Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To wash everyday?

558 replies

Brodiebirdy · 16/04/2019 13:17

I currently wash my hair every other day and on the days in between I just have a quick wash in the shower (I’m only in there for about 2 mins). I’m staying with my sister for the week and she says it’s a lot of water to use and that you don’t really need to wash every day- she says that every other day is fine. I just wondered if other people thought that washing everyday is too much? Thanks

OP posts:
Springwalk · 16/04/2019 15:43

Does she have money problems perhaps?

queenscot · 16/04/2019 15:45

I'm twice a day sometimes three times and long showers. I make my son shower at least once a day, it's disgusting not too.

HamCheeseHamnCheese · 16/04/2019 15:46

I shower most days but some days i’ll skip it for a lie in Smile

I think of myself as clean. When I do shower it’s not a 2 min shower, it’s a proper exfoliate all over, usually a shave followed by an all over moisturise.

I’d rather skip the shower than have a quick 2 min rinse down.

HamCheeseHamnCheese · 16/04/2019 15:47

But I only wash my hair once a week, maybe twice at a push. It doesn’t get greasy

Mayvis · 16/04/2019 15:50

We don't have a shower so it's a bath every other day (daily in the summer, usually a shallow one) and a wash in the sink in the mornings. I would love a shower but our landlord won't install one.

RosaWaiting · 16/04/2019 15:50

if she's annoyed about the water, then pay I guess.

I'd have a fit if I stayed with my sister - or anyone for that matter - and they weren't okay with a daily shower. If they're broke, it's different, but are you paying for other stuff as a guest?

BarbieJellyBabyBrain · 16/04/2019 15:50

I'm twice a day sometimes three times and long showers. I make my son shower at least once a day, it's disgusting not too.

Well I think it's 'disgusting' to use that much water totally unnecessarily, but hey, different strokes and all that.

MissPollyHadADolly19 · 16/04/2019 15:52

Showering every day has been proven to be unnecessary and strips your skin of natural oils. Extra important for those with psoriasis, eczema and other dry skin conditions.
No one's dirty for not showering every day Hmm
Unless you work out alot then every other day is perfectly fine.
I'm an every other day-er but hair wash once a week.

ethelfleda · 16/04/2019 15:56

No one's dirty for not showering every day

This!

englishdictionary · 16/04/2019 16:14

I put on a lather of soap on pit/bits/crevices/feet and then wash that off with a damp flannel.

That's sounds disgusting tbh.

englishdictionary · 16/04/2019 16:14

I'm an every other day-er but hair wash once a week.

Are you sure it doesn't smell? Hair picks up everything.

YouJustDoYou · 16/04/2019 16:16

My dear friend says the same as your sister, that you only need to wash every other day....But she also smells a little. I have to wash every day, I'm a greasy smelly person I feel so I couldn't do every other day.

Mabellavender · 16/04/2019 16:39

I shower every morning and bath most nights, but when I lived on my own I just used to bath every other day and I never felt dirty, I don't think dirty to miss a day unless you are getting dirty. It’s also not excessive to shower once a day, I think that’s what most people do.

Some may say I wash too much but i have sex most nights and wouldn’t want to walk round the next day smelling like cum! EnvyBlush

Mabellavender · 16/04/2019 16:41

I also wash my hair as little as possible like a pp, I noticed when I washed my hair every day it was getting greasy by the end of the day, probably because i was washing it so much. I gradually washed it less and less and now I’m once a week unless I get really sweaty which I don’t because I hardly do any exercise ( unless you count all the sex 😂😂😂)

FriarTuck · 16/04/2019 16:45

Honestly I can't see how strip washing is easier than jumping in the shower for 30 seconds
Of course it's easier. The actual washing bit is quicker and the drying is much quicker and easier than drying your whole body.
You strip off and jump in the shower. The water is automatically washing dirt off without you even doing anything and if you're twirling round and have a shower head that you can detach from the wall then your entire body can be clean within a minute. And drying is simple because you wrap your body in a towel to get the worst off and then a minute of rubbing and you're dry and fresh and ready to put on clean clothes. A strip wash just moves the dirt around and then you're covering the towel in it [vomitingface]
And for all the people claiming they don't sweat - newsflash folks, you do sweat and even if you can't smell it the rest of us can. Please also clean your teeth and put CLEAN clothes on, not the rank things you've put your sweaty stinky half 'washed' bodies in for a week already.
(I will excuse people who can't get in the shower because of having had surgery / wearing casts / being physically unable to - you have my sympathy for having to feel unclean on top of everything else you're facing)
(I also exclude those inconvenienced by the water company switching your water off without notice when you really wanted a shower - I recommend a bucket, a bottle of water kept for emergencies, and a portable camp-type shower that runs on batteries / rechargeable battery pack - it's not like a proper shower but it's better than a strip wash)

freshsmelling · 16/04/2019 17:52

Some may say I wash too much but i have sex most nights and wouldn’t want to walk round the next day smelling like cum!

Same! Imagine having sex one night, skipping shower/wash the next day, and your partner going down on you that night. Envy shudder!

queenscot · 16/04/2019 17:53

I'm not buying this environment nonsense for not showering. Every single person I know who use this excuse are always travelling by flight, flying off to exotic places all the time damages the environment FAR more than having a regular clean.

I know a very professional family who obviously don't bathe their kids daily they are around 10 and 7, they mess horrendous and even though I'm too polite to speak others don't hesitate to comment, it neglect. The basic you can do for your child is ensure they're clean and wearing fresh clean clothes. It's really unpleasant to sit next too. I also worked when I was a teenager about 25 years ago in a DHSS office and there is lots of unwashed in these places, it IS disgusting. Stop trying to justify this, it spread diseases and is unpleasant for others and let's face it the dodge shower types are not the type to drown in perfume go mask the stench, they're oblivious. It's just laziness.

Whitechocandraspberry · 16/04/2019 17:58

Anyone who doesn’t shower daily is a dirty smelly b

Thesnobbymiddleclassone · 16/04/2019 18:00

I suffer a lot from eczema and when I was teenager I showered everyday and the constant drying off made it worse!

Whne it flares up really bad I was every other day as the warm water hurts it and as said, drying off makes it hurt more.

freshsmelling · 16/04/2019 18:00

I have a great sense of smell (much better than my eyes or hearing!) and I hate using the loo just after someone comes out of it at work. Even if they've just had a pee, they leave a horrible musty smell of unwashed fanny in there. Yuck! Just YUCK!

Purpleartichoke · 16/04/2019 18:00

I take at least a quick shower every day. Sometimes it is only a minute in cold water, but if I skip it, I get skin rashes. In hot months I often shower twice a day to keep my skin clear.

Hair washing is every other day or occasionally an extra day off.

SimonJT · 16/04/2019 18:01

Ew.

I shower at least once a day, sometimes twice if I’m going to be sleeping with someone.

PrtScn · 16/04/2019 18:08

I usually shower every day but if I don’t i’ll wash my face and give my bits a once over with wet wipes.

queenscot · 16/04/2019 18:13

Surely wet wipes are worse for the environment than a quick shower?

cherryblossomgin · 16/04/2019 18:17

I shower most days but on days I don't I have a wash at the sink. I don't shower daily because I leave the house at 6.30 and it's too early to shower in a middle flat. I wash my hair every three days. I was told that showering daily is bad for your skin.