Outdoor shower anyone?

[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.

 

[Chic Rustler]

I habe worked on some outdoor showers. A good hard freeze will kill that $200 shower valve assembly. But the folks around here who have outdoor showers have them at their lake houses. They dont mind spending $500 a year on it.

 

[Calista]

I habe worked on some outdoor showers. A good hard freeze will kill that $200 shower valve assembly.

Chic, if we decided to try this design and live in an area where average winter temps hover around the freezing mark (no hard freezes), could you give me some advice as to how we might insulate that assembly? Thanks.

 

[Calista]

Calista, I'd be careful with the pallet floor. We had one in an old basement corner shower my dad rigged up, but things kept dropping between the slats. And when it wasn't being used, spiders loved that dark area. Where I live now, I'd be wary of snakes, but I'm not sure how many you'd get there.
When I was a kid, we just washed in the lake.

Good points! We're blessed here to have no poisonous snakes or spiders, but the IDEA gives me the willies.

If we do this kind of setup, it will have to be without a pallet floor. Maybe gravel and shower shoes.