Cooking Pot Bath

[Preventec47]

about 15 years ago when I was living on a sailboat that had a propane stove
I learned to take a deep cooking pot that had the inner circumference
measuring from the tip of my nose to the back of my head. If I filled it
about 1 third full with water ( about 3 quarts I think ) and heated it up,
I was able to dip my head into it upside down and wet my entire face and
head.

I could then wash my hair (short-guy) and my face and neck area
and then submerge again about twice to rinse off.
I usually used dial bar soap but toward the end I began to prefer
some of the scented dishwashing detergents like Pamolive of AJAX.
I found the detergents to be a better soap than any bar soap
especially for the hair. Also I found out that detergents are the
basis of hair shampoos as opposed to soaps.

With the remaining warm water still in the pot I would washcloth clean the rest of my body. I would shave last so the whiskers dont get into the cleaning water.

Today I surveyed my kitchen and I find a perfect fit cooking pot in the
form of a 10 quart Fagor pressure cooker. I can barely slip it down over my head like a helmet.

I think this is about the minimum for a complete bath unless your hair
is one inch or shorter in which case you can wash your entire head
with a wash cloth with about a quart less water or a total of a half
gallon of warm ( preferably... unless it is real hot outside then you can use cool ) water.

 

[akrvbob]

Great idea, thanks for the tip!
Bob

 

[LeeRevell]

Being an old ex-Navy Squid (second enlistment), I still use Ivory bar soap - no added stuff that discolors clothing. I've also used Prell shampoo as a body wash - picked up that trick in USAF bootcamp my first enlistment.
I sometimes use the liquid biodegradable 'camping soap' sold in Wally's camping section, but it sometimes causes itching.

 

[zombiewriter]

Great tip! I've been wondering how to wash my hair without using a ton of water. Do you lay out a towel or something to keep from making a big mess?

 

[Preventec47]

Great tip! I've been wondering how to wash my hair without using a ton of water. Do you lay out a towel or something to keep from making a big mess?

Naturally where you are standing is going to get get a good deal of water from your dripping head when you pull your head out of the water so standing on a towel would help a lot or you can just wet the floor and mop it up afterwards with a towel or whatever.

If you are a female ( or non female ) with a good head of hair, you will need another pot of water to better rinse the soap suds out of your hair. This is not too big of a problem because you are only heating less than half the pot full if you have very short hair. Just fill the whole pot up and heat till it gets to about 115 degrees... you know - hot bath temperature..... and then pour half or two thirds into another big bowl and after your first rinse in the pot, throw out the bath water and refill with fresh water from the bowl.

Wait, I just remembered an important step in the process..... after
you pull your head out of the pot from dunking in the water, you hold
your head directly over the pot and you can squeeze out and kind
of Squee-Ge your head so that most of the water falls back into the
pot. This goes a long way towards minimizing water falling on the floor.

FURTHER modifications to this technique is to do away with the pot and
just use the sink ! The size and shape of the sink will have a big bearing
on how easy this is to do but some bath lavatory sinks are smallish
and have round bottoms that will allow you to put your head down
into the sink and dunk most of your head. Also you must have a sink
where the shape of the faucet does not prevent you from dunking
your head in the sink..... You might have to turn your head sideways
etc to squeeze beside the faucet etc...

---

About soaps vs detergents.... I learned in college chemistry that there is
a big difference in the two and the relative ability to break down oils and
remove them. SOAP always leaves a residue and is no where near as
good as detergents at breaking down oils. I remember also that all
shampoos are based upon detergents and then conditioners and scents
are added. So seriously, if you want to make your own shampoo, you
can take the dishwashing liquids and dilute to the effectiveness lever you
want ( or just use smaller quantity ) and then add scents and conditioners
as you desire. As a guy, I dont want any conditioners or extra scents..
I just want to get clean so I just use the regular dish wash liquid. I know it sounds harsh or weird but it is a lot more effective than shampoo and
much cheaper. When you rinse your hair in a pot and can see the rinse water, you will realize the huge difference between bar soap and
detergent which is the same thing as shampoo.

Side comment, when washing dogs, also use dish-wash liquid if you
want them to be really clean. Dont get suckerd into much more expensive dog formula unless you need to kill fleas etc. Even then,
when I had a dog, I would buy the specific flea kill liquid and add
it to the rinse water after I had washed my dog with dish wash liquid.

 

[LeeRevell]

I have also used dish detergent to wash clothes in a sink. Let it sit for an hour, then wring it out, rinse and wring again. Amazing to see how much dirt comes out of a clothing article I thought was only sweaty!
I would avoid the anti-bacterial dish liquids for bathing - too much exposure reduces their effectiveness, breeding stronger microbugs!
Like in soaps, I prefer Ivory brand dish liquid, and Dawn is good too.

 

[Zil]

Kirk's Castile soap. every thing they claim and then some.
http://www.kirksnatural.com/

 

[mconlonx]

I only use dr. Bronners liquid soap for washing anything and everything.

Kirk's Castile soap. every thing they claim and then some.
http://www.kirksnatural.com/

^^^My two go-to personal hygiene products...

A couple months ago before my situation changed, I was doing similar to the OP -- heating about a 3rd of a stock pot of water for bathing. Usually with a shower or bath every 3-4th day or so.

 

[Theadyn]

Being a female with hair past her shoulders, was wondering how to wash the hair without using a huge amount of water. Thanks for the tip!

I've read, and have tested since, the theory about how continually stripping hair with harsh shampoo's actually makes your oil glands more active. As a person who use to shampoo daily to avoid oily hair, and who was sick of the daily hassle of drying and fixing hair, I had to try it, oh yeah! Took a while to work up to it, adding a day extra no-wash slowly, I am now up to being able to go a week without washing. My hair is not near as oily after one week than it was after the second day previously, and it's in much, much better shape! It never smells, either (other than the faint scent of shampoo). I had to try it to believe it, and it's true. As an aside, I was a hair stylist for 9 years, so I was kind of biased about shampoo's and such. It took a lot to convince me that this would work. I am soon going to try the 'no poo' method soon of just using baking soda to 'shampoo' and an apple cider vinegar rinse (no harsh chemicals) for condition for my once a week cleaning and see what happens. Hardly ever blow dry it now as I have some nice waves naturally, and avoid the heating tools like the plague. I do contend with having to put it up all the time, but hey, it's out of my way and cooler and in better shape... plus plus plus!!

 

[gypsycowboy]

Being an old ex-Navy Squid (second enlistment), I still use Ivory bar soap - no added stuff that discolors clothing. I've also used Prell shampoo as a body wash - picked up that trick in USAF bootcamp my first enlistment.
I sometimes use the liquid biodegradable 'camping soap' sold in Wally's camping section, but it sometimes causes itching.

We must have gone through USAF basic about the same time. Still use Prell for a body wash. The hair in my nether regions is still sleek and manageable.

 

[LeeRevell]

We must have gone through USAF basic about the same time. Still use Prell for a body wash. The hair in my nether regions is still sleek and manageable.

Late 1976 for me. Did not have to do USN boot, as I was "OSVET" - 'Other Service Veteran'. Had I reupped into Army or Marines I would have had to do their bootcamp. I am sure the various little tricks like how to wash quickly are universal for all services. Having been on a small ship for three and a half years teaches you to shower quickly too.

 

[wagoneer]

Amen to not using antibacterial stuff you want the bad bugs in a slow and your body controllable way. My workmate uses it and is always sick I tell her not to wash her hair and stop using antibac soap and she thinks I'm gross,,,, I may be gross but I am not sick.