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?

I bath twice a day. I’ve always preferred a bath to a shower.

I know. He eats our food, too. Bastard.

This definitely depends on the activity level of the person and the level of dirtiness they obtain on a daily basis.
But even then, a person that takes quick showers every day can use less water than a person who does and everything shower twice a week.
So, number of showers is not really an accurate depiction of waste. Now, if she said that because you were talking about your daily, long, luxurious showers she may have a point.
I can do a head-to-toe shower, including hair wash and condition in less than 10 minutes. And I don't wash my hair daily, it doesn't need it. I don't use extremely hot water either. Warm water and I like to finish with a cold rinse on summer days. Feels good.

Id feel grim if I didn't shower every day.
In an ideal world adults wouldn't chastise other adults for being clean.

Our doc advised me not to shower bath every day. When I worked for local gov, I visited peoples homes to complete assessments and sometimes I needed 2 showers/baths daily

I have dry skin, can't do without a daily bath/shower but use creams, Epimax and scent-free soaps and use slightly cooler water. I have to use deodarants as well

I cant stand the stench from some people, at times its so powerful that its stuck up my nose for hours, EG someone wearing the same shirt/coat/blouse again and again the BO is dreadful its everywhere

Considering I have about 10 hot flashes overnight, I wouldn't go anywhere without a shower.

Two showers a day, not sorry. I really doubt that there are people who don’t need a daily shower. Unless a certain royal, perhaps…

I shower every night before bed. You can turn the shower down to a trickle to save water when not rinsing. I need to wash my bedsheets less often as a result.

Same here. If I didn't, it would be worse than a whiff of guilt 😂

Personally I think everyone should shower or bath daily. It’s hygienic. I would definitely feel dirty n stink if I didn’t. As for the environment shit I wouldn’t worry. These big companies n millionaires flying private jets are doing more damage than someone just wanting to bloody wash themselves

It probably is wasteful but I’m still going to shower everyday.

Five minute shower every day or ten minutes every two strikes me as not making much difference if you are clever with how you heat your water.

I personally don't need a shower every day but some people do.

Do we really want to go back to how it was say in the 50s

People used to smell (not everyone) but clothes weren't washed enough, some people didn't have a plumbed in bathroom etc

Normal, healthy skin maintains a layer of oil and a balance of "good" bacteria and other microorganisms. Washing and scrubbing removes these, especially if the water is hot. As a result:
• Skin may become dryy_, irritated, or itchy.
• Dry, cracked skin may allow bacteria and allergens to breach the barrier skin is supposed to provide, allowing skin infections and allergic reactions to occur.
• Antibacterial soapss_ can actually kill off normal bacteria. This upsets the balance of microorganisms on the skin and encourages the emergence of hardier, less friendly organisms that are more resistant to antibiotics.
• Our immune systems need a certain amount of stimulation by normal microorganisms, dirt, and other environmental exposures in order to create protective antibodies and "immune memory." This is one reason why some pediatricians and dermatologists recommend against daily baths for kids. Frequent baths or showers throughout a lifetime may reduce the ability of the immune system to do its job.
And there could be other reasons to lose your enthusiasm for the daily shower: the water with which we clean ourselves may contain salts, heavy metals, chlorine, fluoride, pesticides, and other chemicals. It's possible these may cause problems, too.

(Harvard Health Publishing)

You are probably right and make very good points but I still feel yucky if I don't shower daily

Plus I'm working and sweaty

I shower once a day and have a bath 1-2 times a week. To at least not shower once a day is just gross.

I shower every morning & several times a week I will have another quick shower in the evenings; don’t bath because I don’t have one

I shower every single morning without fail. Sometimes at night too depending on what I’ve done during the day!
she isn’t someone I’d want to speak to again tbh!
Bet she drives a car rather than walking or cycling?!

I find people who say they can't live without a bath or shower everyday either have some obvious issues with body odour or are being quite precious. A short shower is ok but a bath is a luxury in my opinion. I can't take a bath without feeling guilty about the gallons of clean drinkable water I'm using just for my own convenience. There are so many people without drinkable water in the world, it feels very wrong to indulge in a bath daily. My husband and I shower every two days and my young children every 4 days or so. We're all clean and smelling nice BTW 😉

Why is it gross if you're not dirty /smelly? I get it if you're an extremely sweaty person or with BO issues but otherwise, why is it "gross?

But you having a bath in the UK isn't depriving drinkable water from anyone.

You don't need to have "BO issues" for your bum to get smelly.

I'm willing to take steps and make sacrifices to be green. But not at the expense of hygiene or health.

I don't always shower every day because I'm a slacker when wfh, but I wouldn't not shower because it's wasteful.

I shower daily and sometimes twice a day. Not going to apologise, I’m not in there long and I just feel itchy and sweaty if I don’t wash.

As a PP said, this is not a yes or no issue. It depends on several things. How much you sweat, what kind of environment you work in (dusty, dirty etc), does your shower or bath ease a health condition? If you are in reasonable health, not needing hot water to be comfortable, or to wash dirt or sweating away, then IMO you do not need to shower/bath daily. It is bad for the environment, bad for your skin and bad for your household fuel bills.