Watching a program on the Military Channel the other night, it was stated that deodorant was not allowed on U. S. Submarines. Said it interferred with some of the electroncs. I’m aware that some deoderants are a problem w/regard to X-Rays due to aluminum content, but I’d never heard this about subs. Is this true?
Nope. I served on an LA Class Nuclear Attack Sub from 04-07. Deodorant was allowed, and due to the fluctuating schedule often leaving little time for hygiene, it was highly encouraged.
Reminds me of one of my favorite throwaway bits from the movie Das Boot
First submariner: Guess how long I’ve been wearing this shirt.
Second submariner: since the start of the voyage?
First submariner: Nope! Two weeks before!
There used to (and may still) be restrictions on areosol spray cans due to the potential of the propellant affecting the air scrubbing equipment.
Served on two classes of fast attack subs and used deodorant on both. Smoking was allowed in two areas while I served (although there were ashtrays everywhere on the older boat). I never served on a ballistic missile sub, so I suppose that it is possible they were banned on those, but I never heard of it.
As stated previously, aerosol cans are prohibited not deoderant.
Well, aerosol deodorant is 
With regards to hygeine, was there limited water supply for showering?
More specifically, it’s antiperspirants that have the aluminum content. I would think ordinary stick deodorants (Speed Stick and the like) would be aluminum-free.
iiandyiiii & TurboNuke – was stick antiperspirant OK to use on the subs?
I thought they made you step outside to smoke?
Not a submariner, but I understand that there is. In Tom Clancy’s The Hunt for Red October, “Hollywood showers” (taking as long a shower as you want, rather than the standard sub practice of briefly wetting down, lathering without water, and then quickly rinsing) were used as rewards for well-performing crewmembers aboard the USS Dallas.
No, they just make you open the windows in the room.
Actually, most deodorants and antiperspirants (which nowadays are pretty much one in the same…can you even get one that’s not also the other?) have aluminum in them. That’s the ingredient that stops the sweat (well, not straight aluminum, but some kind of aluminum compound)
Edit: But I can see how sticks are allowed, since the aluminum isn’t getting spread around the air like it would be in an aerosol.
Absolutely you can get one that’s not the other – around here, the “deodorant” shelf in stores is about 40% plain deodorant, and maybe 60% antiperspirant/deodorant combos.
Is this a regional thing? SE Louisiana, where I live, is a humid sweatbox 10 months out of the year, and yet there’s plenty of plain deodorant being sold.
And that dog just don’t hunt.
To get by with plain deodorant, I would have to live in Antarctica or something.
They have to sell plain ol’ deodorant alone, because there are a lot of people, myself included, who react poorly to the aluminum and get a rash.
Exactly. Stick deodorant and/or antiperspirant is encouraged. Aerosol cans are prohibited, because the propellant just goes into the ship’s atmosphere to be recycled and breathed in by the crew for the next few weeks or months. It could also be a fire hazard.
On the same note, I remember a new Ensign onboard (who happened to be a Naval Academy graduate), polishing his shoes in the wardroom one afternoon. The Engineer lit into him, noting that: (1) He could surely find a better use for his time than polishing his shoes, like working on his quals or checking on his division, and (2) the fumes from the can of polish were adding to the pollutants in the ship’s atmosphere, and he (the Engineer) didn’t feel like breathing shoe polish fumes for the rest of the deployment.
Yes. Most of the fresh water was earmarked for makeup water for the steam plant, then for drinking water, then for other uses, like bathing and laundry. A “submarine shower” was expected to consist of about two minutes of actual water flowing: 30 seconds to get wet; lather up and wash with the water off; 30 seconds to rinse; shampoo hair with the water off; and the rest of the time for a final rinse.
During normal operations, I was on a 1 in 3 watch rotation (6 hours on watch; 12 hours off). Showering every 18 hours was too frequent and took too much time, so I showered every other watch (i.e. every 36 hours).
I changed my underwear, undershirt, and socks every watch, but wore the same coveralls for a week or more.
If the main evaporator went down, showers were secured for everyone except the mess cooks–because they were cooking everyone’s food. Laundry was also secured until the evap was fixed. There was a smaller backup electric distilling unit that would work for steam plant makeup water if the main evaporator was down.