MIL bathing habits

[Bitesize89]

My in laws come to stay with us pretty frequently and I've noticed over time that mil never bathes when she comes. She can be here 3-4 days without a shower or bath. It recently was revealed that she only ever uses baths and no soap in her bath. This came up after she bagged my DD and didn't use any soap on her and she said well there was bubble bath in the water, I was shocked as I don't think that's a proper way to bathe and she said when she bathes she doesn't use soap and only bubble bath. So not only does she not bathe for days on and but when she bathes she just has a bubble bath and no soap.im really grossed out.

I'm 40 and I just shower twice a week with a hair wash. I don't smell in between, and only have extra washes if I'm feeling hot and sweaty after extra activities. But generally for knocking about at home working twice a week is fine.

So do I

There’s a difference in hygiene between dipping your genitals in bubble bath water vs properly washing the area with soap or shower gel and directly rinsing off.

No idea.

If you wring out the flannel there’s no water on the floor.

You don’t have to get in and out of a shower (I have a wet room at home).

You can also wash in two halves rather than stripping right off.

Are you my husband 😅 my DM is like this, she grew up in the 50s smashing the ice on one pot of water between twelve or whatever so now she thinks a daily shower is an unaffordable extravagance. She does wash daily though and never smells so perhaps there is something to it!

Depends how old she is, I’m old enough that when I was growing up we only had a bath once per week (I now shower daily) and that is a habit my parents still pretty much stick to.

Most of us shower more often than is strictly necessary as it is a habit and bathing less frequently doesn’t mean someone is “gross”.

I’d feel really uncomfortable going to work without having a shower

i still shower when I’m off work.

I enjoy it as part of my morning routine

Humans have been around for 300,000 years or so; we currently number some 8 billion people on the planet. A daily bath or shower with soap products has only been been seen as a necessary custom for the past few decades, and only among those privileged enough to have reliable access to water, on tap, pre-heated.

Perhaps all the excessive washing has swirled perspective down the drain too?

Only if they don’t wash at all.

They probably wash their pits and bits, instead - as well as face and hands.

When I was very young and agile, and a ‘proper wash’ was all I could have most days, I’d put my feet one at a time in the washbasin and give them a good going over, too.

I think this is indicative of a poor quality of life. I would think I’m headed towards depression if I showered infrequently or only washed if I’m going to the office twice a week.

I work full time, but I also socialise frequently and have my own hobbies and interests outside the house. So not only do I leave the house daily outside of work, I also like being freshly showered even if I’m at home alone - hence I shower daily. I use products that feel nice and leave my skin soft and hydrated. It’s great for self care.

It’s eye-opening how others live!

Thank you! Drives me nuts to see people describe the vulva as self cleaning - it's absolutely not!!

Bubble bath and shower gels are detergents but most usually contain no soap - an animal based product. Detergents are made from chemicals which lower the surface tension of the water. Correct me if I'm wrong someone but I believe they are produced from oil. Some are harmful to the environment and once discharged into streams - kill fish!

The stupid is reaching epidemic levels.

I cannot believe you said 'genitals'. You have to say 'down there' or they will tell the church! 😂😂😂

This

Query for the people confident they don't smell - kindly and genuinely curious - how are you so confident? Do people regularly go close enough to you to smell you? Does your partner regularly nuzzle in and sniff you and love your smell? Do people compliment that you smell nice often or ever?

I'm just curious because I've met, known and worked a lone of people that smell of BO but I would never say anything to them, so I'm not sure how they would know they smell? It's the same with breath for me, I know people who absolutely can't be brushing their teeth regularly or properly because they often have bad or fousty breath but I've never said anything. Maybe they continue because no one's ever told them they smell?

OP sounds like the kind of person who says if you don’t scrub your dead skin off with those sandpapery washcloths and wash your hair with shampoo every day, you’re disgusting.

Awaiting the payback thread, "My DIL's fanny carries a biohazard warning."

It’s really none of your business or concern. Bathe your own child and it has no impact on your life at all. Resolved.

if you think about it, its just showering every three days - Sunday, skip monday and tuesday, then shower mid week on Wednesday, and so forth. Its not a poor quality of life to me. I work from home.

@Unrulyscrumptious It's true, so many people these days reek of an absolute cacophony of artificial chemical scents, it's utterly repellent and quite naseau/headache inducing at times. Truly foul.

True but it's a known fact that people in the past often stank though isn't it ? We also used to wash our clothes with urine, but we don't anymore. People didn't use to floss and now they do. Just because humans were pretty dirty for a long time, doesn't mean there's no relevancy to being clean nowadays. The difference in the past was that we all smelt appalling so no one could be bothered by any one else, whereas now it's not very nice to inconvenience others in public because you want to retain the bathing patterns of the past.

I agree about scents but I find they're usually people who douse themselves in some sort of scent because they aren't clean and fresh.

There's absolutely no reason to equate washing with washing with harsh or overly scented washes if that's what you're implying.