Days 6 & 7: Soaking up the lessons

A hot shower has never felt as good as the one I had this morning. After seven days of sponge-bathing and a single soak in a warm soupy, sweaty sauce I relished my (four minute) shower.

The 1930s bathing challenge wasn't as bad as I feared though. It is definitely possible to shower a little less than we have become accustomed to, and still maintain acceptable standards of hygiene.

Some wisdom gained from this experience:

• It is possible to bathe adequately using only four litres of water in a basin.
• Washing hair in a hand-basin is not a pleasant experience, and is best accomplished with assistance.
• A bath uses way more water than a four minute shower.
• A water-efficient shower head can cut water use dramatically.
• Showering twice daily is a luxury, and can only be justified if each shower is two minutes long (i.e. half of the four minute shower allowance).
• Shower timers are a great idea - particularly to remind younger members of the household when they have reached their shower limit.
• Showering has an intellectual pay-off effect. Some of my best thinking happens under the shower.

Moving forward, this experience has given me a few ideas about how to reduce our overall water consumption in relation to the bathroom, which I think makes it all worthwhile.

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?

Days 3 & 4: Bath day has been postponed

I know, I know. You've come here expecting a philosophical discussion about the nature of bathing for relaxation versus bathing for hygiene.

And you will get it.

But not today.

Melbourne has experienced two days well into the 30s (degrees Celsius) and the house is like an oven. The last thing I wanted to do yesterday evening was sink into a deep, warm bath.

Instead, a cool sponge bath seemed a very attractive option.

I'm waiting until the cool change comes through before I embark on 'bath day'.

I have however, over the past two days, proven that a thorough and judicious regime of sponge-bathing does not compromise today's hygiene standards. At least, I don't think it does. I haven't heard any complaints.

How do you keep your cool when the weather heads north?

Day 2: Saving precious drops

Here in Melbourne, like many parts of Australia, water is a precious resource. According to the weekly update at the Melbourne Water website, Melbourne’s water storages dropped by 0.2% of capacity in the week to 6th November, despite some good rain in that time over Melbourne’s major catchments.

Our water storages are now at 33.6% of capacity which is 118 billion litres lower than the same time last year, when they were 40.3% (715.2 billion litres) full.

The good news is that average daily water consumption was 1,028 million litres which was 83 million litres less than the previous week, and below the 1990s spring average of 1,246 million litres a day.

The weekly update concluded by saying Melbourne’s water authorities are encouraging four-minute showers and providing a free showerhead exchange program to help save more water ahead of summer.

So, how much am I saving ahead of summer by daily sponge-bathing and a weekly bath?

Equipped with a bucket and a stopwatch, my daughters and I worked out the flow rate of our shower. Luckily my oldest daughter is a whiz at working out equations such as what the per minute flowrate of the shower would be if a 12 litre bucket fills in 46 seconds (Answer: almost 16 litres per minute*).

Assuming I stick to the four minute shower in the morning and have a quick two minute one in the evening (and this is a big assumption...as sometimes the water is just so nice and warm, and the thinking time just too irresistible...but go with me on this one) I'm using a total of 96 litres per day just in the shower.

My sponge bath option uses just 4 litres in a basin twice a day, plus I'll add an extra 8 litres four times a week to wash my hair over the hand basin. This averages to about 12.5 litres a day.

Where the 1930s figures start to blow out though is in the weekly bath. If I was being scrupulous about water-saving I'd only put a few centimetres into the bottom of the bath. But if it's the only bath I'm going to have all week, I know I'll be tempted to fill it to a reasonable level so I can soak. This could mean up to 200 litres.

Even with the deep soaking bath option, my 1930s regime uses a total of 287.5 litres a week compared with the showering 672 litres per week.

Over the course of a year, I would save almost 20,000 litres.

I tried to think of a way to graphically represent that amount of water, then it came to me.

20,000 litres is about two-thirds the volume of our swimming pool.

Of course, if I just swam every day I could avoid the whole sponging/showering dilemma totally. It may be a chilly option in winter, my skin would dry out and I would smell of chlorine rather than soap, but I guess it's an option.

What are you prepared to do to save water?

*Please do not hesitate to correct me if any of my maths is wrong - it's been known to happen. And, I've now realised that this showerhead flowrate is excessive. A water-efficient shower head has a flowrate of less than 9 litres per minute. I will be looking at swapping to a water-efficient one.

Thursday...I shall report on 'bath day'.

Day 1: The Sponge Bath

Many houses, and fairly sized houses too, are destitute of a bath, and if there is no room for the erection of one, or if the means for having it built are not forthcoming, it becomes necessary to see what cheap and efficient substitute can be made. A sponge bath, or large tub, with a bucket of water and a good-sized sponge, can readily be obtained, even in the most humble dwelling, and answers as well as can be wished. When the body is simply sponged over with tepid water it makes one of the mildest baths that can be taken; but those who are in ordinary health can well lather them selves over with soap and cold water, and then wash it off with some squeezes of the sponge copiously wetted with the water.

Philip E. Muskett, The Art of Living in Australia (1893)

Chapter 3 Ablution - the Skin and the Bath.
(Accessed via: http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/)

The internet truly is an amazing thing. You want to know how to make 19th century damson preserves? Google it. You want to know how to bone a bodice? Google it. You want to know how to spin flax? Google it.

Thus, skills and knowledge that may have been previously locked away in dusty tomes on the shelves of libraries are now accessible to anyone, anywhere - and often come accompanied by a Youtube video tutorial.

But when it came time for me to master the ancient art of sponge-bathing, I turned my back on the copious advice available to me on the web and I decided to wing it.

I've developed my own method.

1. I filled a basin with warm water.
2. I washed my face with plain water, then used my cleanser and a wipe.
3. I applied soap to a damp washcloth and lathered up all over. (One of Megan's handknitted washcloths would be perfect for this job, but alas, I have not been the lucky recipient of her washcloth largess - instead I used a regular towelling one.)
4. I wet the second washcloth in the basin and removed the soap from my skin. I rinsed this washcloth in the basin every few seconds and didn't wring it out.
5. The process took around five minutes from start to finish - slightly more than a four-minute shower.

I'll finesse this method over the week. For a start, I'll move the basin into the shower, as Step 4 ended up slopping soap and water all over the bathmat and the floor. And I think I may add a small jug to the equipment to pour the last of the water over my body.

I'm sincerely glad I'm not doing this challenge in the middle of winter. Even this morning it was a little chilly to be standing naked and dripping in the bathroom.

At the end of it, I felt surprisingly clean. I'm not sure I removed all the traces of soap, and I've spent the day smelling a little of Palmolive Gold...but I suspect that is better than the alternative?

Tomorrow...how much water am I actually saving?