is trying to fool myself. The fifty degrees is in a six foot radius surrounding the heater in the living room. I don't even want to know how cold it is fifteen feet away in the bathroom ( cold enough to see your breath ). And I don't even want to hear any smart ass remarks. This winter was cold and I was poor. I will be taking steps to have a less painful winter next time. Stay tuned for my progress report on that ( I need something to write about everyday, I can't give it to you all at once ).
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So, this winter I've been taking a whore's bath. Wash cloth and a tub of water. Still at half a gallon. It is easy to haul more water, but I still consider it crucial to stay within the two gallon a person per day norm I've used since moving here. I know soon it will be only bike, then only walking. I don't know exactly when, I just know it is coming. Peak Oil isn't about running out completely, just about running out of cheap and abundant, and I think we've already seen the start. The problem with the washcloth method is in the end you are rinsing off with soapy water. And it is still cold. Even washing one part at a time and then drying, top to bottom it is still cold. Despite the drawbacks, I've continued this. I feel nasty when I don't bath. Even soapy rinse is better than nothing.
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Well, then it hit me. Why was I doing this? The bleach bottle drip shower has been around forever, why wasn't I doing that? You take a bleach bottle from the Laundromat trash, rinse it out good, poke a few holes in the cap and you have a hand held shower ( there are also plans for twisting the cap on or off if you hang the bottle up, but I can't do that without squatting down so I prefer the held version ). Honestly, I'd never tried it. I don't know why, I think I was envisioning too slow of an outpouring. Well, this weekend I couldn't stand the thought of another washcloth bath so I decided to try it. I took an old 70oz. liquid laundry soap bottle and nailed a few holes through the cap. I used that bottle since the mouth was so large. I haven't tried with the bleach bottle. It took a few tries to wash it out. I filled it almost full and tried it out. Success! It worked wonderfully. I wasn't as cold since I covered with warm water all at once, quickly soaped up and then had enough water left to rinse off all parts more than once. That gave me a nice clean feeling, plus kept me warmer.
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So, I feel like a moron. I had a much better way of bathing this whole time but thought I could do it better with the sprayer. The bottle method is free. I love free. So here I was spending $8 for a weed sprayer. Moron! And I couldn't even use the sprayer method half the year, instead relying on a less than satisfactory cleaning method. I keep preaching that the cheapest, simplest way is the best, and I drop the ball with bathing. And, yes, bathing is important. Try going a few days without. You get a pink slip and a divorce all at once. Plus lose a few friends. The dog will like you, since he can lick off grease and dirt. I sit before you, humbled. Please don't hate me! Of course, all is not lost. The sprayer still works great for spraying off dishes. I had been using the hand held pump bottle ( like you would use to mist plants ) that cost a buck at Wal-Mart, but only so I would not put too much wear and tear on my shower. But that sucks. I had to start emptying it every night so it wouldn't freeze solid overnight. So you have to squeeze it a dozen times before you even get water. After a few dishes your hand cramps up. Now I can go back to the big pump sprayer for dishes. So I didn't really waste the $8, but it was a close call. Don't let me try to improve on a simple thing again ( kind of like a $200 Mylar bag sealer replaces a clothes iron ).
END
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27 comments:
Delta Echo says:
I lived 2 years in a tiny cabin, without running water. I figure in reality you need 5 gallons per person per day to drink, cook, clean with. if nothing else get a sheet of poly and improvise a curtained off warm spot right in front of the heater. Full up body cleaning every other day in the winter is a good thing. I used to be able to get 5 gallon plastic jugs that held drink syrup/flavoring from a food plant. Were heavy duty poly and the lid had a cap that had a knock-out for a standard pipe thread so I could have a spigot on one. Dont overlook getting a metal pail and fitting up a faucet near the bottom, set on the stove to warm up then hoist up with a bit of rope. I will still urge you to put up a "porch" even of its just poly walls, and put a wood stove up there. Heat up lots of water while burning up trash. You gotta remember the third world does not all burn nice fire wood, some use dried dung. If it burns it converts to heat..
Good information, Delta Echo.
Traveled through Central America and Mexico a few years ago, a 6 week trip. 2 gallons is all it took for a quick shower. Could'a done it with 1 if pressed. Placed the 2 gallon jugs in the back of the car to warm, end of the day, hot shower.
I keep a five gallon metal tub next to the wood stove filled with water. The water says warm and you just dip out what you need in a jug for showers or dishes. A couple time a day I refill the tub with snow to top off the tub. Only works in winter with alot of snow.
I lived without electricity or plumbing in New Hampshire for most of a year. After much trial and error, I settled on a watering can as the best way to shower. Fill it with hot water, step outside, get wet, soap up, and rinse. It's nicer than a hanging shower because it automatically "shuts off" when you set it down. And the best way I've found to heat water are these things:
http://oblio13.blogspot.com/2008/12/gear-that-works-wood-burning-outdoor.html
When we first moved in the house it was November and Hunting season. The well driller said he would be back in April( he was) but the first winter was with water that I brought home in 5 gallon Jugs. I found a huge coffee pot at the dump. It must be 2 gallons or more.(we still have it) Every day that baby got filled and heated on the two drum wood heater. We used it to wash in the morning. The Kids took showers at school, Teen agers at the time. The wife and I did the best we could. We washed in the bathtub with that big coffee pot. You do what you gotta do. We laugh about melting snow like Bear. We did discover how dirty snow is however.
Old Fart
Tent stoves are commonly available with water reservoirs on the side. I am not sure how much more efficient they might be compared to a bucket on top of the stove but it might be worth looking in to. Jim could really use one of these stoves since he is also dealing with the space heating issue. I know Jimbo said wood is hard to come by in his area but like Delta Echo suggested lots of stuffs burns.
I like the watering can idea. If you can get a metal one you could throw it right on the stove or fire for heating up the water.
Hate to admit it, but I never heard of the bleach bottle shower. Makes perfect sense to me, though.
I feel so dumb when I read something like this and then go "Duh, why didn't I think of that?"
By the way I don't see how Jimmy can get along with out a biomass heating source for to many more years. For fuel sources he could scout out some construction or destruction debris. Yard debris, old broken furniture. Any thing that burns and somebody would be likely to deliver.
All of this stuff will be hard to come by post collapse. I have tossed tons of crap in to land fills that could have been used for fuel but I have been blessed with better supplies of nice firewood. One day I will probably kick my self and wish some of that "garbage" was still around.
I would have to be hard up to burn painted or adhesive laden stuff but who knows how many hidden BTU's might be in that paint or glue.
And don't forget used motor oil. Black gold I tell you. Carcinogens probably, BTU's definitely.
Happy burning
I plan to use all sources of btu producing fuel.. This guy made a oil burner on the cheap using old water heater and no electricity.
http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_library/ethanol_motherearth/me4.html
Anon 5:13 pm,
I saw that Mother Earth News article on the homemade oil burner, it was awesome. I think that might be to big of a project for Jimmy boy. I was thinking of just soaking or pouring the oil over scrap woody debris or news paper and burning in the regular wood stove.
Maybe you could make newspaper logs and soak those in the oil. I am a little reluctant to try burning those in my wood stove here at my city home, but I might try it on the next trip to the cabin. I hope the enviromaniacs don't read this blog. Man it will be stinky, I will make sure there is a nice bed of coals before I lay on the oil logs.
If you painted that bottle flat black and placed it in a sunny window, it's possible you could have solar heated water by the end of the day. Whoever is home could remove the bottle(s) from the window once the sun stops heating it/them and place the bottle(s) in some form of insulation--kinda like a haybox system but only for heated water instead of cooking. I would try for reflectrix insulation if you can scrounge it as it's light and very efficient. But a blanket could suffice. WVtreehanger sends.
stop by the post office & gather up the junk mail from the trash cans. Burns good in a sheet metal stove. just don't throw it all in at once.
To add to the junk mail bit, if you have mail delivery, is to get on every junk mail list you can & let the post office delivery your fire material.
Glom me on to Uncle's perspective...
I was looking over at simple solar homesteading and the author there mentions a batch water heater for $50.
http://www.freewebs.com/simplesolarhomesteading/photos.htm
I can't tell what it is though and haven't purchased his stuff from lulu.
anyone have any ideas on what he has going there?
what about using bamboo as a renewable fuel source in a wood burning stove?
Sometimes ya gotta look at things from a different angle, then it hits ya.... Great post!
Bamboo is overlooked here in the states as a useful plant. For the most part it seems that it is planted as an ornamental. I noticed more people are purchasing bamboo flooring.
I am not sure what variety Jimbo might be able to grow in the desert with out having to supply water but it would be worth looking into.
Most of the bamboo I have seen is hard as rock but flexible as it stands so it would not be fun to harvest with hand tools. The large timber bamboos get huge in diameter and height and would serve as useful building materials.
Where is the pic of the bison homstead? Just like I thought nothing, in a few days it will all blow over because jimmy says he has no camera, when the truth is he has no homestead... Jimmy I am sending you a disposable camera and $10 buck so you can get the film developed, so now then you have no excuse.
You are a fake and a fraud jimmy and it is about time everyone became aware of who you really are a lazy bum living in the trash, I mean trailer park.
If you can not post some real pic of your set up then that should be proof to everyone that you are only a want to be fake and a scam artist.
Hi,
I live down the street from Rawles and he is still in a trailer park.
He does have sandbags around his trailer and a .50 mounted on the roof.
"you really are a lazy bum living in the trash, I mean trailer park..."
why is u yppie pigs making fun of poor folk living in trailer parks ?
huh ! no overpriced wine and no whining butch dike women telling you how to dress ?
or is your credit card debt, car payments, and mortgage causing your bottom to bleed ?
so instead of blaming the collapse of the system ( you sold your soul too for a few trinkets), on the real people who do all the real work in this god forsaken country.
why don't you quite snorting and get a goddamn life.
I would like to point out that a quick check on
181 West Bullion Road #12
Elko, Nevada
with Google Maps show that address as being in a trailer park.
http://maps.google.com/maps?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=s&hl=en&q=181%20West%20Bullion%20Road%20%2312&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl
Mystery solved?
This post is an excellent example of why I love your blog. You are living the collapse now and letting us in on the everyday troubles and how to fix them.
Great post!
Sometimes we need to eat a little bit of crow to get the best information out there.
Why mess with making a shower out of a weed sprayer?
Just get a camp shower, $13 online:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41G960DTFHL._SS400_.jpg
http://gongfu.com.ua - Visit us or die!
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