# personal hygiene: having a shower/bath etc.



## Linni

The only thread (that I have found at WR)  referring to my question is this one http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=454336&highlight=hygiene&page=2 but I don't think the general question was really answered there. That's why I've decided to start a new thread. I hope no one minds it and that I don't break any rules. (If so, I am sorry .)



My family's acquaintance went, as an exchange student, to Belgium (just for a short time - maybe one or two weeks). She's been talking about it recently and told us that she had a shower every day (which, I thought, everyone must consider normal and usual!) when she was in Belgium, in the host family and on the day of her departure for the Czech Republic the host family  gave her a small present - a set of sponges (for bathing) (+ maybe some soaps etc.) - saying that she must love water and showering when she has a shower every day!

When the girl from Belgium came to the Czech Rep., she showered only two times a week (at least this is what my friend said). Moreover, they went on trips etc. and showering only two times a week, when you're sweaty, seems to be a little .... "unusual" to me.

What do you think about it? 

How often do you usually have a shower? Do you find it normal to have a shower every day? Or even twice a day? 


(By the way, I'm sorry for my English and all the mistakes I've made. Feel free to correct me, please! )


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## HKK

Are you saying Belgians are fine with showering twice a week My fellow Belgian boarders will be sure to agree that this isn't the fact.

Quite everyone I know takes a shower every day, or every other day maybe.


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## Chaska Ñawi

Moderator Note:  You're right about the question not being really addressed before - the original thread started with a stereotype, produced a lot of chat, and had to be closed.

If this one is to remain open, the question needs to be rephrased from "How often do you take a shower or bath?" to the following:

How often do people shower or bathe in your culture?

Discussion can involve water conservation, when it is considered essential to have a shower (ie, after running that marathon), availability of hot water, and what constitutes dirt in your culture (do you live in an area that thinks you're dirty after a day in the office, or are you allowed a bit more slack?)

Please avoid personal perspectives such as "I shower daily" so that we can keep this thread open.  Thank you for your cooperation.


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## Brioche

How often people shower can depend on how good the hot water supply is where they live.

In modern Australia, most people would have a shower every day. In hot weather often more frequently.

I have heard people discuss the "good old days" when people had _chip-heaters_. 

Apparently they were an Australian and New Zealand speciality.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chip_heater

To have a shower, you had to get small pieces of wood [chips], and light a small fire in the heater, and wait for the water to heat before you could have a shower.

The chip heaters were on the outside of the house. So imagine doing that at 6 am in the winter!  A quick wipe of the salient features, with water from a kettle would have to do.


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## alexacohen

In Spain it´s mostly shower, and of course every day. The discussion it´s not how many times do you have a shower a week, as everybody assumes is one each day, but if it is better to shower in the morning or in the evening. 
Small children have a bath, but when they are very small. People are encouraged to have showers and not baths, to save water. 
Of course there are people who don´t shower every day, and there are people who don´t wash their teeth either, but they´re the exception, and not the rule.


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## TraductoraPobleSec

alexacohen said:


> In Spain it´s mostly shower, and of course every day. The discussion it´s not how many times do you have a shower a week, as everybody assumes is one each day, but if it is better to shower in the morning or in the evening.
> Small children have a bath, but when they are very small. People are encouraged to have showers and not baths, to save water.
> Of course there are people who don´t shower every day, and there are people who don´t wash their teeth either, but they´re the exception, and not the rule.


 
I totally agree, sister Alexa. And when it's really hot in the summertime, it's also very common to shower morning and evening. I read once that Spain is the country in Europe where more soap is used.


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## Lugubert

I haven't researched the matter, but it seems to me that most Swedish young people shower much more often than I do, some even every day.

During my first school year or two, my class (boys and girls) went to the central school community bath for a scrub (in separate mini-tubs) once a month or perhaps every other month. I didn't think it was remarkable enough to remember the frequency. Some of us had showers or bathtubs at home, but had to go there anyway. At the age of 7 or 8, we had no problems with being nude together.



			
				chaska said:
			
		

> How often do people shower or bathe in your culture?


How the soandso do you suppose anyone to know about others? It isn't a thing you discuss on every encounter, I think. I can't even guess the way and frequency my closest relatives and friends perform ablutions. An exception might be mother (91). She normally calls me (we live in the same house) when she's about to take a shower, so that I'll be close to the wireless alarm we've set up, should she fall and need help. Once a week perhaps, not too dissimilar to my frequency. Please keep in mind that neither of us had the possibility to take a shower or a bath when just feeling like it when we grew up. Moreover, most of the year in Sweden, we don't even find it possible to work up a sweat. Things are, however, changing with global warming.


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## tvdxer

Linni said:


> The only thread (that I have found at WR)  referring to my question is this one http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=454336&highlight=hygiene&page=2 but I don't think the general question was really answered there. That's why I've decided to start a new thread. I hope no one minds it and that I don't break any rules. (If so, I am sorry .)
> 
> 
> 
> My family's acquaintance went, as an exchange student, to Belgium (just for a short time - maybe one or two weeks). She's been talking about it recently and told us that she had a shower every day (which, I thought, everyone must consider normal and usual!) when she was in Belgium, in the host family and on the day of her departure for the Czech Republic the host family  gave her a small present - a set of sponges (for bathing) (+ maybe some soaps etc.) - saying that she must love water and showering when she has a shower every day!
> 
> When the girl from Belgium came to the Czech Rep., she showered only two times a week (at least this is what my friend said). Moreover, they went on trips etc. and showering only two times a week, when you're sweaty, seems to be a little .... "unusual" to me.
> 
> What do you think about it?
> 
> How often do you usually have a shower? Do you find it normal to have a shower every day? Or even twice a day?
> 
> 
> (By the way, I'm sorry for my English and all the mistakes I've made. Feel free to correct me, please! )



No problem with your English.

I was actually going to post a similar thread here before, but never did.

In the U.S. we have what others might consider an "obsessive-compulsive" attitude towards showering.  Most people consider bathing daily ESSENTIAL and anything else "gross".    Showering every other day is not acceptable.  I personally don't think this way today, but during my more self-conscious and insecure middle school years, I always said I would refuse to go to school if unable to get a shower in the morning (which was a real possibility with our old well).  

Some people even take two showers a day, if they were physically active in some way.


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## panjandrum

As a child, in the 1950s, we had a bath every week, probably.
To have a bath, the water had to be heated.
Our only means of heating water was a coal fire.

When my children were children, in the 1970s, they had a bath every few days.  We did too.  
We had friends from Australia who bathed their children every day.  They were odd.

Today, bath or shower every day is the norm.


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## ERASMO_GALENO

Hi,

Here in Perú, most people take a shower daily, except perhaps in small towns where plumb water (not only hot water) is not readily available.

Regards,


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## Joannes

Linni said:


> My family's acquaintance went, as an exchange student, to Belgium (just for a short time - maybe one or two weeks). She's been talking about it recently and told us that she had a shower every day (which, I thought, everyone must consider normal and usual!) when she was in Belgium, in the host family and on the day of her departure for the Czech Republic the host family gave her a small present - a set of sponges (for bathing) (+ maybe some soaps etc.) - saying that she must love water and showering when she has a shower every day!
> 
> When the girl from Belgium came to the Czech Rep., she showered only two times a week (at least this is what my friend said). Moreover, they went on trips etc. and showering only two times a week, when you're sweaty, seems to be a little .... "unusual" to me.


 
I agree with HKK that this wouldn't be considered the 'normal' thing in Belgium. A daily shower is about standard, I think. Or at least a daily wash. I suppose there could be families where people wash themselves _aan de lavabo_ every day and take a shower on a weekly basis.


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## ernest_

So the standard's one shower a day in the Western urban world, or so it seems. But another question is how long it takes a shower in different parts of the world. I am amazed that some people can have a shower in less than 5 minutes, including all the dressing and undressing and so on. I never stay less than 30 minutes under the shower myself.


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## TraductoraPobleSec

ernest_ said:


> So the standard's one shower a day in the Western urban world, or so it seems. But another question is how long it takes a shower in different parts of the world. I am amazed that some people can have a shower in less than 5 minutes, including all the dressing and undressing and so on. I never stay less than 30 minutes under the shower myself.


 
That is a good point, Ernest!

I am also amazed at the people who are able to shower, dress and get ready in less than, let's say, fifteen minutes. 

If you go to the stores nowadays you'll see the huge quantity of products for personal care. Many people cover themselves in body lotion, foot cream, anticellulitis cream, face mosturizer, eye cream, you name it... And that takes ages... We women take about three quarters of an hour, more or less.

What do you think?


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## ernest_

TraductoraPobleSec said:


> I am also amazed at the people who are able to shower, dress and get ready in less than, let's say, fifteen minutes.
> 
> If you go to the stores nowadays you'll see the huge quantity of products for personal care. Many people cover themselves in body lotion, foot cream, anticellulitis cream, face mosturizer, eye cream, you name it... And that takes ages... We women take about three quarters of an hour, more or less.



Hi Traductora!

Men usually go faster than that, I reckon. Many men of my age do not even shave every day, and also there's the long-short hair factor. Men normally have their hair cut shorter than women, and short hair requires less attention. As for creams, lotions and that sort of stuff I don't know much aboot it, but I think there are a lot of marketing efforts going on trying to push these things on blokes, although without much success so far.

Anyway, I think three quarters of an hour is long enough. Maybe I'll be more kind to women from now on and tell them that they look good. I mean, it's fair enough, if they care so much about looking good somebody's got to tell them that they do.


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## TraductoraPobleSec

ernest_ said:


> As for creams, lotions and that sort of stuff I don't know much aboot it, but I think there are a lot of marketing efforts going on trying to push these things on blokes, although without much success so far.
> 
> Anyway, I think three quarters of an hour is long enough. Maybe I'll be more kind to women from now on and tell them that they look good. I mean, it's fair enough, if they care so much about looking good somebody's got to tell them that they do.


 
You're right in all the things you say; I believe; and it's true, the "pampering oneself" factor is now being extended to men.


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## nichec

TraductoraPobleSec said:


> That is a good point, Ernest!
> 
> I am also amazed at the people who are able to shower, dress and get ready in less than, let's say, fifteen minutes.
> 
> If you go to the stores nowadays you'll see the huge quantity of products for personal care. Many people cover themselves in body lotion, foot cream, anticellulitis cream, face mosturizer, eye cream, you name it... And that takes ages... We women take about three quarters of an hour, more or less.
> 
> What do you think?


 
I understand that some men, especially in Paris, have the same routine as women nowadays. Even in Asia, you can see these products for men in some big cities. For people my mother's age (mid 50s), this is something unthinkable, she already had a hard time understanding my sister's and my daily routines, not to mention that of a man's.


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## ireney

It depends on the weather and well, exertion . In summer hitting the shower at least twice a day is normal while in winter having a shower every other day is normal too. More (or less) exertion means more (or less) showers but, apart from some older people who can't easily break out of the habbit of having fewer showers/baths, not less that once every other day.

What we won't do every time is our hair since shampooing your hair twice a day is not only a chore but a bit of a trial for your scalp. Every other day or once a day (depending on circumstances) is the most usual rate for hair washing.

I don't know how long people take to shower in general. From personal experience I can only comment that some people are fast and some are not regardless of sex or the usage of creams, lotions and such. The how dirty one felt before is also a factor I guess (spend a long day running around in a city full of smog and summer or not you _will_ feel the need to enjoy the feel of running water on you for a longer time; take a shower just because it's time for a shower and you won't spend any more time than you really need to).

Edit: Baths are not very popular here. The main reasons being a) it's not as if our water resources are abudant b) most of us feel the need to have a nice shower and scrub really well before having a bath so the whole thing becomes a bit of a bother.


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## jonquiliser

It seems the modern, statistical average Finn is rather unimaginative in this: my perception would be once-a-day is taken as a nearly metaphysical ideal of hygiene and purity  . Another statistical assumption is the weekly sauna visit. (It's not even all that uncommon that flats have their own saunas, rather than a common sauna for a whole building...). Then, after these deep contemplations about the concept of hygiene Finnish people have, come all the "exceptions". I for one. I don't think I use very much more time than 15 in total for showering and all that, and it certainly doesn't add up to 1h 35 minutes a week


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## Loob

panjandrum said:


> As a child, in the 1950s, we had a bath every week, probably.
> To have a bath, the water had to be heated.
> Our only means of heating water was a coal fire.
> 
> When my children were children, in the 1970s, they had a bath every few days. We did too.
> We had friends from Australia who bathed their children every day. They were odd.
> 
> Today, bath or shower every day is the norm.


 
I *so* agree with you, panj.

Once a week (on a Sunday) was our bath-time regime in the 50s and 60s.  My parents' house never had a shower, so that wouldn't have been an option.

I only began to have daily showers/baths when I lived in Spain in the mid-70s.

I assume that this was what gave rise to the Aussie expression "stinking Poms"  (= smelly Brits) .....

Loob


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## palomnik

I think that the tendency has been for showers to become more frequent in the last 20-30 years, as more hot water is available in more areas.  

I shower daily, and so do most people I know.  My parents seldom took a bath more than once a week, however, and they never used the shower.


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## Bilma

Brioche said:


> I have heard people discuss the "good old days" when people had _chip-heaters_.
> 
> Apparently they were an Australian and New Zealand speciality.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chip_heater
> 
> To have a shower, you had to get small pieces of wood [chips], and light a small fire in the heater, and wait for the water to heat before you could have a shower.
> 
> The chip heaters were on the outside of the house. So imagine doing that at 6 am in the winter! .


 
Believe it or not in some towns in  Mexico that is still happening. And yes, people get up at 6 0'clock in the morning and take a shower in winter. It is true that we do not have extreme cold winters but zero degrees C is cold enough to take a shower in those conditions!


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## Etcetera

I can't speak for every Russian family, and obviously very much depends on water supply, which can be really bad in some regions of the country.

But in my family, and in the families of my relatives, it's normal to take a shower every day. If I can't take a shower due to hot water outage, for example, I feel simply miserable.


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## scotinfrance

ernest_ said:


> I never stay less than 30 minutes under the shower myself.



Good heavens!!!
would it be rude to ask what you do all that time?

Judging from comments in this thread, i'd say we should address a message of congratulations to the advertizers who, in less than 30 years, have succeeded in persuading the wealthy parts of the world that natural human skin is offensive, that we cannot possibly appear in public without making use of hectolitres of hot water and innumerable chemical products at inflated prices.

Unfortunately, the less wealthy parts of the world will soon be following the same path, until we run out of water or the energy to heat it.

MS


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## Tetabiakti

Chaska Ñawi said:


> How often do people shower or bathe in your culture?


 
That's hard to say, quite frankly I never ask people how often they bathe. 

The Indo-Dutch (Euro-Asians/'Indische Nederlanders') have always had a reputation for personal cleanliness, even before taking daily showers became the norm in Holland. 

Up until the 1970s, some (many?) people only bathed once a week, but in my family daily showers have always been the norm. I really do hate body odor, especially while traveling on a crowded bus or train!


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## elizabeth_b

I met some time ago some people from India, and they took a bath just one or two times a week (specially on saturdays I think). The rest of the week they cleaned themselves (I don't remember what they used) and they cleaned their hair with talcum powder. I took acknowledge of this, because they told a friend of mine that they did this as part of a religious custom. They were from the southern part of India, but I can't remember the religion they practiced. 
So I think it's interesting that the fact of taking a bath can be attached not only to economical circumstances but also to religious circumstances. 

EB


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## argentina84

We have a shower everyday in Argentina...and we spend a lot of time. 

Luckily...we have water (so far).


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## Wuasaby

In Chile (my family, my friends, those I know) take a shower every morning, I don't know many people who have a bath or that use it. Sometimes, when I had Sports at school, I would take my usual shower in the morning, another one at school and another one at night at home.

I can't speak for the UK, because London is a multicultural city. I've got a Belgium friend who I lived with for a while and I only ever heard him say 'I'm going to wash my hair' lol. I've lived with a German guy who goes and comes back from his shower in about 20 seconds! Everyone has a bath at home in here and hardly anyone has a shower thingy, which I find quite irritating. I know that many people here only spray themselves with loads of chemicals instead of a shower.

I lived with a Colombian Family in London and they would always shower/bath at night as opposed to the morning. But I think that's more about the weather.

@scotinfrance: agreed.


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## Tetabiakti

scotinfrance said:


> have succeeded in persuading the wealthy parts of the world that *natural human skin* is offensive


 
Definitions of what is 'natural' and what is not vary greatly from one society to another and cannot be objectified. How often do you need to wash to keep your skin in a 'natural' state? Every day or once a week, month, or year? In the Middle Ages, many Europeans - wealthy or not - hardly ever washed, unlike the ancient Greeks and Romans, for instance. Members of the Aztec nobility were quite horrified by the personal habits of the Spanish conquistadors, who had forgotten what a bath was since the Moors left. The Japanese, too, have always been very keen on personal hygiene. 

In the 18th century, Europeans splashed themselves with perfume to cover up their body odor because they believed washing was bad for their skin. The perfume industry flourished as a result. 

It would be wrong to assume that personal hygiene is only for the rich. In many parts of the tropics, people tend to be scrupulously clean and those who do not have access to modern bathrooms are often very inventive. They use small amounts of water to pour over themselves and in some countries it isn't unusual to see people taking a bath in the river. 

When I visited Yucatán a couple of years ago I was amazed by the cleanliness of the people; some of the Mayans still live in very simple huts without any basic facilities and they have got a serious water shortage on the peninsula as well. But their huipiles (traditional women's garments) were always spotlessly white, and they appeared to bathe regularly (no body odor). Kudos to the Yucatecos for managing so well on so very little!


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## laulunokka

jonquiliser said:


> It seems the modern, statistical average Finn is rather unimaginative in this: my perception would be once-a-day is taken as a nearly metaphysical ideal of hygiene and purity  . Another statistical assumption is the weekly sauna visit. (It's not even all that uncommon that flats have their own saunas, rather than a common sauna for a whole building...). Then, after these deep contemplations about the concept of hygiene Finnish people have, come all the "exceptions". I for one. I don't think I use very much more time than 15 in total for showering and all that, and it certainly doesn't add up to 1h 35 minutes a week


 
OK, and traditionally the days for taking a sauna are Wednesday and Saturday (and after the sauna watching Urheiluruutu / the Sports news). ...Though in my family the sauna is heated almost every day! So we are pretty clean ;-)


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## Fernando

scotinfrance said:


> Judging from comments in this thread, i'd say we should address a message of congratulations to the advertizers who, in less than 30 years, have succeeded in persuading the wealthy parts of the world that natural human skin is offensive, that we cannot possibly appear in public without making use of hectolitres of hot water and innumerable chemical products at inflated prices.



Then, I would grant the Nobel Prize of Phisiology and Medicine to those advertisers.

Their service to makind is beyond value.


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## alexacohen

> Originally Posted by *scotinfrance*
> Judging from comments in this thread, i'd say we should address a message of congratulations to the advertizers who, in less than 30 years, have succeeded in persuading the wealthy parts of the world that natural human skin is offensive, that we cannot possibly appear in public without making use of hectolitres of hot water and innumerable chemical products at inflated prices.


Dirty skin, dirty clothes, dirty teeth, dirty smell, greasy hair infested with lice are quite offensive everywhere I've been, from Portugal to Australia. Being clean is not a human trait: even apes clean themselves, and one another, scrupulously. I kind of doubt they've seen any of those advertisements you mention - and wouldn't understand them if they did.


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## cloudy_

There is a big difference between being infested with lice and not having a shower/bath everyday. I think that scotinfrance's point is that an over-obsession with cleanliness to the point that the human body is seen as something dirty is not very healthy either.


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## alexacohen

cloudy_ said:


> There is a big difference between being infested with lice and not having a shower/bath everyday. I think that scotinfrance's point is that an over-obsession with cleanliness to the point that the human body is seen as something dirty is not very healthy either.


 
But having a shower every day does not mean over-obsession with cleanliness. 
It is not necesary to use hectolitres of water and inmumerable chemical products to keep ourselves clean. 
Obsessive cleaning is an illness, indeed. But none of us is suffering from any obsessive-compulsive disorder because we take a shower every night. And I don't think any of us see our bodies as dirty things that have to be scrubbed.


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## Wuasaby

I never did read scotinfrance say anything against 'cleaning or washing' yourself. I think it's more of a 'pro-natural life against chemicals and unnecessary products' sort of view.

I do believe that humans are by nature clean, obviously if something that doesn't belong to your body, you want to get rid of it. If your body is full of dirt, and you smell, you want to get rid of it, and a bit of spring water will do. What he means is that, in very little time, the media have convinced us that water isn't enough and that we need pre-wash chemicals, washing chemicals and after-wash chemicals. Day chemicals and night chemicals. Summer time chemicals and winter time chemicals. People spray themselves with deodorants which are full of Aluminium and alcohol and inhale it without realising. Now, how 'clean' is their body now?

Funnily enough we went to a festival over the weekend with my friends. We're all alternative, anti-chemical, etc... except one girl who baths herself in these sprays and creams and chemicals. It might have been a coincidence, but somehow, she woke up the next morning full of red marks from little insects which didn't even come close to the rest of us. I believe it's because all those chemicals kill her antibodies and self-defence as well as 'wash her' : )


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## Fernando

Well, some basics: My body (just to get clear that is not a personal subject) after a normal daywork (white-collar) of sweat under the clothes IS DIRT.

The smelt is basically, the by-product of the corruption (bacteria-inducted) of the sweat plus some feromonae.

I do not doubt some people is irrationally washing themselves ten times a day, but once a day in OK (and your expenditure in "chemicals" is negligible).



> People spray themselves with deodorants which are full of Aluminium and alcohol and inhale it without realising.



I am unaware of the Aluminium thing, but I could say that the medium Earth-dweller "inhales" more alcohol by other means without paying so much attention to the harm to their health .



> which didn't even come close to the rest of us. I believe it's because all those chemicals kill her antibodies and self-defence as well as 'wash her' : )



Well, let us say I have an "alternative" explanation on why the little insects did not get close to you.  Kidding.


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## cloudy_

alexacohen said:


> But having a shower every day does not mean over-obsession with cleanliness.
> It is not necesary to use hectolitres of water and inmumerable chemical products to keep ourselves clean.
> Obsessive cleaning is an illness, indeed. But none of us is suffering from any obsessive-compulsive disorder because we take a shower every night. And I don't think any of us see our bodies as dirty things that have to be scrubbed.


Me neither. I have a shower every day but I don't think that people who don't do the same must have dirty skin and lice. I could have five (or ten) showers a day if I wanted to but that would be unnecessary in my opinion. Likewise, there are those who think it's unnecessary to bathe/shower every day. I know that for my parents' generation that was definitely the case, so something has changed since then. Bear in mind I'm talking from the perspective of living in a cold Northern European country. Obviously in Southern Spain and more tropical parts of the world it's much easier to get sweaty.


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## Fernando

You get sweaty under the clothes even in colder climates. I am more sweaty in winter with heavy clothes than in summer with more light clothes.

In our parents or grandparents generation to have a cold shower every day was both heroic and expensive.

Our grandgrandparents did not have in many cases a WC or running water and they did not make a big deal on that. They died of dyarrhea on the millions but the survivors did not feel the impulse to wash themselves. 

Thanks God and doctors, we learned in 19th century how the diseases spread and the herds of insects and rats have largely disappeared.

Moreover, economic growth has allowed that (in W countries) to have a shower is both pleasant and cheap. So, why do not enjoy such a possibility?


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## alexacohen

cloudy_ said:


> I have a shower every day but I don't think that people who don't do the same must have dirty skin and lice.


 
Ok, let's get things straight: my little daughter has a shower only twice a week at the most, and so does one of my nieces. They cannot shower every day as their skins would develop rash if they did. No chemicals for them, either. Just glicerine soap and olive oil.
It goes without saying that I don't think they must have dirty skins or lice.


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## Wuasaby

Fernando said:


> I do not doubt some people is irrationally washing themselves ten times a day, but once a day is OK



I don't understand what is rational and what isn't. As someone explained earlier, for some cultures and ages, it's been completely 'normal' to wash maybe once or twice a year. They would consider you absolutely mental if they knew you showered every day. Why do you have the right to say that someone who washes ten times a day is doing something irrational? (And please note the my curious tone as opposed to aggressive lol)

[…]

And LOL @ the joke haha


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## cloudy_

alexacohen said:


> Ok, let's get things straight: my little daughter has a shower only twice a week at the most, and so does one of my nieces. They cannot shower every day as their skins would develop rash if they did. No chemicals for them, either. Just glicerine soap and olive oil.
> It goes without saying that I don't think they must have dirty skins or lice.


I can totally believe you. In the same way, I don't think that most people who don't shower/bathe every day have dirty skin or lice either (obviously some do). Again, I'm talking from a North Atlantic rather than a Mediterranean or sub-tropical perspective.


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## Fernando

Why it is not good to have 10 showers a day:

1) You would consume 10 x 20 minutes = 200 minutes / 60 = about 3 1/2 hours a day.
2) It is impractical to place showers in every corner.
3) Since we are not acuatic animals there is a limit for the skin to bear.

Now for serious, and trying not to derail the thread: I think there is a (slight) difference among Mediterranean against N European in the frequency of their showers. I am based exclusively in the posts in this thread. Since there is almost unanimity in "our" side, there are people who defend as totally normal not to have a shower every day.


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## brian mc

If it's an "us" versus "them" thing, then I think that we folk who live in colder countries are going to be in a very small minority on a global scale.

Fernando, maybe 10 showers a day is over the top, but I'm sure you could easily have 3: after getting up, during the afternoon and at night. Even so, you normally choose to have just one when, according to you, more showers = less disease and more world happiness. So shame on you for willingly only taking one shower a day!

If it's just a question of frequency, I'm sure that people who think it is perfectly normal to take a shower once or twice a week could easily come up with three reasons why every day is not a good idea. Let's see if they can do it. Maybe there are also those who think that one shower a day is not enough?

But I think that understanding how people live in different parts of the world is a key point here. And yes, as mentioned, nobody around here would say they sweated more during the winter, unless they had a December discount at the gym or something.


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## HUMBERT0

In my country you take a bath at lest once a day, one bath a day being the norm, though it varies, you might take a shower in the morning before you go to work or to school and if you perspired a lot because of your work or doing sports at school, or if you are going to go out for the evening, probably your going to take another shower.

  A shower takes roughly anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes.

  People take showers, to have a bathtub is not that popular, and in places where there is no running water “te bañas a jicarasos” you take a bath from a bucket of cold or preheated water using a small container “jícara” to pour the water to yourself, at least that’s the traditional way.  Usually people shower early in the morning, they take showers the same in winter than in summer, in winter you just heat the water.

  And God forbids if by any chance they cut the water to your neighborhood do to repairs, and you can't get a hold of sufficient water to take a proper bath, in this extraordinary circumstance you might only take a “baño vaquero” cowboy bath, you only clean your self instead in the “lavabo” washbowl only the most necessary parts of the body, like face, armpits, etc. and you might finish in this case with a “baño a la fransesa” a French bath, use heavy perfumes to mask any remaining undesirable body odors.

  This side of the Atlantic there is the preconceive notion that people in Europe don´t bathe regularly, this was true of the Europeans that came to the New World, to take a bath regularly was something more common here. We still hear the horror stories when people return from vacations in Europe, when they go in to the subways “no se tolera el tufo” how it reeks, and how people stink from not showering more frequently, or how they don´t use deodorant and when the raise their arms… 

  I think people over there develop insensitivity to body odors, because here people do notice if you smell and keep their distance if so, when I go downtown and I return home I can perceive a faint gasoline odor on my skin and clothing, or when a spend to much time in the sun, the skin develops a particular odor, people perspire in winter or in summer, obviously more in summer, never the less they produce odors. 

At least that´s how many people see it over here.


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## Fernando

No, this is not a (odor?) contest. The first poster wanted to know if there was a difference. The point is whether it exists or not.

It is a legitimate argument to take my argument and reducing it to absurd: If shower is so good, why not to shower every day?, but a bit poor. 

I have not said (or meant) you sweat more in winter. Of course the more heat, the more you sweat (though there is more water in the seat). I meant that what makes you dirt is to wear heavy clothes all day long. And yes, the body sweats unless outer temperature is really low. Anyhow, do the "people from the North" change their uses when they travel to South?

And again, I do not want to perform a thesis on sweat. I only wanted to remark that for some people in N Europe (and maybe I am generalizing too much) there are acceptable uses that are inacceptable to "us" (which, I admit, is another broad generalization).


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## LaReinita

Here in the US, it is common to take 1 to 2 showers a day.  I always take one in the morning and if I'm am going somewhere in the evening, I will usually take another (this may be less frequent in the very cold winter months).  Sometimes, I will take a shower just to shave my legs or wash my hair(anytime of day), but I go along with the regular ritual.  I do, however, take reasonably short showers (except for when I am shaving my legs) because water is not free.  I use VERY HOT water, and a lovely loofah for exfoliation so I do not feel the need to spend more than 10 minutes in the shower.  And as someone stated earlier, you really should not wash your hair everyday.  I would say that I only wash my hair about 2/3 times a week.(of course depending on how active I had been during that week)


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## Outsider

In some periods of the year, I get an unpleasant rash after showering (though it's not exactly seasonal). I've tried switching to medicinal bathing soap, but it didn't eliminate the problem completely, and it's expensive. I buy it only every now and then. I've talked to doctors, but they told me it "just happens" to some people. It does go away after a few minutes.

I can shower once a day, but I don't normally do it more than once, for this reason among others. Another one is that I'm just too lazy. Still, I don't think I usually stink more than your average bloke.

I also wonder about poor people who may not even have running water at home. No doubt bathing every day is not a priority for them. I don't think this is exclusively a cultural matter.


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## lablady

As others have said, in the US a daily shower is normal and possibly expected. My employer even has a statement regarding daily personal cleanliness in the policy manual. It's part of our dress code. Some of my previous employers have had similar statements in their policy manuals as well. No, they don't check every day for compliance, but I imagine if there were too many complaints about someone's odor they might take some sort of disciplinary action.

I do find it interesting that a company would feel it necessary to mandate showers...


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## Nanon

alexacohen said:


> Ok, let's get things straight: my little daughter has a shower only twice a week at the most, and so does one of my nieces. They cannot shower every day as their skins would develop rash if they did. No chemicals for them, either. Just glicerine soap and olive oil.
> It goes without saying that I don't think they must have dirty skins or lice.



The skin of children is different and produces less sweat odour. Explanation here.


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## Stiannu

Ok, here I am: mediterannean and still not scandalised by the fact that some people do not take a shower once a day. As long as you wash daily some parts of your body (using lavabos and bidet*) most likely to produce sweat and bad smell (let's not come to the details), having a shower once every 2-3 days seems to me acceptable. But ok, you still need to keep clean on a daily basis. 
Don't you think that much depends on the person or his/her activities? Practicing sports or not, sedentary work or not, use of public transports or not (yes, trains in Italy are cheap but veeeeeeeery dirty), level of heating in workplace and house (in winter)? Even the trend of sweat and smell of bodies vary significantly from one person to another.
I agree that taking a shower daily is nearly a dogma even here in Italy, and those who don't would hardly admit it... if we had to set a general rule, after all this would be a good one, but I think it's much more a cultural construction than a natural need. A fundamental hygiene is a good prevention for some diseases, but what is clean and what is not, or what is an acceptable smell and what is not, is totally a cultural construction. And judging other people's dirt has always been a good way of affirming one's own (moral) superiority. A definitely racist girl once told me she would never go to hammams because she wouldn't stand the smell of some people of different ethnicity. A TV series episode some days ago showed the main character, an American girl embedded in mainstream culture and self-centered, who was horrified at the idea of her roommate inviting to their house a group of environmentalist friends. "They will smell!" she complained; at first I couldn't understand, but I found out later that in her imaginary (and in the mind of the authors) vegetarians, activists and environmentalists were portrayed as some sort of hippies who dress lousy and never have a shower. With subtlelty, a political opposition or marginality is turned to a hygiene matter, with a moral connotation: it reminded me of the ridiculous attitude of the conservative (Italian) press against hippies and "capelloni" in the late 60s. 
In the end, I think that concepts of cleanness and dirt shoud be handled carefully, for they often carry moral connotations and are potentially discriminatory. 

*BTW the bidet is source of controversy and a good example of this competition on cleanness. We had a discussion with some French friends, where we argued that the widespread use of bidet in Italy demonstrates that we are cleaner, since we are allowed to wash some parts of our body every time we need. French responded that it demonstrates that we are less clean, since it allows some people to avoid their daily shower, thus resulting in less accuracy in personal hygiene. Who was right?


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## avok

Stiannu said:


> *BTW the bidet is source of controversy and a good example of this competition on cleanness. We had a discussion with some French friends, where we argued that the widespread use of bidet in Italy demonstrates that we are cleaner, since we are allowed to wash some parts of our body every time we need. French responded that it demonstrates that we are less clean, since it allows some people to avoid their daily shower, thus resulting in less accuracy in personal hygiene. Who was right?


 
You were totally right. By the way, I did not know that the bidet is widespread in Italy. But in Turkey, every toilet bowl has a device that washes your special part (anus) . I don't understand how come this is not the case in Europe and many other places of the world. While I was in France I always had to use "wet toilet papers" to clean my special part but even so I felt dirty. And I believe that the idea of having showers so common is related to the fact that in Europe and Americas people just do not wash their special parts (they don't use bidet or any other device like we have in Turkey).


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## tvdxer

ernest_ said:


> So the standard's one shower a day in the Western urban world, or so it seems. But another question is how long it takes a shower in different parts of the world. I am amazed that some people can have a shower in less than 5 minutes, including all the dressing and undressing and so on. I never stay less than 30 minutes under the shower myself.



That's an interesting question.

I grew up (and still live) in an area without municipal water, which means each home has its own well (which is connected to the house's plumbing system, of course).  Our old well would often run out of water, most often in the Spring, but the risk was always there.  Therefore, I grew up with 5 minute showers being the norm.  We have a new well and I can stay in longer, but I doubt it is normally more than 8 minutes.  The times I am citing are for actually running the water and bathing alone, not drying off, shaving, getting dressed, etc.


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## timpeac

lablady said:


> As others have said, in the US a daily shower is normal and possibly expected. My employer even has a statement regarding daily personal cleanliness in the policy manual. It's part of our dress code. Some of my previous employers have had similar statements in their policy manuals as well. No, they don't check every day for compliance, but I imagine if there were too many complaints about someone's odor they might take some sort of disciplinary action.


How would they check, and how could they prove if someone hadn't washed or if someone was just more naturally smelly? Sounds like a legal nightmare to me.


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## jackie22

Absolutely right about the bidet - I think it has a lot to do with it. In the UK, people shower once (or even twice) a day. In Italy, where bidets are much more common, I've observed that people will wash the bottom half in the bidet and the top half in the sink, and only shower when they need to wash their hair.


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## heidita

avok said:


> But in Turkey, every toilet bowl has a device that washes your special part (anus) . I don't understand how come this is not the case in Europe and many other places of the world.


 
Interesting, avok, as it IS common in Egypt. I saw this device everywhere, on the airport, even on the boat. 
Here in Spain there is the bidet, in Germany people have to shower, actually baths are still widespread, no bidet or little shower device to clean your "private parts" available.


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## avok

heidita said:


> Interesting, avok, as it IS common in Egypt. I saw this device everywhere, on the airport, even on the boat.
> Here in Spain there is the bidet, in Germany people have to shower, actually baths are still widespread, no bidet or little shower device to clean your "private parts" available.


 

I dont know how it is like in Egypt? is it a seperate device? In turkey it is not a seperate device but a part of the toilet bowl like this . But in germany there are zillions of Turks I guess turkish toilet bowl must be known among some germans? It is so practical and clean. I don't know why europeans do not know that  You can never clean your special part with dry toilet paper you need to use water for that! You cant have shower after every time you went to the bathroom. (at work place for instance) so until you find a shower you will walk around with a dirty bottom ...   Is bidet wide spread in Spain ? but the bidet is not as practical as our bowl, it is another bowl on its own.


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## jackie22

> but the bidet is not as practical as our bowl, it is another bowl on its own.



I disagree. It's more practical. The bidet isn't only for a dirty bottom. It's nice to clean yourself after sex, and not in the toilet!
Having got accustomed to the bidet in Italy, I really miss is when I'm in the UK. It's so very civilised.


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## argentina84

We also use the bidet here in Argentina. But that does not replace our daily shower or bath.


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## heidita

avok said:


> I dont know how it is like in Egypt? is it a seperate device? In turkey it is not a seperate device but a part of the toilet bowl like this . But in germany there are zillions of Turks I guess turkish toilet bowl must be known among some germans?


 
I personally don't know anything about this, avok, as I suppose unless the Turkish people have soemthing like this especiallly installed they will make do with the German toilets.
I thought toilets like in your description only existed in Japan. Can you find them anywhere (public places too??)?





> Is bidet wide spread in Spain ? but the bidet is not as practical as our bowl, it is another bowl on its own.


 
A bidet is found in any household in Spain, also in hotels but it is not normal to find a bidet in public toilets, while the device I am talking about you can also find in public places in Egypt.

I couldn't find any better image. You can see a device, which is like a small shower hanging beside any toilet I have seen in Egypt. Very useful I must say. Unusual for us, but very useful.
All the toilets I saw in Egypt were very clean.


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## Nanon

Here in France, I really miss bidets (they are not found in _so many _households here) and sinks in the _same _room as the toilet, to wash hands. Here the toilet is almost always separate, so you have to open and close the door, go to the bathroom, open the door if needed, _before _you wash your hands. I hate it!  
If some day I move into a place with more space, I will certainly adopt a more hygienic system.


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## avok

jackie22 said:


> I disagree. It's more practical. The bidet isn't only for a dirty bottom. It's nice to clean yourself after sex, and not in the toilet!
> Having got accustomed to the bidet in Italy, I really miss is when I'm in the UK. It's so very civilised.


 
 I guess it is wiser to have a shower after sex rather than using the bidet  Two different bowls for a small bathroom is not practical. If you had sex get a shower, if you had a poo use the device in our bowls to wash your bottom.


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## avok

heidita said:


> I personally don't know anything about this, avok, as I suppose unless the Turkish people have soemthing like this especiallly installed they will make do with the German toilets.
> I thought toilets like in your description only existed in Japan. Can you find them anywhere (public places too??)?
> 
> Yes heidita all of our bowls have those pipes even in public places. I don't know about the japanese bowls but I would not surprise if they are like the ones in Turkey, this is something asian, I guess. I can't imagine myself getting out of the bathroom without washing my bottom through this small (and very easy) device. Otherwise I would be walking around with poo in my underpants even if  I clean it with toilet paper.
> 
> A bidet is found in any household in Spain, also in hotels but it is not normal to find a bidet in public toilets, while the device I am talking about you can also find in public places in Egypt.
> 
> I couldn't find any better image. You can see a device, which is like a small shower hanging beside any toilet I have seen in Egypt. Very useful I must say. Unusual for us, but very useful.
> All the toilets I saw in Egypt were very clean.
> 
> Yes, I knew you were talking about this!! Yes this is a different device it is a seperate device but used for the same purpose, I never used it. We dont have it here. I guess they have the same thing in Saudi Arabia and Brazil too. (by the way, in muslim countries you are supposed to wash your bottom, so each country has their own device for that very purpose) But I guess I still prefer our toilet bowls, so you dont have to handle this small shower.


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## panjandrum

What an obsessive picture you all portray.
How on earth did we all survive in the days before showers, bidets, bowls, running water, were all invented.
I must share with you a section from the panj diary for 17 July 1999.  We were on holiday in Whitby:


> Slept well eventually.  The room next door was occupied last night.  Somewhat after we had gone to bed and I was not quite asleep the Aussies arrive back.  Their bathroom backs onto our bedroom.
> Shower, flushing, fan humming.
> Shower, flushing, fan humming.
> Bedsprings squeaking.
> Increasingly violent.
> “Wonderful.”
> Water, flushing.
> Water, flushing.
> Silence.


I'm sorry, but I find such modern experience of human interaction to be pathetically clinical.
Where were the pheromones?
Flushed down the plughole, that's where they were.
No wonder the whole event lasted less than three minutes.


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## stanley

I think it differs from family to family. And just from every individual to another individual. Most of the people shower at least every second day, but I personally shower every single day. I even take a bath in the bath tub every single day, even though many people say it's a waste of money and energy.


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## LaReinita

Avok, regarding the bidets, do you have paper towels beside the toilet to dry off afterward?  The bidet is not a common device in the US. I have personally never seen one. Here they sell wipes, similar to baby wipes, that you can use to "freshen up."


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## stanley

LaReinita said:


> Avok, regarding the bidets, do you have paper towels beside the toilet to dry off afterward?  The bidet is not a common device in the US. I have personally never seen one. Here they sell wipes, similar to baby wipes, that you can use to "freshen up."


Oh that's funny. I recently had a discussion with a friend of mine. He used to word bidet and talked about a friend who had one. I was like>"what is a bidet" because i had never heard of that word before. It took him a long time to explain me the word but in the end I knew what a bidet was. It's a pretty common thing in expensive hotels in Germany and Austria but I don't know a lot of people who actually have got a bidet at home. It's more common in the new developments rather than in houses which where built in the 60ies etc. I think it's rather needless. You can also wash your feet in there, but to wash yourself after the restroom it's not necessary, I think.


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## avok

LaReinita said:


> Avok, regarding the bidets, do you have paper towels beside the toilet to dry off afterward? The bidet is not a common device in the US. I have personally never seen one. Here they sell wipes, similar to baby wipes, that you can use to "freshen up."


 
Of course, to dry your bottom  and you know, women use toilet papers even after pee unlike boys so we use as much paper as you do. Yes, I know the wipes, while I was in France I used those wipes that I brought with me from Turkey. But here, those wipes are not used just for babies, any one can use them. And it is not used to freshen up but to clean the poo off your bottom. But here in Turkey we dont use bidets we have our own bowls for the same purpose.



stanley said:


> Oh that's funny. I recently had a discussion with a friend of mine. He used to word bidet and talked about a friend who had one. I was like>"what is a bidet" because i had never heard of that word before. It took him a long time to explain me the word but in the end I knew what a bidet was. It's a pretty common thing in expensive hotels in Germany and Austria but I don't know a lot of people who actually have got a bidet at home. It's more common in the new developments rather than in houses which where built in the 60ies etc. I think it's rather needless. You can also wash your feet in there, but to wash yourself after the restroom it's not necessary, I think.


 
Yes bidets might be expensive that's why I said they are not as practical as Turkish bowls like this or like this . Why do you think it is unnecessary to wash yourself after the restroom?

For example, you walk on the street and a bird makes a poo on your head, would you clean yourself with a paper towel or with water? I guess a paper towel would not be enough.


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## Chaska Ñawi

[…]

Moving from the topic of bidets back to the original question (well, a different tangent from the original question), how much money do the purveyors of raspberry-scented douches and peach-scented body mists make from convincing us that our natural odours are offensive?


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## Linni

stanley said:


> It's a pretty common thing in expensive hotels in Germany and Austria but I don't know a lot of people who actually have got a bidet at home. It's more common in the new developments rather than in houses which where built in the 60ies etc. I think it's rather needless. You can also wash your feet in there, but to wash yourself after the restroom it's not necessary, I think.



I find this conversation very interesting... I never knew that bidets are used so much in other countries! 
Well, my grandparents live in a terraced house and they have a bidet. I remember that when I was small, I never understood what it was good for (which I still can't understand too well) - I just washed my legs there once or twice.


I myself don't know anyone else who has a bidet at home. I think it is a very uncommon "device" in the Czech Republic.
Moreover, I can't imagine I would use it in the way you described. It must be very uncomfortable. A bathtub is much better.


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## Kajjo

Linni said:


> I myself don't know anyone else who has a bidet at home. I think it is a very uncommon "device" in the Czech Republic.


Bidets are very uncommon in Germany, too. Currently, some bathroom suppliers try to push them into the market, but not very successfully. I regard them as utterly non-essential. Well, every country and culture has its specialties...

Kajjo


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## Outsider

Bidets are standard in Portuguese households, although this was certainly not the case a couple of generations ago. They are not usually found in public restrooms, however. (In fact, it shames me to say it but Portuguese public restrooms tend to be rather uncouth.)

I am fascinated by the other devices that were mentioned in this thread. They seem quite practical, although I must wonder how long they would survive in good condition in a public facility, in a culture that isn't used to using them.


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## stanley

Kajjo said:


> Bidets are very uncommon in Germany, too. Currently, some bathroom suppliers try to push them into the market, but not very successfully. I regard them as utterly non-essential. Well, every country and culture has its specialties...
> 
> Kajjo


That's true. But it's still very common in hotels.


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## Bonjules

Hola,
to come back to the original question: It is probably true that many
Central Europeans growing up in the latter half of the last century
dont feel much of a 'cultural' or emotional need to shower every day during reaonably cool weather.
Neither did I, although in the US I had to adjust to the fact that even faint 'BO" was offensive pretty universally.
In a hot climate, like the tropics, all that is irrelevant: You'd feel so sticky without getting the sweat off one way or another that you couln't sleep at night.
When not going out, I feel that showering in the morning is futile: as soon as you step out or do any kind of work, you'd sweat right away anyway.
I don't have a water heater (rarely heat up some in pot); for the most I find a cold shower more refreshing now.
saludos


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## Tezzaluna

scotinfrance said:


> Good heavens!!!
> would it be rude to ask what you do all that time?
> 
> Judging from comments in this thread, i'd say we should address a message of congratulations to the advertizers who, in less than 30 years, have succeeded in persuading the wealthy parts of the world that natural human skin is offensive, that we cannot possibly appear in public without making use of hectolitres of hot water and innumerable chemical products at inflated prices.
> 
> Unfortunately, the less wealthy parts of the world will soon be following the same path, until we run out of water or the energy to heat it.
> 
> MS


 
In Costa Rica, and now in the United States since 1981, showers have always been a daily thing.  And hair washing, too, a daily ritual.

Even if I try, I cannot get out of the shower in less than 20 minutes.  That includes using shampoo, hair conditioner, regular soap, face wash, femenine soap, and a good body brush.  And my shower takes 5 minutes longer if I have to shave my legs.  Next comes the body oil after the shower and before towel-drying.

Then comes the anti-frizz hair serum, the facial moisturizer, the body moisturizer, the deodorant, the toothpaste, the perfume and the cosmetics.  And I will not even consider leaving the house unless I've done all of this.  Only on the weekends, if I'm staying home, will I dispense with the cosmetics.

It is true that there is an aversion to anything that might remotely be considered natural body odor. At least it has been true in the places I've lived.

TezzaLuna


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## Etcetera

LaReinita said:


> Avok, regarding the bidets, do you have paper towels beside the toilet to dry off afterward? The bidet is not a common device in the US. I have personally never seen one.


The bidet isn't a common thing in Russia, either. But my relatives have one - they live in a newly-biult luxurious house.


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## stanley

Etcetera said:


> The bidet isn't a common thing in Russia, either. But my relatives have one - they live in a newly-biult luxurious house.


Is there any restroom in the world that doesn't have paper towels?


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## Etcetera

stanley said:


> Is there any restroom in the world that doesn't have paper towels?


Most publis toilets in Russia don't have toilet paper. Even in Moscow University, restrooms don't have paper towels. So people have to use paper handkerchiefs.


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## stanley

Etcetera said:


> Most publis toilets in Russia don't have toilet paper. Even in Moscow University, restrooms don't have paper towels. So people have to use paper handkerchiefs.


So they have to take a tissue with them? That's unbelievable.


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## Etcetera

stanley said:


> So they have to take a tissue with them? That's unbelievable.


Alas, that's it.


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## Outsider

stanley said:


> Is there any restroom in the world that doesn't have paper towels?


Sometimes, a restroom will _run out of_ toilet paper when you need to use it.


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## stanley

Outsider said:


> Sometimes, a restroom will _run out of_ toilet paper when you need to use it.


I know, but I was wondering whether there were restrooms that never ever have towels.


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## Palcan

In most of the Middle Eastern countries, if not in all of them, bidets are used. Cleanliness of our private parts is very important since most of the occupants in the ME are Muslims and they have to be completely clean while performing their daily 5 prayers. There are usually two kinds of bidets use; one like the one Avok talked about, and the other like the one Heidita talked about. 

I live in Canada and I can tell you we don't have bidets in either houses or public places. However, I actually do have one in my house. If I have to go to public washrooms, I use a water bottle or a water cup  If none available, then wet toilet paper (though it doesnt give me the same satisification).


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## Bonjules

Tezzaluna said:


> Even if I try, I cannot get out of the shower in less than 20 minutes. That includes using shampoo, hair conditioner, regular soap, face wash, femenine soap, and a good body brush. And my shower takes 5 minutes longer if I have to shave my legs. Next comes the body oil after the shower and before towel-drying.
> 
> Then comes the anti-frizz hair serum, the facial moisturizer, the body moisturizer, the deodorant, the toothpaste, the perfume and the cosmetics. And I will not even consider leaving the house unless I've done all of this. Only on the weekends, if I'm staying home, will I dispense with the cosmetics.


 
Tezza, your post demonstrates nicely a big problem and this is not meant
to be a personal criticism.
Our obsession with long showers and soaps. Not only a huge expense of
drinking water (most places have only one system), but also, from a dermatological standpoint an unnecessary and probably dangerous habit.
Our skin is naturally lubricated, which keeps it smooth and pliable and protects it. Water is a great liquid and a good solvent for almost anything
that could be found on the skin :sweat, dust etc. Heavy grease might need addtl. soapy action, as a few spots on the body might benefit, although even for those, water would be just fine.
By soaping the entire body you just create the need to replace the oils, with commercial products. This is not only a great waste of time and expense, you are also exposing yourself to a great number of ingredients which might be quite harmful, since none have been tested in long-term studies. Same for shampoos, since the scalp is especially absorptive ( I just use plain -'Castile'-soap when washing my hair, works fine).
Consider this, given the world-wide water shortage towards which we are heading: You can easily get the sweat and dust off you with a couple of gallons of H2O, wisely applied.
saludos


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## avok

And also when you soap yourself, for instance your face, so frequently, the natural grease of the face decreases hence the face produces extra grease to replace the decreased grease and you end up with silly acnes.


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## Mahaodeh

In the summer, I would take a lot of showers.  If I don't go out and stay home under the airconditioning I would have an avarage of 4.  However, I only use soap once and don't wash my hair unless I really need to.

When I go out you just add another two for everytime I go out.  If you have 4 to 10 showers a day you learn to get in, pour water on your body, then get out again so it does make 5 min together with undressing and dressing (especially that you do not even dream of heating the water) - I don't use a lofa every time I shower, once a day is enough.  Plus, I wash other parts of my body several times a day; both private (using the small shower, bedete or any other device) and other.

In the winter the number of showers can be as scarce as twice a week.  In all cases I never wash my hair more than twice a week unless I really need to, it's not good for the hair to wash it too often anyway.  My hair drys up if I do (I have dry hair).

Regarding body odor, for me, BO is offensive only if it's "old".  I can tell if the BO is the guy's sweat from walking in the sun till he got here or if it is from his workout three days ago - the first one, although annoying, is not offensive while the second is.

To sum up, although I have a lot of showers in the summer I don't judge people who don't.  I think that people who wash only parts of their bodies daily and shower less often are not "dirty" or "unhygine", if they don't need a shower then why waste the water?


----------



## alisonp

I was wondering how long it would take for someone to come up with the idea of a good old-fashioned thorough wash using a washbasin!  Page 3, I think it was.  It uses far less water than some of the other suggestions.  (Incidentally, it's perfectly possible to have a shower using only a bucketful of water (10 litres?) - you just wet the body/hair, turn the water off, shampoo/soap, and then turn the water on to rinse.  Ditto if you're shaving your legs.  Can be very quick.

Anyway, I don't think any of us can really answer fully for our own cultures, but I'd say that in the UK we're starting to get rather obsessive/excessive about showering and various other aspects of personal hygiene (except for the odd person you encounter on the train in the morning who obviously isn't, and who you wish *would* be!).  As water shortages increase, we're going to have to do a rethink.


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## ToñoTorreón

Well, I shower once a day at least. In the Summer 2 or 3 times a day. But I have to say, temperatures here can get as high as 45 C. That makes a difference, I guess.


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## Mahaodeh

alisonp said:


> (Incidentally, it's perfectly possible to have a shower using only a bucketful of water (10 litres?) - you just wet the body/hair, turn the water off, shampoo/soap, and then turn the water on to rinse. Ditto if you're shaving your legs. Can be very quick.


 

I'm surprised, isn't that how everyone has a shower?  Why would you keep the water flowing if you are not using it and it's just going down the drain?


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## Mate

Mahaodeh said:


> I'm surprised, isn't that how everyone has a shower? Why would you keep the water flowing if you are not using it and it's just going down the drain?


No, it isn't. 

Where I live most of the population has running water at a very low cost. In the cities, running water is usually subsidized by the municipality. It's considered as a service. Crazy as it may sound, we don't pay per liter but per month. 
In the countryside we usually dig a well and pump out water at a very low cost: the wind.
Where I live water is still seen as an abundant, endless resource.

Oil is not .


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## Tezzaluna

Mahaodeh said:


> I'm surprised, isn't that how everyone has a shower? Why would you keep the water flowing if you are not using it and it's just going down the drain?


 
Mahaodeh,

In some places, water conservation efforts suggest to keep a bucket in the shower to catch the water (the clean water) for other uses, like watering the plants.

Also, here in the northwestern United States, we do let our lawns turn brown and go dormant in the summer in a effort to conserve water.  Also, it is recommended to not wash our cars too often.

In some places it is tantamount to temple desecration to let a garden go dormant.  It all depends on the community priorities.

Tezza


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## Kajjo

Tezzaluna said:


> Also, here in the northwestern United States, we do let our lawns turn brown and go dormant in the summer in a effort to conserve water.


Is the water really so rare or is it a political issue?

Kajjo


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## Tezzaluna

Kajjo said:


> Is the water really so rare or is it a political issue?
> 
> Kajjo


 
I don't know how to answer that.  Western Washington, especially Seattle, is world-famous for the amount of rain that falls.  Two winters ago it rained, literally non-stop, for 34 days.

Personally, I don't think water is rare, but sometimes it's politically/environmentally correct to conserve.  A brown lawn is a public declaration of conservation correctness.

Tez


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## cuchuflete

Would anyone care to return to the thread topic?



> *How often do you usually have a shower?* Do you find it normal to have a shower every day? Or even twice a day?


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## Tetabiakti

Chaska Ñawi said:


> how much money do the purveyors of raspberry-scented douches and peach-scented body mists make from convincing us that our natural odours are offensive?


 
But what exactly is the definition of 'natural'? Many if not most people will agree that our body odor becomes progressively stronger the longer we postpone washing - what may have been barely noticeable in the beginning may turn into an overpowering stench in the course of time. Plant-eating animals like cows smell a lot nicer than unwashed humans, at least in my opinion. 

In many Indo-Dutch homes, the _botol cebok_ is still used on a regular basis. This is a bottle of water which people use to clean their bottoms after doing # 2 and sometimes even after doing #1. This custom may hark back to their Indonesian Muslim ancestors whose culture taught them to keep their private parts scrupulously clean, using pure water.


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## Etcetera

Mateamargo said:


> No, it isn't.
> 
> Where I live most of the population has running water at a very low cost. In the cities, running water is usually subsidized by the municipality. It's considered as a service. Crazy as it may sound, we don't pay per liter but per month.
> In the countryside we usually dig a well and pump out water at a very low cost: the wind.
> Where I live water is still seen as an abundant, endless resource.
> 
> Oil is not .


Quite the same in Russia - water isn't expensive here (although we pay not per month, but per litre, but the price is quite low). So people let the water run while they're soaping themselves.


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## alisonp

cuchuflete said:


> Would anyone care to return to the thread topic?


 
The thread topic was actually changed to 





> How often do people shower or bathe in your culture?


 quite early on 

Given the above, it'd be interesting to note whether cultural differences on this matter are affected by a) the cost/availability of the water and b) whether you pay per litre or pay a bulk sum.  In much of the UK, we still pay a flat rate for water and sewage, although metering has been coming in for a while.  Metering certainly seems to make people more aware of how much water they're using, although I'm not sure they would necessarily reduce their showers/baths because of it.


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## Kajjo

alisonp said:


> Metering certainly seems to make people more aware of how much water they're using, although I'm not sure they would necessarily reduce their showers/baths because of it.


I am sure they would be more aware of their usage. In Germany all houses and most flats have metering and the water is not so cheap anymore. People are more vigilant with regards to their water consumption.

Whatever you teach about ecology, the only body part that really cares is the purse.

Water prices in Germany:
Fresh water in rural areas costs approx. 1 Euro per cubic meter.
Fresh water and sewerage in cities costs approx. 5 Euro per cubic meter.

I would be highly interested to learn some prices of other countries.

Kajjo


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## lizzeymac

I shower every day in the winter. I take a long soaking bath about once a week. In the summer New York City is usually humid and the air can get pretty dirty so I usually take second quick shower when I get home from work.  I wash my hands quite often during the day - I am not a germ freak but I work with many different people in several locations every day and am just statistically more likely to catch any colds or flu that are going around.
I am careful about what I touch in a public restroom.  Toilets aside,  you turn on the faucet with your dirty hands, wash your hands, and then turn off the same faucet with clean hands - picking up the same gunk you just washed off.  I always carry sanitary wipes.

As to cost of water, I live in a rented apartment in a medium-sized building in Manhattan and tenants do not pay for water at all.  And yes, I believe that many tenants who have only lived in these circumstances waste water because we don't pay for it and don't have an awareness of how much we use. We do pay a fuel surcharge that covers both the cost of heating the building (steam radiators) and the cost of providing hot water.  As far as I know, tenants of rental apartments are not charged for water in all of New York City (Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island).  Commercial buildings, single or two-family houses, and owners of coops and condos pay for their water either quarterly or monthly, but I don't know what the current water rate is - it differs for each type of building, the location, and the quantity used.

There is a movement to reclaim and re-use "grey" water for watering gardens and lawns, etc. - water from sinks and dishwashers, not from sewage lines. Using grey water is technically illegal in most municipalities but several environmental groups are lobbying for changes in the laws and some people are already making use of grey water covertly.


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## Linni

As to the bidets, I realized that there is also a restroom with a bidet in a building of the university at which I study! (Maybe there are more of them but I don't go to the toilet so often so I don't know yet.)
Anyway, I can't imagine anyone using it!


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## sokol

Personal hygiene is a very delicate matter, and not at all 'only' culturally defined. In historical times, hygiene as we know it now simply did not exist - about 200-300 years ago it was considered 'noble' to perfume oneself whereas washing was considered a nuisance.

As for Austria, where I live, having a shower each day is considered normal. (And me I'm taking at least a shower each day in the morning and if I'm riding on my bicycle after work then surely afterwards too.)

But I know for sure that not whole population in Austria is showering once a day, and I am wondering if this were true for the whole of the Czech Republic (or Germany, or Slovakia, or France, for that matter, and so on ...).
There are differences concerning age, and there are social differences.

In some rural regions, about 50 years ago, it was not very common to wash regularly - more like once a weak (if that!). But there wasn't any running water at the time, in the regions of which I speak: and there was no warm water.
If you wanted to have a warm bath or shower you first had to warm water on the oven. In cities it was different, though in the lower classes probably not by much.
This has changed now, of course.


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## michimz

It is a cultural and sub-cultural issue as well. In college, showering was NOT a priority! Nor was getting dressed, really. People would go around all day in their pjs. We were simply too busy to take the time to shower. Keep in mind that I went to a small, private, liberal college!

Now, I find myself comparing myself to my husband, who is from mexico - poor mexico. He showers EVERYDAY. And I, on the other hand, avoid showers sometimes simply because I HATE to take the time to dry my hair again and then put on my make-up again. If it were as easy for me as it is for my husband, I would shower everyday, too!


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## anothersmith

I think it is common for people in the U.S. to shower daily, but the duration of the shower can vary greatly from one community to the next.  I lived in California during a severe drought in the late 70s when water was rationed and we were urged not to shower every day and to shower for only a couple of minutes.  Since then I, and many Californians, are very cautious about how much water we use.   It is not uncommon to turn on the water to get wet, turn it off to apply soap and shampoo, and turn it back on to rinse.


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## Chtipays

HUMBERT0 said:


> In my country you take a bath at lest once a day, one bath a day being the norm, though it varies, you might take a shower in the morning before you go to work or to school and if you perspired a lot because of your work or doing sports at school, or if you are going to go out for the evening, probably your going to take another shower.


  In Mexico WE shower everyday? Who are WE?
Mexico is the size of all Western Europe and its cultural diversity is as rich, including language wise. I have met people in the mountains of Puebla,  Chiapas and Chihuahua that showered only once a week. Some of them were poor people who had to warm up buckets of water to take a bath or a “jícara” shower (pouring water over you with the help of a container named “jícara”), but I had a also an acquaintance from a rich family who came from the Puebla mountains (Teziutlán) to study in Veracruz and she was only showering once a week, except if you consider her daily chemical showers, like previously mentioned in this forum; you know deodorants, creams, perfumes, etc. 
  My mom grew up in the mountains of Veracruz (temperate climate) she says that when she was not married she was taking howers every other day, but she was washing her hair only once a week.
My father on the other hand grew up in the coast of Veracruz, that is the tropics, he used to shower several times a day. When my mother married him and moved to Veracruz, she started to do the same. I grew up doing the same. But when I was going to my grandparents place we were adapting and showering every other day and washing our hair once or twice a week.


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## ManPaisa

In the US most people I know shower (more common) or take a bath (less common) at least once a day, many of them in the evening.

I usually shower twice daily, when I wake up and before going to bed.

Less frequent showering or bathing than once-or-twice a day seems unhygienic to me.


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## the-moon-light

I think it depends on the weather, in hot some times you take 2 to 3 showers a day!! because you'll take a shower to set infront of the air condition to get a little cool air  it's really hot 50 C.
But sure you'll take one a day, usually after we came back from work or school. For me I take it 2 times in hot weather, one when I go to my work and one when I came back, but I didn't take any shower before sleeping, simply because we have a strong air condition all night and it's not good for health.
And a real long bath would be one day a week (friday usually). One long bath (2 hours maybe) with all herbs and scrubs for my face,body and feet and olive soap to scrub my body in hot water with it's special sponge and all creams and lotions after that to my body and feet : ) ohhh nice 

In winter it's diffrent, it might be 1 a day or 1 the other day. But our winter is really short  may be one month or 6 weeks no more  and whole year we enjoy the hot weather  I really prefer hot than cold.


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## ManPaisa

For me the issue is not whether it's cold or hot.

The issue is that people normally urinate and defecate at least once a day.


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## kirsitn

ManPaisa said:


> I'm familiar with those.  They're very handy although I prefer the bidet I have at home.



Bidets are nice, but they take up more space than the extra shower head, and I also think it's more difficult to use a bidet without having to take your clothes entirely off, whereas that's no problem with the shower head.


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## koniecswiata

The following is full of generalizations:

In my experience, Europeans (in general) are somewhat more tolerant of bodily odor issues, sweating, extra smells, etc... if someone's hair is a bit greasy; it's not the end of the world--at least in a daily life situation.  This I suppose is due to various historical and cultural issues--as anywhere.

In the Americas--North and South, people are less tolerant, with Latin America being particularly intolerant for people to smell, look a bit unwashed, etc...  If possible, in many cases, people there (including the US) will probably shower twice a day even, especially if they will go out for a social occasion.  Furthermore, especially in Latin America, I suspect, class issues come into play since sweating and body odor would be more associated with physical labor, which would make you "low class"--something that people DO NOT want to seem.  I hope all this does not sound to controversial.


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## Chtipays

for some Mexicans the cleanliness is  like a virtue, they would tell you proudly how many times they clean this or that around the house and how many times they shower and how many hours they spent doing it. 

That sometimes gets worst with age, becoming almost a mania 

my father in his old days was proud of washing his hands around one hundred times per day and taking three showers during the day. His job was done sitting in a well ventilated office, so there was not real need to do so. He was changing all his clothes after each shower too. 

I have met a couple of old ladies who change towels and bedclothes around the house daily, like in a hotel, an old fashion hotel, because now, not even hotels can afford to do that.

I remember too the grandmother of a friend, once she ask us to go to pick up the clothes from the clotheslines, we did, and when we came back in the house she asked if we washed our hands before doing it, since we didn't, she decided to wash everything again because we soiled it with our "dirty" hands.

But these obsessive people were lucky to have so much water available free or at very low price  to waste in that way. 

When one realize that there is people in the world that cannot even get the few daily liters necessary for drinking or that they have to walk miles to get it. 

It starts to be hard to understand what these over-scrubbed people are trying to prove.


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## koniecswiata

Very good points and examples Chtipays!  Those people are a bit excessive, but they are just an extreme example of a society that places a lot of emphasis on cleanliness, especially visible cleanliness--I think it has a lot to do with making a good impression.  Here in Chile, it could be the "end of the world" if a coffee spilled on your shirt.  You might have to go home and change the shirt because a lot of people would think you were "cochino".  In Europe, it seems, you could say "sorry, I had an accident."  People might be more understanding about that.
Of course, being so over-washed is not particularly ecological.  North Americans are also big on showering a lot, and it is a society famous for wasteful habits.


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## effeundici

Many Italians don't have a shower every day.
*All* Italians think that people who don't have a bidet in their toilet are uncivilized. 

I think that the world can be divided in shower-using countries and bidet-using countries!!!

Bye.


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## Maria003

In Costa Rica, many, many houses do not have tubs.  
In the US, it is not uncommon for (women especially) to indulge in a hot bath on a regular basis.  
Growing up the rule of thumb in my region (Northeast) was once daily in hot weather and every-other day when it is really cold.  It's really... challenging to jump in the shower in a cold house every morning when hot water only lasts for a few minutes b/c it is an older, bigger house.  Plus, you don't really get "dirty" when it is freezing outside and you're not being fiscally active.


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## rusita preciosa

Maria003 said:


> you're not being fiscally active.


Is that when you pay your bills or re-allocate assets in your investment portfolio? 
These activities can make you sweat a lot!


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## Maria003

For me it means I have articles to read and essays to revise and it's too cold _not _to be in the tub!  But to conserve water, I use the tub water to flush the toilet.  I love, love, love that I live in a country where I can take a hot bath whenever I want.  It is a wonderful thing to have.  I don't like wasting water though...


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## rusita preciosa

Oh, OK, I thought *fiscal activity* meant more like preparing your taxes (it's that time a year too)!


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## Maria003

Bwahahaha!  Oops... that was funny.  Sorry, yes I meant physically active.  Gosh I think Spanish is really, really seeping into my pores...


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## elianecanspeak

A number of people mentioned more showers in the summer, but  in the north country it can get down to -20 F (-28C). Sometimes a hot shower is necessary to get warm. International students from warmer climates have often said that their frequency of showers increased dramatically as a means of body temperature regulation.


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## Istriano

When I came to Europe 5 years ago, it was a bit of a shock that people only take 1 shower a day (and many people don't shower each day!). Many people (especially in France) think that a perfume can be substitute for a shower.


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## Juan Jacob Vilalta

Istriano said:


> When I came to Europe 5 years ago, it was a bit of a shock that people only take 1 shower a day How many showers do you take a day? (and many people don't shower each day!). Many people (especially in France) think that a perfume can be substitute for a shower.  True, yes, thanks God... French perfumes wouldn't exist!


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## koniecswiata

Personally, I think more than one shower a day is wasteful and shows a lack of environmental concern.  The only people who should take more than one shower a day a people who do HEAVY physical labor or work in a coal mine (also heavy labor), something like that.  Anyone else is just being capricious.


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## Juan Jacob Vilalta

I agree.
BUT, as a young boy, I had chickenpox... the only way to avoid scratching my body was 3, 4, even 5 showers a day. Sorry.


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## koniecswiata

OK, in addition to heavy physical labor, special cases like illness should be considered.  No need to be sorry--ha ha.


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## Harry Batt

Brioche beat me to the punch.  Water was scarce during those dang 1930s. Small midwestern towns and small cities still had pumped water and heated the kitchen stoves with coal.  To heat water that was tolerably warm enough for a bath was out of the question. Only the folks had that luxury, using enough water to fill a galvanized round tub up half way for the first parent and giving the left-over to the second parent. We kids got sponge baths with real sponges. There was as much singing as when the time came for available showers in high school.  But, the water came out of a basin rather than tub  and left a share of body oils intact, so I was told. In our midwestern culture since WWII we worship plumbing, showers with water dirt cheap and our spouses perhaps each in a different order at every home.


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## elianecanspeak

Juan Jacob Vilalta said:


> I agree.
> BUT, as a young boy, I had chickenpox... the only way to avoid scratching my body was 3, 4, even 5 showers a day.




I had an extremely severe case of poison ivy a few years ago, and the only way I was able to find any relief was through the counter-irritation of a shower at the highest temperature I could tolerate without danger of burning myself. (I always checked the water temperature on my arm, where I did not have a rash, to make sure it was not too hot.)


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## Juan Jacob Vilalta

elianecanspeak said:


> I had an extremely severe case of poison ivy a few years ago...


 
Great relief in our cases, yep.


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## Beninjam

In the late sixties I remember that rented property often did not come with a bathing facility. A bedsit I lived in in Earls' Court had a communal bath that was shared by about 30 people. In N. Wales I rented a flat with a communal bathroom, but one of the tenants kept her potatoes in it. To bathe we used a tin bath and countless kettles of water. 
In Belgium the situation was similar for the cheaper rents, and it was back to improvising or using the municipal baths. 
As time has gone by bathing facilities in both countries in have improved, although the UK is still susceptible to the dreaded electrical shower heater which guarantees just enough water to wet your skin, but not much more. 
I take a shower every day when I get up. And if I've been exercising I take a quick shower to freshen up.


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## xwolfi

Istriano said:


> When I came to Europe 5 years ago, it was a bit of a shock that people only take 1 shower a day (and many people don't shower each day!). Many people (especially in France) think that a perfume can be substitute for a shower.


Allow me to disagree ! I'm french and I never considered perfume could be a substitute for a shower, however it's true that taking more than one shower a day is seen as strange (why showering to sleep ?). As far as I know, we see perfumes as "enhancers" rather than as "hide your misery", at least I take a shower, use a roll on and then put some perfume... I really wonder if you went here and lived with actual people or are just reiterating the common idea about us smelling bad (which I never understood )


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## gouged

Supongo que lo normal es ducharse una vez al dia. Yo creo que lo deseable es tener un olor corporal y un aspecto que no ofenda a los demas y sentirse bien con uno mismo.Por ejemplo, yo en general me ducho cada dia pero si hay un dia que no voy a salir de casa y no va a venir nadie a verme, la verdad es que no me molesto ni en ducharme ni en vestirme. Puedo pasarme el dia en pijama leyendo, viendo la tele o cualquier otra cosa.


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## Pinairun

Cuando el calor aprieta, y durante el día sudas como un condenado, una ducha por la noche se hace prácticamente necesaria. Además de refrescar,  ayuda a conciliar el sueño.


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## Minnie121728

koniecswiata said:


> Personally, I think more than one shower a day is wasteful and shows a lack of environmental concern.  The only people who should take more than one shower a day a people who do HEAVY physical labor or work in a coal mine (also heavy labor), something like that.  Anyone else is just being capricious.


 Really? Girl, You would be in shock, if you were living at the caribbean where i am, here the least people baths, is three or even four times, because this is really hot here, no matter if you work in an office with air conditioner, or in the streets...here usually people takes more than one shower daily...


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## Minnie121728

gouged said:


> Supongo que lo normal es ducharse una vez al dia. Yo creo que lo deseable es tener un olor corporal y un aspecto que no ofenda a los demas y sentirse bien con uno mismo.Por ejemplo, yo en general me ducho cada dia pero si hay un dia que no voy a salir de casa y no va a venir nadie a verme, la verdad es que no me molesto ni en ducharme ni en vestirme. Puedo pasarme el dia en pijama leyendo, viendo la tele o cualquier otra cosa.


 Viejo...pero ni en tus mejores partes, te dejas caer un "chin" de agua en esos dias? Mira que aquello guarda sus olores caracteristicos...y no son suaves...


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## Minnie121728

Pinairun said:


> Cuando el calor aprieta, y durante el día sudas como un condenado, una ducha por la noche se hace prácticamente necesaria. Además de refrescar,  ayuda a conciliar el sueño.


 Pero claroooooooooo, si eso hasta ayuda a decansar y desestresarse...


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## FYV

In summer when it is hot (and it can be cold here in summer too) I take a shower every day. In winter, I do not bath every day. And I can assure you, you are not going to sweat in a -20C° weather, even if you put a lot of cloths on.


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## luna_mdq

It's quite cold here in winter (and sometimes in summer) too. I tried to explain exactly that to a Venezuelan friend (that you don't have to take a bath every day) and she still doesn't believe me.


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## RM1(SS)

Some notes from a very different culture: Submariners.

I spent almost thirteen and a half years on submarines.  When the boat is at sea, everyone takes a shower every "day."  I put day in quotes because, while a few people keep a 24-hour schedule, most of the crew are on an 18-hour schedule (six hours on watch, twelve hours off).  And yes, it's considered normal to take a shower during each of these 18-hour days, for a total of four showers each 72-hour period.  Some people (including me) prefer to shower before going to bed; others do it when they get up.

A submarine shower is quite different from the way things are done elsewhere.  Turn the water on, get yourself wet, turn the water back off, apply soap and shampoo, and then turn the water back on just long enough to rinse off - the water should be running for a total of no more than five minutes.  This is because the showers use fresh water, and fresh water is hard to come by out in the middle of the ocean.  We make it ourselves, by distilling seawater, and we can't make enough to let everyone have a "Hollywood" shower every day.

In fact, sometimes there is a problem with one of the stills.  The reactor has first claim on fresh water, and food and drink come next; if there's not enough water to go round, showers are secured.  In that case, only cooks and mess cooks - persons handling food - are permitted to use the showers; everyone else, including the captain, must make do with a sinkful of water and a sponge.


Caveat: This applies to the US Navy - other navies, of course, may do things differently.


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## ancalimon

In Turkish culture, people usually shower in the mornings (and some also in the evenings). We don't usually take baths although most people have bath tubs in their homes. I guess it's a taboo of some sorts.

There is also the thing that you have to take a shower after having sex which is related to Islam. Although it also has become something cultural and even people that are not Muslim do it. It is believed that if you don't wash yourselves after sex, you would become "cenabet" (which is a funny word) and things you do would not go well.


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## JeanDeSponde

Istriano said:


> Many people (especially in France) think that a perfume can be substitute for a shower.


The number of false beliefs which can be found in supposedly intelligent people would surprise _you_.
Here, as the saying goes, the Gods themselves contend in vain...


RM1(SS) said:


> Some notes from a very different culture: Submariners.[...]
> Caveat: This applies to the US Navy - other navies, of course, may do things differently.


French submariners do not waste good fresh water. A single gallon of perfume is enough for 6 months at sea...


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## velisarius

ancalimon said:


> you would become "cenabet" (which is a funny word) and things you do would not go well.


O.K. I'm intrigued. Could you elaborate on that ancalimon, please? What exactly is "cenabet"?

As for showering, where I live water is very expensive, so we tend to adopt the sort of tactics described by RM1 on board submarines. At our summer place, I am in and out of the sea a lot, so the briefest of showers is enough and the water used runs off into the garden. I'm horrified when we have guests who hog the shower for about 15 minutes. They should be forced to do time on a submarine.


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## Ellea1

Istriano said:


> Many people (especially in France) think that a perfume can be substitute for a shower.



Were you travelling at the Middle Age era and did you meet with Louis XIV?


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## LilianaB

In the US people shower a lot, perhaps even sometimes too much -- like 3-4 times a day in the summer. There is a lot of water where I live, but it is slightly salty. You have to shower a lot in fact when the weather is sometimes in the summer over 100 degrees (Fahrenheit) and there is sand floating around. Even in the winter everybody showers in the morning, and you could see many wet people on the trains in freezing weather. In the Lithuanian and Northern Russian tradition people always had saunas, and they took baths there, even in freezing weather. In Poland people had bathtubs and took baths or showers every day. (at least this has been my experience)


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## Mackinder

I shower whenever I have to go out. But, if I'll stay home all day, I don't because I was taught to save water! And whenever I shower I try to take the least time. And I hate wasting water because it's not a renewable resource sadly and we might run out of it soon


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## L'irlandais

Hello Ginazec,
Welcome to the forums.
I agree water is a precious commodity.  
I am somewhat shocked by the way my Swiss colleagues waste water at work;  each morning they will run the tap for at least 5 minutes to get rid of water that has stayed in the pipes overnight.  Quite where they think the water outside our building past the night I've yet to work out.  (Are larger diameter pipes less "smelly" ?   A rhetorical question, I assure you.) I've been told off for boiling the kettle, without running off (wasting) sufficient water.

Growing up in the '70's a Saturday night bath was a regular feature.  A quick wash in the basin, with a face-cloth, morning and evening sufficed on the other days of the week.
Though clean running water in not scarce here, I like RM1(SS) in #141 above, routinely shower in this manner, every morning. Swift affair, no more than 5 minutes under the shower as above.  No Submariners in my family that I know of.  It's true that on particularly hot days (like this summer) a quick shower before going to bed is refreshing.

 Bonjour Ellea1,
While in France folks tell the "famous" anecdote of Louis XIV's 3 baths in 77 years ;  in the UK Henry VIII suggested that "everybody ought to take a bath once a year whether he needs it or not.  He did so himself, appearantly, in buttermilk.


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## Minnie121728

ancalimon said:


> In Turkish culture, people usually shower in the mornings (and some also in the evenings). We don't usually take baths although most people have bath tubs in their homes. I guess it's a taboo of some sorts.
> 
> There is also the thing that you have to take a shower after having sex which is related to Islam. Although it also has become something cultural and even people that are not Muslim do it. It is believed that if you don't wash yourselves after sex, you would become "cenabet" (which is a funny word) and things you do would not go well.



 What is "cenabet"?


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## إسكندراني

Minnie121728 said:


> What is "cenabet"?


It's an Arabic word جنابة (djana:bah) which is used in Islam to mean something akin to an impure state, requiring the full body to be washed in order to purify oneself again. It's exclusively caused by sexual activity as far as I know. The requirements of purity طهارة (taha:ra) and hence running water were a major driving force behind a lot of traditional Islamic culture, for example personal habits and urban design of public spaces.


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## WadiH

إسكندراني said:


> It's an Arabic word جنابة (djana:bah) which is used in Islam to mean something akin to an impure state, requiring the full body to be washed in order to purify oneself again. It's exclusively caused by sexual activity as far as I know. The requirements of purity طهارة (taha:ra) and hence running water were a major driving force behind a lot of traditional Islamic culture, for example personal habits and urban design of public spaces.



Menstruation also causes djanabah.  A person in a state of djanabah cannot pray, fast, touch a Koran, recite Koranic verses or enter a mosque.


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## Minnie121728

Wadi Hanifa said:


> Menstruation also causes djanabah. A person in a state of djanabah cannot pray, fast, touch a Koran, recite Koranic verses or enter a mosque.



  Waooo'...my respects from this side of the world...thank you for your reasons...


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## midlifecrisis

Ellea1 said:


> Were you travelling at the Middle Age era and did you meet with Louis XIV?



I must admit I've come across this a couple of times.  We recently had a French exchange student staying with us for 6 months, and the handbook stipulated that students must take a shower every morning before going to school.  No stratagem of ours was able to make this happen, or get her beyond an apparent dip in the washbasin then a liberal spraying of perfume.  The other case was when I shared a room for a week with a French guy in a training centre that had communal washrooms - every morning he got fully dressed and perfumed his shirt then went into the communal room to wash his face.  I'd like however to put these down to 1. teenage reluctance to get out of bed in time to wash properly and 2. shyness.   

From a personal UK perspective, I and all my family shower every morning and most evenings.  Times have changed though - I grew up in an era and social stratum where the norm was a morning basin wash and one or two baths a week, as showers didn't exist.


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## JeanDeSponde

midlifecrisis said:


> No stratagem of ours was able to make this happen, or get her beyond an apparent dip in the washbasin then a liberal spraying of perfume [...]


Maybe you water-heater is coin-operated, as they all are in the UK...?


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## stevenvh

I live in Belgium and shower every day, as, to my knowledge, do all my friends.

A gift basket with massage brush, sponge, soap, and what-have-you is not uncommon as a present for a woman here.


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## YellowOnline

In principle, I think you should only shower or bathe when necessary. If you're not dirty or sweaty, it's a serious waste of water. I don't think there's much cultural about that - how many times you shower is mostly an individual choice, if you aren't limited practically (e.g. if you live somewhere with hardly water available). I do acknowledge that in a few anglophone countries there is an obsessive hygiene trend. Both Americans and Irish (but not British) I encountered on my travels were compulsively using a kind of hand disinfectant. 

We definitely need hygiene, the single biggest contributor to our medical advancement; but a bit of exposure is good for the immune system too (hey, it's how vaccines work!).


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## stevenvh

I think you mean exposure (not exposition)


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## JeanDeSponde

Germophobia (and I did _not_ say "germanophobia") is indeed a common disease in many advanced countries where people fail to realize that our body comprise actually more germs than human cells, an overwhelming percentage of those germs being actually _useful_, not harmful.
"Useful" means that many of those inocuous germs are actually _fighting_ harmful ones — this is why antibiotics should only be used in case of severe problems, and disinfectants are causing more skin problems than they solve — thrush / mycosis, and even infections when our usual, good skin germs are not here anymore to defend us.
Now a shower is not a disinfectant, and, although sweat is neither dirty nor smelly when emitted, it will degrade within hours to form unwanted by-products...


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## Packard

I think the presumption in New York is that people do or should shower or bathe daily.

I agree with others that the availability of hot water is essential for showering.

I recall years ago that for the sake of efficiency I bought one dozen golf shirts; every one was black.  People started to avoid me when they came to believe that I was wearing the same shirt every day.  I had to buy a bunch more colored shirts to mix in to avoid that stigma.

Pants don't seem to carry that stigma and I (for the sake of efficiency) buy four or more of the same pants in black with no problems (in terms of people avoiding me).

Of course if you want to be left alone avoiding the shower and wearing the same clothing all the time works like a charm.


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## stevenvh

@JeanDeSponde - It's true that sweat doesn't smell, but for certain bacteria a warm and moist place like sweating armpits are simply a feast. And in such an environment they breed like hell. And it's those bacteria which cause the smell we associate with sweating.


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## JeanDeSponde

Steven, this is what I meant by "unwanted by-products".
Packard, this is the very reason why every year I buy a new car with a different colour than last year's one: if the same colour people would think that I still have the same old car and disregard me.
Now with a brand-new different car and same twelve-month-old underpants I'm a real socialite, just like you.


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## Packard

JeanDeSponde said:


> Steven, this is what I meant by "unwanted by-products".
> Packard, this is the very reason why every year I buy a new car with a different colour than last year's one: if the same colour people would think that I still have the same old car and disregard me.
> Now with a brand-new different car and same twelve-month-old underpants I'm a real socialite, just like you.


You could just paint the old car.  Then you'd have enough money to buy new underpants.


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## L'irlandais

Anybody who might disregard you for not getting a new coloured car every year, may well not be Worth the effort.  I suggest a change of friends in that particular case.


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## Minnie121728

Packard said:


> You could just paint the old car. Then you'd have enough money to buy new underpants.


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