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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think one bath/shower a day is perfectly adequate in the UK?

267 replies

AfraidOfMyShadow · 03/07/2017 20:15

I can even understand twice a day especially when it is hot or after exercising.
I did think DH was a bit odd for bathing at least two times a day without fail (even in winter) but DSS showers three times a day! I think it's insanity.

So a personal question to you all - how often do you bathe/shower and AIBU?

OP posts:
HeteronormativeHaybales · 04/07/2017 11:43

Once a day (evenings) for me, occasionally an extra one during the day.

Dc approx every other day, but puberty not far off for the eldest and will be strongly encouraging daily when I start noticing whiffs.

StarHeartDiamond · 04/07/2017 11:45

Wonder lime - in very hot conditions the bacteria breeds faster so starts to smell faster. on a very hot sunny day you will be sweating far more than on a cold day and so everything is speeded up.

Shadowboy · 04/07/2017 11:49

Once a day unless I've been swimming or got hot and sweaty riding.

Twice is ok I guess( bloody expensive on the water and boiler!)

WillRikersExtraNipple · 04/07/2017 12:17

I shower 3 times a day due to having OCD. DS is following my habits he has to a bath in the morning, shower after school then a bath before bed

Why would you pass on your mental health issues in that way? Aren't you trying to break the pattern?

3 showers/baths a day is insane.

LeMontane · 04/07/2017 12:29

A shower a day in a warm country and I don't smell

LaurieMarlow · 04/07/2017 12:32

Not even necessarily once a day. I've been known to 'skip', particularly in the winter. And I don't smell.

noodlebum · 04/07/2017 12:44

Every other day usually, unless it's been hot/ I've been doing dirty tasks/exercise/on holiday etc. But generally every other day. I don't have a very active job, so seems fine.

Blankscreen · 04/07/2017 13:20

Shower every morning amd them abath at bed time. I love chilliing in the bath reading a book

pasturesgreen · 04/07/2017 14:03

Showering twice a day seems to me like a ridiculous waste of water.

hmcAsWas · 04/07/2017 14:06

Once a day routinely, but twice if I have exercised or if its been hot

Aducknotallama · 04/07/2017 14:13

Usually twice a day once in the morning with hair wash and then after the gym before bed. My ds 16 showers twice a day too.

coconuttella · 04/07/2017 14:23

How old are you? I'm in my 40's and we had a bath every single night without fail, no exceptions.

I'm in my forties and I had a bath 2-3 times a week as a kid, or more often when I needed one (e.g. After sports or after getting dirty).

Same for my children too... and with them going to/having plenty of sleepovers, that seems pretty common! No one I know religiously bathes their kids every day after they're out of nappies.

KoalaDownUnder · 04/07/2017 14:46

Showering twice a day seems to me like a ridiculous waste of water.

What on earth is 'ridiculous' about a shower when you're dirty and sweaty?

You do realise that you don't have to stand under there luxuriating in hot water and navel-gazing, right? I can be in and out in a couple of minutes.

Scrumpernickel · 04/07/2017 14:54

I'm still agog at Mr Three Baths A Day. He must have been Cleopatra in in a previous life.

Rhubarbginisnotasin · 04/07/2017 15:24

You do realise that you don't have to stand under there luxuriating in hot water and navel-gazing, right? I can be in and out in a couple of minutes

So can I. Im very business like about my showers and they're nothing more than an end to a means.

Wonder lime - in very hot conditions the bacteria breeds faster so starts to smell faster. on a very hot sunny day you will be sweating far more than on a cold day and so everything is speeded up

I did laugh at the thought of people here going to the Drs because they were perhaps smelling a bit after being out and about doing chores for a few hours in temps of 115 degrees.

Ollivander84 · 04/07/2017 16:13

Surely it's normal to smell after sweating? Say if I shower, then go to the gym. 3hrs after that I would smell because it's now "old" sweat with bacteria?

EverythingEverywhere1234 · 04/07/2017 16:22

I have EDSIII so really struggle with showers, and we have no bath, so I have a shower every other day. I obviously wash every day though... It comes down to it just being too difficult for me to manage it every day. It makes my knees and hips hurt, my head spins and it uses energy I just can't really afford. My hair is better for showering every other day rather than everyday mind.

StarHeartDiamond · 04/07/2017 16:45

Coconut / I'm in my 49s too and we had baths every 2-3 days too with face and knees washed nightly. No showers then so baths were more of a commitment especially with the old hot water tank that gave approx 2 inches of lukewarm water.

Looking back I think however that although we weren't filthy, we definitely weren't fresh. My dcs share a quick bath every night to freshen up after an active day. If they were literally filthy muddy they would be showered individually.

I also hope I'm setting up good habits for when they are teens and smellier due to hormones and body odour etc.

StarHeartDiamond · 04/07/2017 16:45

40s not 49s! Smile

spaghettithrower · 05/07/2017 12:49

How on earth do people afford the water bill let alone the gas/electricity to warm the water when they are having three showers or baths a day?

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 05/07/2017 13:08

spaghettithrower

We have an eco shower which helps. Our bills aren't huge at all- thank goodness!

Original poster
AfraidOfMyShadow · 05/07/2017 15:34

Eco showers and cold showers!

OP posts:
Rhubarbginisnotasin · 05/07/2017 16:07

How on earth do people afford the water bill let alone the gas/electricity to warm the water when they are having three showers or baths a day?

Really? You actually had to ask this?

spaghettithrower · 05/07/2017 16:59

"How on earth do people afford the water bill let alone the gas/electricity to warm the water when they are having three showers or baths a day?"

Really? You actually had to ask this?

Yes, I did because we certainly couldn't afford the bill for three showers a day.
We are on a water meter. Aren't other people?

Rhubarbginisnotasin · 05/07/2017 17:04

Yes, I did because we certainly couldn't afford the bill for three showers a day
We are on a water meter. Aren't other people?

So you couldn't use your common sense and just know that people can obviously afford it if they are doing it? Even those on water meters?