Outdoor shower anyone?

[frosthill]

Ahh, I hadn't even thought of dropping bar soap through the floor! That's something to keep in mind when we build ours. Of course, we could always use liquid soap

My husband has been working on an island off the Maine coast, which is all off-grid. Outdoor showers are common out there. I know some use solar bags, but others have a more sophisticated set-up using rainwater. For indoor showering, a bucket/pump set-up is common. They use a plastic kitchen trash container, fill it about 1/4 full, then add hot water (usually heated on the gas stove). A small pump directs the water through the shower. (The pumps are powered by generator or solar energy.) The shower I used had a switch right in the stall (near the ceiling) which switched the pump on and off. What I appreciated most about it was not having to waste water waiting for it to heat up. I was amazed at how little water we needed to bathe.

We currently have our home on the market with the plan of building something small off the grid. My husband's time on the island has opened his eyes to this lifestyle option, and we're both well suited for it. I've wanted an outdoor shower ever since using them at the seashore when I was a kid. I'm pretty excited about it, and I'm only sorry that here in Maine, the outdoor showering season is gonna be pretty short!

 

[Lady Henevere]

We're thinking of adding an outdoor shower that would drain to the plants, similar to the one Dace posted. I also saw one that heated the water by snaking the hose through the hot compost pile. I would think that would warm the water but not get it as hot as the hose in the sun.

When I camped as a kid with scouts, the bar soap was always in a nylon stocking tied to the faucet. You just rub it to lather as usual, but it can't fall in the dirt.

 

[PamsPride]

This is the nicest one I have seen!
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=321571

 

[Dace]

Wow Pam...that is super deluxe!!

 

[TanksHill]

Wow, now that's a shower!!!

I watched a video blog once on outdoor showers. Not sure who the original OP was. But they ran black hose through their compost pile. Coiled like 100 ft of hose through a huge pile of "stuff" and when it hit the shower at the other end it was warm. Then for the season the built another pile with another hose. That way the next year they were ready for hot water again. They said that they could all take showers and never run out of hot water.

Now that sounds cool to me.

 

[ducks4you]

This is the nicest one I have seen!
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=321571

I took an outside shower once, at the place of a friend of my dad's, who lived close to the Pacific Ocean in California. (She went ocean-swimming a lot, and wanted to keep the sand out of any inside shower/bath, you see.)
It was great, it was warm outside, and I'd certainly take one there again (if offered.)
I think you should take the added measure of using your broom to take down any spider's webs that grow between your outside showers.

 

[Lady Henevere]

I mentioned the outdoor shower to DH again the other day, and suddenly he has decided to run with it. He went out and bought a bunch of supplies to start building. (He's also in the process taking the balcony apart. I wish he would do one thing at a time, but oh well.) Anyway, one objective of the shower outside is to allow the water to drain into the ground where it can be used by the trees (it's SO dry here!). Anyone have ideas about good shower "floors" that will allow water to drain through? We could do a slatted wood floor but aren't thrilled at the thought of critters underneath. We were also thinking of a gravel base with flat stones (such as flagstones) on top that would allow the water to just permeate down to the ground. Anyone have thoughts or ideas on this? Thanks!

 

[Calista]

I decided to resurrect this old thread because one of the thousands of projects I'm considering for this summer is an outdoor shower. We like what this guy did:

http://tinygogo.blogspot.com/2009_04_01_archive.html

Seems pretty easy to set up if your roof can handle the weight of the solar tank -- otherwise, building a stand might work.

 

[sumi]

I've known two people that had outdoor showers (and one with an outdoor bath! ) Both set-ups were simple hang-up-a-bag-with-water-and-a-tap types and worked great. One I recall used a black (coloured) bag to hold the water, so it would absorb heat from the sun to make the shower water warm for him.

 

[Calista]

I've known two people that had outdoor showers (and one with an outdoor bath! ) Both set-ups were simple hang-up-a-bag-with-water-and-a-tap types and worked great. One I recall used a black (coloured) bag to hold the water, so it would absorb heat from the sun to make the shower water warm for him.

Yes, I had to laugh at the great memories of a two-week rafting trip we took on the Colorado River and our handy-dandy black shower bag tied to the raft each day to soak up all that sun for getting clean in camp each night. The guide made mock-serious claims that he should charge us extra because he had to row the extra weight and we didn't save any warm water for him.