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.