Bath Water Life Span
Posted by IDrankLavaLamps@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 17 comments
Approximately how many baths can you take in a bathtub filled with non-exchanged water before you need to worry about the water causing more harm than good?
How is this lifespan changed when taking into consideration of going outside and getting dirty each time, vs staying inside full time?
The longer you go without cleaning, the more bacteria builds up on your body. Would the bath water get dirtier taking daily baths or every few days/once a week?
Can you use bleach to kill off everything in the bath water to take more baths, and how much can you do this before it once again causes more harm than good?
Vinlands@reddit
Its where the saying dont throw the baby out with the bath water came from. The baby would always be last in the family to get a bath and by then the water was so dirty you couldnt even see what was in it.
wunderlust777@reddit
Do you have any historical evidence that they really let it get that dirty?
fvkehvppy@reddit
There is none because the idiom is germanic in origin and was always metaphorical. It doesn't have any known origin other than the myth people like to spread about the sharing of bath water (I found that one on snopes)
Icy-Weather2164@reddit
Realistically, it would take two days for the water to start to feel un-usable. That being because after two days or so, the water would start to grow enough bacteria to have a noticeable odor to it, and it would kind a defeat the purpose of bathing if you smell as bad as the water you're bathing in. After-all, we bath in order to get rid of bacteria that causes us to smell, not re-apply the same amount of bacteria. The tipping point would be defined by whenever you can actively start to smell the difference.
From a purely sanitation and chemical perspective, I have no clue. Take some bath water and see how long it takes to go rancid in an open cup if you wanna know that answer.
And can confirm, algae filled pond is not a viable action. Went swimming in it once as a kid, head above water at all times. Massive allergic reaction for both me and my brother thereafter. I'm inclined to believe from that singular isolated experience that there was probably more wrong with that water than not if it had enough bacterial growth in it to form algae in the first place.
Zealousideal_Car_632@reddit
My plan is a mobile shower. Shower bag over a kiddies pool. I would then after the pool fills use a very small amount of pool shock to kill anything and then reuse. I think this would squeeze a lot out of a little water.
Magical_Savior@reddit
Don't bathe in the tub and ruin the water. Scoop out a small amount and wash / rinse with that. Two buckets / basins. One to wash, one to rinse. Bathtub is only good for water storage if you don't contaminate it. Give it a bleach treatment for appropriate volume if it has to be drinkable during an emergency. But that much water with that much surface area exposed to air won't stay drinkable forever - if it was to begin with, depending on what was in the tub.
adderall30mg@reddit
I would not add bleach, if you are waiting that long to change it, its time to move past it.
Regular bathing is a new thing. It doesn’t take much water to get a good wipe down of the particularly dirty parts.
Connect-Type493@reddit
yeah i would rather a clean wet cloth/wet wipes, than a tub full of thrice used bacteria soup
adderall30mg@reddit
Yup. Its like mopping with dirty water... It just doesn't work.
BootTechnical1980@reddit
I think that would really depend on how dirty the people bathing are. If we're sharing bath water, the dirtiest one would bathe last, right? I have never experienced this type of thing, but it makes sense.
ilreppans@reddit
I’m an UL backpacker and do ‘astronaut showers’ (Navy shower w/less water) - down to ~3 cups of water for a full shower/shampoo. That’s 5 showers per gallon, 200 showers per bathtub, or >1yr showering every other day.
Ultra-conservation of scarce resources makes camp life so much easier. Zero water waste dishwashing; heating microclimates for hours on ounces of fuel; and tuning gadgets (computing/entertainment, nav/satcom, radio, lighting) down to <6W-hrs/day.
Dry_Car2054@reddit
My mother grew up during the Depression in a house with no running water. She would put a few inches of water in the sink or a bucket and wash her body with a rag.
Hair can also be done with a bucket, a little water and a cup. Bend over bucket and scoop water and pour over head until hair is wet. Larger with shampoo. Rinse by scooping more water over head. Change out water and rinse again if needed.
You can get clean with very little water. I've seen mom do it many times and it works well. I do it myself when camping and it's great there since it lowers water use.
Hinterwaeldler-83@reddit
For cleaning purposes I have a supply of wet wipes. The bathtub is to valuable as storage space for a water bob.
GoBackToLeddit@reddit
Well, I take a shit in my tub after I am done, so I don't get any uses after that. I have to stomp the log until it becomes mush and washes down the drain. I wish I could use my bathwater more.
Usagiboy7@reddit
As a backpacker, I can go a long time without bathing. Im stinky, but vanity is less important than other things.
Bathwater is going to get gross and start growing bacteria after the first day, whether or not you bath in it. Bathrooms are germ factories. If you bath in the water, it'll grow even more bacteria. Depends on what is growing an things like room temperature, humidity, location, germs already on you and in your house etc, too many factors to be able to say, "after x # of baths and tome water has sat, it will no longer be safe."
If you are trying to conserve water, infrequent sponge baths may be the way to go, baring any extenuating disability considerations, of course. (That doesnt mean hop in the tub with a sponge It means dip the sponge (or rag etc) into water, and then scrub yourself with it.)
Alternatively, companies make single use "bathing" towels for backpackers and hospitals. You open the package, wipe yourself down with the wet cloth inside, and discard it. Ive had to use these after a major surgery. It's not at all the same as taking a shower or a bath. But they are way better than nothing. And if you are injured, safer than a bath because bathtubs are germ magnets.
Good luck!
SpamCannibal@reddit
Um. Cleanest water you can get or find. Not sure anything more needs to be said. If the cleanest water is dirty, then dirty it is. Just organic dirt though, chemical bad, especially on your junk.
ApplicationOk8228@reddit
I live in Japan, and until a few decades ago it was completely normal for the whole family to use the same bath water for a few days. The caveat is that you'd wash yourself first by scooping water from the tub, and add water and reheat the bath water by the attached bath boiler for the next person.
Nowadays most of us wash ourselves by the shower and then soak in the tub, and change the tub water every day.