As mentioned in another thread, our house is in the middle of getting renovated. For that reason, I can't use the shower at this time.

I did take a birdbath, but that only does so much. I drove to a club in our gated community to use the shower room. I ran into a problem of a different sort. That's a long story that I prefer not to go into.

I went with the next option on my list of options. I put on my swimsuit and flip flops, took a bar of soap and a towel, and went to the back yard where I used a garden hose while standing on the back porch.

Going into this, I knew that the water would be cold. However, it was not until I experienced the reality of cold water on my back that I had a new idea. I should have brought a tub of warm water with me in addition to everything else.

Has anyone ran into this problem, you can't use the shower inside your house? What did you do? Is there an option that I have not mentioned?

Jeanette Isabelle

There are camp showers. The bag can be put in the sun to warm up the water or if you live in a warm climate, let it sit over night to get it to room temperature.
That said, I am a cold shower person anyway. I´d probably skip the swimsuite too.

I can't do that. Somebody might see me.

Jeanette Isabelle

If you think the water coming out of your hose is cold in Florida ... don't move to Colorado! Alaska would be right out too.

City rec centers have showers too.

You can get adapters to connect a garden hose to a bathroom sink faucet. Any hardware store should have them. Some will work on kitchen sinks too - it depends on what type of faucet you have (the fancy kitchen faucets may not have screw-on threads you can access like most bathroom sinks). Throw the hose out a window, adjust the water temp, and use it out back.

Another idea is to heat water in a basin, carry it out to the porch, and take a sitz bath.

A solar shower bf will be the solution to your problem. They aree available in sizes from 5 gal (rather heavy) to 2.5 gal(just right) to one gallon (barely enough), available in sporting goods stores or mail order (REI definitively).

Fill the bag, put it in the sun in the early AM, an enjoy a nice warm shower about 6 PM or earlier. Alternatively, heat water on the stove and fill the bag.

I have used these for weeks at a time on field projects with complete satisfaction.

And don't forget that in inclement weather, that a solar shower can be filled with water heated on a stove or in an electric kettle.

Another alternative Is a large drum filled with warm water. Use a 12 volt submersible pump, a length of garden hose and a hand held shower spray.
The water in the large drum may be heated on a camp stove or in any other way. Two kettles of boiling water, diluted with cold water should be enough.
The 12 volt pump can be worked from a vehicle battery.

This can be used indoors in a bathtub, or in the garden if not overlooked, or in a tent in the garden.

Water in dark coloured garden hose soon gets hot in sunny weather. Not much good for showering as it may be too hot, and soon becomes cold as the water is replaced with cold water.
Can be used to fill the drum as described above.

You can also use a pump up bug sprayer. I've never used one myself but they seem to be popular with the YouTube van dwelling crowd. Just pour in warm water and you are good to go. I would start with a new one and they are inexpensive.

my warm water hurricane shower (we haven't had city water disruption since the 70's and my hot water heater holds temp for about 2 days) is the use of a plastic garden sprayer painted black...keep track of the time in the Sun, as even with the thick poly sides it can get pretty warm... I use the regular spray tip, but have seen where some attach a larger spray head from a regular sink rinse hose... the sprayer tank is dedicated, no insecticides/herbicides

I ran a couple of experiments on solar heating that were reported on a couple of occasions... if anyone would like a repeat, please ask

Since you apparently don't use solar now, evidently it did not work too well for you. Yet Fla is about as sunny as Ca (except for occasional hurricanes). Please repeat your findings.

Curious because solar worked great for me and three to five person crew for months (summer and late fall) on several occasions.

The water heater is not the issue. I was unable to access the shower.

Jeanette Isabelle

Just wear a bathing suit, or whatever suits you. Find or fashion a secluded, private location, and have at it.

I keep solar showers handy for something that renders our shower inaccessible, like a large earthquake. on my city lot with a typical back yard, there are several spots where I can fashion a workable shower/bathroom stall. It is even easier if you are in an isolated situation.

I've seen little pop-up tents made for showers or outhouses. IIRC they're pretty cheap. One could set one up in the back yard and have some privacy.

Easiest way which I have had used in the past with a 50 foot garden hose.

Stretch your charged garden hose out on the lawn, patio or driveway and leave in the hot sun for an hour. That water in the hose will be plenty warm to have a quick shower /wipe down with.

Of course, a longer garden hose helps with much more warm water to use.

The bathroom remodel will probably be finished before this thread is. Hopefully the work is moving along quickly so this showering inconvenience is a thing of the past in short order.

When we ran into this I was able to go the local gym. I told them that I needed to use their shower due to a plumbing emergency at my house and I was willing to pay for a daily membership. Possibly due to friends I have that work there, they let me bathe without the daily membership fee. I did that for a few days until we had our bathroom back in working order.

hikermor... I built a solar water heater for Mom and Dad when I got out of the USAF around 1976... a local entrepreneur had come up with a pretty good model... it used the 3 sided aluminum extrusions that swimming pool enclosures were made from... the lip of the extrusions held 4 pieces of 2'x 4'glass... base was a piece of 1/2" 4x8 plywood sheathed on the outside with a couple of sections of alum ridge valley... the lip of the 3x4 box beam allowed some additional space to accommodate the glass in a standard un cut form

he used 3 pieces of redwood with a series of V notches cut in to hold the 1/2" type M rigid copper pipe down to the collector plate... the pipe loops were connected by a street elbow and a 90 degree fitting... pipes were about 7 1/2ft long... 220ft of pipe in each of two collectors... two redwood spreaders on saw horses held the sections of pipe and connectors to be sweat soldered during construction... the spreaders were of the height to support the edges of the glass(held in place by a piece of polymer glass molding with edge notch to hold the glass, yet allowing it to "float"... edge of the glass held with a piece of 90degree alum angle...as well as the receiver box... mounted off the roof on pieces of aluminum stand off

the collector plate was a piece of the heavy aluminum "foil" backed insulation used in building A/C ducts... pipe and collector painted black...

a small magnetic pump produced water flow, and was controlled by 3 temperature controls that clamped on the pipe, and a powered gate valve... a special 82gal hot water heater that had a fitting from the base of the tank was used... the "demand" controller was clamped to a line from the lower (cooler) part of the tank... it was in series with a controller in the collector that sensed enough heat.. the third controller was a freeze protection circuit that ran water through the system to prevent freezing

on a sunny day it would produce 82 gallons of 180F water by Noon...visiting relatives would have to be warned of the heat......

we anticipated that the less than $700 cost would be returned in 5 years in power bill savings... it took 3... it was removed after Mom and Dad's death when I inherited the house...I had the roof replaced at about 25years of service from the collectors and they needed some repair... my mistake was that I had run the service lines across the top of the roof, and they had frozen on a couple of occasions, causing problems with the collector coils rupturing

I was referring in my comment to hurricane solar... regards

Here in the uk motorway services and airports have showers if you ask for them.
I'll be suprised if truck stops in the US don't have them.
Qjs

Most do, for a fee.