Outdoor shower anyone?
- Thread starter wooddustmaker
- Start date
frosthill
Sustainable Newbie
I've seen people put a water storage container (like a trash can, often painted black) on support beams above the shower. A hose attachment and gravity does the rest.
My concern with the coiled hose idea is that the water would be blazing hot after sitting in direct sun for any length of time. I live in New England, and my hose water gets too hot to touch after sitting in the sun. Maybe they're planning on using it in the evenings, or perhaps it won't be in direct sunlight for an extended period of time. Just something to keep in mind.
My concern with the coiled hose idea is that the water would be blazing hot after sitting in direct sun for any length of time. I live in New England, and my hose water gets too hot to touch after sitting in the sun. Maybe they're planning on using it in the evenings, or perhaps it won't be in direct sunlight for an extended period of time. Just something to keep in mind.
freemotion
Food Guru
You could always use two hoses, one for hot and one for cold and mix the water to the right temperature. When I had my horse I would connect all three 100' hoses and loop back and forth in the sun for an hour. All the hot water needed to wash a white horse! And yes, it was too hot at first, so I often would fill a bucket with the hottest water. Then it was too cold at the end. If I were doing this, I'd make it with hot and cold.
MEN had plans years ago (think that is where I saw it) for making a solar shower with a rubber innertube, back when they were in a lot of tires. You patched a valve onto the inner tube and hung the tube in the sun or put it on a roof. Can you even get inner tubes anymore???
MEN had plans years ago (think that is where I saw it) for making a solar shower with a rubber innertube, back when they were in a lot of tires. You patched a valve onto the inner tube and hung the tube in the sun or put it on a roof. Can you even get inner tubes anymore???
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wooddustmaker
Lovin' The Homestead
Thanks for all of the replies. Been very busy lately. I would definatelt have a hot, and cold line. Living in the desert like I do, that would have to be a must. I was just wondering how many others enjoyed the peace, and comfort of an outdoor shower.
Beekissed
Mountain Sage
When we were homesteading my dad built a frame work and mounted a 5 gal. white plastic water jug, painted black, on it. Placed a shower head that had a turn off built into the head. We would haul water up to it in the morning and let the sun heat it.
We could all shower with that 5 gal. if we used the water judiciously....let me tell you this...that was the most welcome thing after sweating in the sun all day! The floor was made of pallets, so if you dropped your soap it could fall in between and get dirty...not good.
We also would make good use of a warm, summer rain and a downspout at the corner of the cabin....one can wash a lot of parts and still not expose them, if you are really wanting a shower!
We could all shower with that 5 gal. if we used the water judiciously....let me tell you this...that was the most welcome thing after sweating in the sun all day! The floor was made of pallets, so if you dropped your soap it could fall in between and get dirty...not good.
We also would make good use of a warm, summer rain and a downspout at the corner of the cabin....one can wash a lot of parts and still not expose them, if you are really wanting a shower!
frosthill
Sustainable Newbie
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!
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
Lovin' The Homestead
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.
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.
This is the nicest one I have seen!
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=321571
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=321571
Dace
Revolution in Progress
Wow Pam...that is super deluxe!!
TanksHill
Super Self-Sufficient
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.
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.
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