Day 5: Up to my neck in it

Everything is a miracle. It is a miracle that one does not dissolve in one's bath like a lump of sugar.

Pablo Picasso

In these days of water-scarcity awareness in Victoria, having a deep warm bath is really an indulgence. It has become a guilty pleasure. Just this week, the Water Minister, Tim Holding, confirmed that the Government is considering the introduction of daily individual water use targets. According to the article in the Herald-Sun, it is believed individuals would be asked to limit water use to 155 litres a day, 10 litres less than the current average daily use. An average bath uses something between 80 to 200 litres of water which represents a very large chunk of that daily allowance.

If however, you are sponge-bathing daily instead of pouring litres and litres down the shower drain, you could perhaps ‘bank’ the additional litres to justify having a once-a-week luxury bath.

Which is what I did last night.

The 19th century Australian health reformer Philip E. Muskett had the following to say about baths:

Now, the daily use of the cold bath, together with the assiduous application of soap, may be sufficient to keep the skin cleansed from impurities. Yet as a matter of fact this will the more certainly be ensured by a weekly —or, better still, bi-weekly—warm cleansing bath. The best time to take it is before bedtime, so that there is no risk of taking a chill afterwards. After the body has been well lathered over with soap, and this has been thoroughly washed off, the cleansing process may be then considered as completed. It is next recommended that two handsful of common salt should be added to the warm water, and the body steeped therein for a minute or two. The particles of salt pass into the skin so firmly that they cannot be removed even by the most vigorous rubbing. In this way the functions of the skin are stimulated to a considerable degree; the process of nutrition throughout the body greatly promoted; and the liver roused to action. From this it is easy to understand why hot sea-water baths are so beneficial.

P.E Muskett, The Art of Living in Australia (1893) - accessed via http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au

I took his advice. After soaking in the soapy water, I added the two ‘handsful’ of common salt. I’m not sure what the intended effect was, and whether in fact I achieved it. I didn’t notice any rousing to action of my liver, but perhaps it roused itself discreetly.

I’m a big fan of the occasional evening bath. I think there is nothing as relaxing as sinking into a deepish warm bath with a folded towel under your neck and a good book. And for occasions where muscle soreness or stiffness is an issue, a hot bath hits the spot nicely.

But, I’m reconsidering them as a method of cleanliness. Last night I contemplated the nature of lying back in a warm soapy bath and I realised that I was, in fact, gently stewing in a soup of soap scum, dead skin, the day’s dirt and sweat. Lovely.

When I finally got out of the bath, I felt I needed a quick shower to rinse off the film of debris I was sure was clinging to my skin, but of course that was impossible under my 1930s regime. I had to resign myself to a quick rinse with a sponge and basin.

Just the thought of it was enough to make me yearn for my hot showers. Only two days to go...

How do you like your bath?