Do you need one every day?

[GladAllOver]

I was told off at the weekend by someone who said it was wasteful and environmentally irresponsible to have a bath or shower every day. I said she was wrong. AIBU?

In the winter I have a very hot bath almost every day, I have a sore back after 12 hours on my feet and it helps. If not having a bath I shower daily, sometimes I might even have a morning shower and an evening bath! It's maybe not strictly necessary to bathe every day but I think the majority do, a quick 2 minute shower surely won't use much more water than filling the sink for a wash?

It’s not a “yes/no” question, OP.
If you had a shower on Sunday morning, did nothing strenuous all day Sunday, then were working from home with no reason to go anywhere on Monday, there’s nothing wrong with skipping the shower on Monday and showering before work in the office on Tuesday…
Similarly if you went to the gym on Tuesday night, you would probably end up having two showers on the same Tuesday.

I don't shower every day. It's very bad for your skin, and I have VERY dry and sensitive skin. I shower every 3rd day. But I don't sweat much, and I work from home. Obviously underwear is fresh every day. Bra changed every 3rd day. Fresh pyjamas every 3rd day.

I shower / bathe every day, sometimes twice a day. Not sure I'm putting that at the top of my eco friendly worries 😂 are they saying it's wasteful because of the water use?

I think it's up to you really. Some people have skin issues and need to bathe twice 3 x a day, some are remarkably un-sweaty and can go a couple days without showering. A power shower and a bath both use about the same amount of water, if not more for the shower if you stay in for 10 mins plus.
The water is primarily recycled from waste and we pay for it, so I don't see why you shouldn't bathe as often as you need to not smell bad!

I do everyday. I'm always moving around at work and would feel dirty if I didn't. I'm sure worse things I could be doing.

Depends on the individual. If you're very active you're more likely to need to wash frequently. If you sat at home yesterday and plan on sitting at home today, there might been no need to have a bath or shower.

Showers and baths are very expensive to run so it's no surprise people try to cut down on their use of them, purely for economic reasons. A five minute shower costs about 20p in electricity. Having one every other day instead of daily therefore saves about £35-£40 a year. OK, not a huge amount, but to some people it is their food bill for a week. Plus you'll use less shower gel, less water, your towels will last longer between washes.

Just to add, in terms of skin health, the NHS recommends showering twice a week. Every time you shower, you strip your skin of all it's natural oils. Same for your hair.

No I wouldn't NEED one everyday. It depends what I'm doing.

It depends on the individual. DH is somehow miraculously odourless and doesn’t, I definitely can’t get away with it.

Yes. A bath usually. It’s comforting and I like to make sure intimate areas have a soak

I shower every day and don't have any whiff of guilt over that!

I shower every morning, a short but scalding hot shower in the evening around 3x a week when it’s been a long shit day and currently the dog has a skin condition that requires a daily bath with treatment shampoo. I feel absolutely no guilt over these whatsoever

I'd stink if I didn't shower every day...but I have very short showers, water, soap, rinse off, done.

You said she was wrong. What was your reasoning.
She is not wrong to say that daily bath is environmentally wasteful when a short shower will suffice. You want to take bath every day, that is absolutely your prerogative. But this doesn't make her statement factually incorrect.

Depends on how active you are, the job you do, how much you sweat etc.

Some people may genuinely feel they don't need to shower every day but it doesn't mean those who feel differently are irresponsible.

Yes, I do. I need to get the allergens off my skin. If I don’t, I get rashes. Sometimes I take a 45 second shower that is really just a good head to toe rinse, but I shower every day without fail.

I don’t think most people ‘need’ a shower or bath every day - I don’t - but I also don’t think it’s at all unreasonable to have one every day. I think being able to wash as thoroughly as you want every day is a pretty basic right. I work from home and shower more like every other day. DP showers daily - but he still wouldn’t smell if he didn’t.

On the point about how much water it uses, I would have thought the main environmental concern wasn’t the volume of water used, but the energy consumption required to heat it? But I personally don’t think a quick hot shower every day is excessive energy consumption and it’s certainly not the first thing I’d expect any household to give up for eco reasons.

I said she was wrong simply because some people really do need to get clean every day.

I think you’ve misread the OP’s post. She isn’t talking about whether baths are more wasteful than shower and she doesn’t mention which she prefers. Her friend said that having either of those things every day is bad.

This. Very well put.

It is environmentally bad when we shower or bath. Doesn't mean we shouldn't. Some people need to daily and others don't.

So if your having a steaming hot bath daily when you don't need it she's right technically.

But I think the definition of needing to bath or shower daily is very personal and not really measurable!

I shower every day, don’t care if people think it’s wasteful I wouldn’t leave the house without showering

How long is a piece of string?

I think most people probably don't, but some people definitely will.

It also depends on what you mean by 'need'. Are you going to suffer ill health or die if you have a shower every other day or once a week or once a month? No, of course not. You will probably be a bit whiffy though.

This is called strawman argument.
Fact 1. Having daily wash is environmentally unfriendly
Fact 2. Some people need to wash every day

She presented you with fact 1, you said she was wrong on the basis of fact 2. The truth is that these facts are not mutually exclusive.

On Saturday afternoon DD went (indoor) canoeing. She then showered to remove chlorine etc.
On Sunday morning she played rugby. It looked like she had been swimming in mud. she then, obviously, showered.

However today... shes going out on her bike, buts leisurely rather than full pelt. She probably won't need to shower later.

In short... it really does depend what you do!