Active discussions

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

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think this is disgusting?

291 replies

planAplanB · 19/09/2024 09:18

Adult male takes a shower over the bath with the plug in. Gets out and tops the water up to make a bath for the children.

Aibu - yes you're being unreasonable as this saves water.

No - it's disgusting to have your children bathing in their dad's shower water.

Nb: at least four public hairs were spotted floating around in the water.

OP posts:
Coruscations · 19/09/2024 10:56

YABU.

inamarina · 19/09/2024 10:57

MonsteraMama · 19/09/2024 09:26

Oh god not this again. I remember the sharing bathwater thread where I learned how many people are comfortable jumping into their significant other's human soup, and now we've got kids bathing in their dad's pube broth.

Yes it's gross. I'm constantly baffled by this website. 90% of the time people are tremendous germaphobes who are absolutely ridiculous about cleanliness, except when it comes to wallowing in someone else's dirty lukewarm bathwater, then it's party time. Madness.

Ha, I agree! Bit surprised by the first couple of responses.

Just4thisthreadtoday · 19/09/2024 10:57

I wouldn't do it because I don't need to be that frugal with bath water, but if I needed to be more frugal with bath water I might, I don't see it as any worse than when the kids get in the bath with their parents!

a few pubes, really, so what? It's only hair.

KarmenPQZ · 19/09/2024 10:57

We don’t have this set up at home but frequently on holiday after spending too long in the evening in a cooling swimming pool or sea all clamour to get in the shower first and I will normally push in and shower myself with the plug in and the kids bathing. But we’ve spent all day in the pool so surely other than sand / suncream / chlorine are relatively clean. Does this count is grim? Gets us all warmer and ready for dinner quickest! Although my partner refuses and boots the kids out for his shower.

I probably would do it at home to be fair to save water / time. It just seems efficient. I do also bail the bath water out after the kids are done to water the garden in summer. Including veggie plants that we eat. No doubt people will be horrified about that!

BlueGrackle · 19/09/2024 11:01

How much money/ water are you actually saving doing this ?
If your partner is taking long showers, it seems a bit mean to make your kids then wash in his dirty water. If it’s just a quick wash, again why top up presumably a small amount of dirty water with clean water to save pennies.

DadJoke · 19/09/2024 11:03

BlueGrackle · 19/09/2024 11:01

How much money/ water are you actually saving doing this ?
If your partner is taking long showers, it seems a bit mean to make your kids then wash in his dirty water. If it’s just a quick wash, again why top up presumably a small amount of dirty water with clean water to save pennies.

About 30p a bath.

CautiousLurker · 19/09/2024 11:03

Personally find this a bit yuck. Appreciate the water saving aspect, but you only need a few inches of water in a kids bath anyway and the impact of saving a few gallons is minimal. Just seems a bit tight… as well as unnecessarily gross in this day and age.

EasternStandard · 19/09/2024 11:04

planAplanB · 19/09/2024 09:37

Well, the 8 year old refused to get in when he saw the pubic hairs.

Do look after your dc, you're right it's gross.

Give them fresh water and tell him to forget about doing this

sunsetsandboardwalks · 19/09/2024 11:06

Sepoctnov · 19/09/2024 10:53

Yuck...disgusting and pretty selfish to make the kids wash in diluted dirty water. Just yuck.

Surely if you want to save water it should be the other way round. Kids first and then adults use the kids water.

Yep - except most adults wouldn't do that because it's grim - but apparently it's okay for their kids to bathe in filthy water Confused

InSearchOfMartin · 19/09/2024 11:06

planAplanB · 19/09/2024 09:18

Adult male takes a shower over the bath with the plug in. Gets out and tops the water up to make a bath for the children.

Aibu - yes you're being unreasonable as this saves water.

No - it's disgusting to have your children bathing in their dad's shower water.

Nb: at least four public hairs were spotted floating around in the water.

It's mucky. It might have been acceptable in 1976 but not now.

Mountainpika · 19/09/2024 11:09

Presumably public hair is that which can be seen on the head.

Maia77 · 19/09/2024 11:09

Disgusting and unhygienic.

Twiglets1 · 19/09/2024 11:16

You're being unreasonable as it saves water. As long as the kids don't mind it's not an issue.

Twiglets1 · 19/09/2024 11:17

sunsetsandboardwalks · 19/09/2024 11:06

Yep - except most adults wouldn't do that because it's grim - but apparently it's okay for their kids to bathe in filthy water Confused

Show quote history

I would - husband and I always share the same bath water it's just a case of who gets in first as to who has the second hand water.

sunsetsandboardwalks · 19/09/2024 11:21

I would - husband and I always share the same bath water it's just a case of who gets in first as to who has the second hand water.

Well, at least you'd practise what you preach.

But I suspect a lot of people saying it's fine wouldn't be so happy to be the ones getting in dirty, pube-filled bath water!

Curiossir · 19/09/2024 11:22

Cripes. I used to share a house with 3 lads. We would fight over who would have to take the fourth bath in the same water. Still alive!

onwardsup4 · 19/09/2024 11:23

I wouldn't do it but don't think it's disgusting unless he's showers once a month? Water would go cold quickly but it does save water if not energy

Winter2020 · 19/09/2024 11:26

idnhxun · 19/09/2024 09:31

I actually shower before i take a bath. And wash the bath before kid takes a bath

I shower before I shower, bathe before I bath and wash the kids before they shower or bathe. You are yucky.

NewGreenDuck · 19/09/2024 11:26

Well, look at it this way. Using another's dirty water probably has traces of, faeces, urine, sweat, blood, skin cells, maybe semen, anything else that has landed on the skin during the day. I would not want to try to clean myself in that soup.

SwingTheMonkey · 19/09/2024 11:27

Washing in water someone has previously used to clean their genitals? No thanks. I wouldn’t do it myself so I wouldn’t expect my kids to do it either. We all just take our own shower.

theDudesmummy · 19/09/2024 11:27

Growing up in South Africa this would have been totally the norm in winter (no rain for up to 6 months). I wouldn't do it now!

SwingTheMonkey · 19/09/2024 11:28

NewGreenDuck · 19/09/2024 11:26

Well, look at it this way. Using another's dirty water probably has traces of, faeces, urine, sweat, blood, skin cells, maybe semen, anything else that has landed on the skin during the day. I would not want to try to clean myself in that soup.

Exactly. ‘Here kids, rinse yourself off in what I’ve cleaned from my knob and arsecrack’. Nice.

Topsy44 · 19/09/2024 11:31

I think this is a bit yuck. I don’t understand why he would have done this - possibly to save water but pretty gross imo.

Twiglets1 · 19/09/2024 11:34

sunsetsandboardwalks · 19/09/2024 11:21

I would - husband and I always share the same bath water it's just a case of who gets in first as to who has the second hand water.

Well, at least you'd practise what you preach.

But I suspect a lot of people saying it's fine wouldn't be so happy to be the ones getting in dirty, pube-filled bath water!

Pube filled bath water? Our pubes aren't falling out that quickly!

SwingTheMonkey · 19/09/2024 11:36

Pubes would be the least of my worries tbh.