# When did showers become popular in the US (instead of baths)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 21, 2024, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-showers-become-popular-in-the-us-instead-of-baths/999135 "2024-03-21T10:23:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-showers-become-popular-in-the-us-instead-of-baths/999135/41 "2024-03-27T00:54:18Z")
I have never washed my hair without a shower or a full tub or at least a giant sink where i can put my head under the faucet. To me, a sponge bath is face, arms, under-boobs, legs, pits, crotch. And i washed my hands separately, probably both before and after. But I’ll skip the back (too hard to reach) and the hair (no way to rinse). ---
**Author:** ![jjakucyk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3d9bf3/32.png) [@jjakucyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjakucyk)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-showers-become-popular-in-the-us-instead-of-baths/999135/42 "2024-03-27T01:36:18Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > I mean, if you are already in a cheap hotel room where you have to resort to a sponge bath, why not wash your arms and legs and hair and the rest, besides pits and privates, while you are at it? Because it’s already a tedious and rather unpleasant process. You never feel properly washed or rinsed, and you get cold fast. Wiping a thin film of water over your body that’s going to evaporate quickly and make you even colder is not appealing. The few times I’ve had to do it when the hot water wasn’t working and I had to heat up water on the stove was a very frustrating ordeal. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-showers-become-popular-in-the-us-instead-of-baths/999135/43 "2024-03-27T02:37:30Z")
Yeah, it’s not a luxurious hot shower, that’s for sure. But if the water is hot and the room is at least room temperature, it is endurable. ---
**Author:** ![ColdBrew50](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9a140/32.png) [@ColdBrew50](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColdBrew50)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-showers-become-popular-in-the-us-instead-of-baths/999135/44 "2024-03-27T03:09:23Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > I mean, if you are already in a cheap hotel room where you have to resort to a sponge bath, why not wash your arms and legs and hair and the rest, besides pits and privates, while you are at it? Why? Has this hypothetical filthy animal been mud wrestling or something? I fail to see the need for the fire hose to be turned on like at county lockup, plus maybe some delousing powder for an otherwise civilized person. Then again, I don’t clean septic tanks for a living, and wear freshly laundered clothes. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-showers-become-popular-in-the-us-instead-of-baths/999135/45 "2024-03-27T08:46:00Z")
With a ‘sponge bath’, it’s generally the sponge (and more often I think a flannel washcloth) that’s doing a lot of the work. I don’t know how many people shower just using their hands to apply and rub in the soap/shower gel (quite a lot, I think) but with washing in a basin, a coarse textured cloth or sponge to apply lathered soap, then wash it off, is the bit that makes it work at all. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-showers-become-popular-in-the-us-instead-of-baths/999135/46 "2024-03-27T13:56:15Z")
I was born in 1961 in MN. My parents built our house the next year. We had one bathroom with a tub, no shower. Later, after 2 more girls were born, my dad built another bathroom in the basement with a shower. Most of my friends didn’t have showers in the 60s, just tubs. We were a middle class, blue collar family as were most of the families in the area. Kids had bath days. Until we were older, we kids were happy with one bath a week! My sisters and I had a bath every Sunday night, my best friend had a bath every Saturday night. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-showers-become-popular-in-the-us-instead-of-baths/999135/47 "2024-03-27T14:02:45Z")
We had showers but no one used them. I took two showers before going to college. I only recall my father taking one shower and my mother took none as far as I know. We each took maybe two baths a week. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-showers-become-popular-in-the-us-instead-of-baths/999135/48 "2024-03-27T14:59:40Z")
> [@ColdBrew50](#): > > Why? > > Has this hypothetical filthy animal been mud wrestling or something? Maybe you got sweaty? Some people, famously Queen Elizabeth, took a bath once a month whether she needed it or not! > [@Mangetout](#): > > with washing in a basin, a coarse textured cloth or sponge to apply lathered soap, then wash it off, is the bit that makes it work at all. I used the cloth (natural sponge works too if one is provided), get some scrubbing action that way. BTW I must point out that in an actual **bath** room with a drain, unlike that hotel room, you can just dump a bucket or ewer of water over your head, even if there is no shower head. People had figured this out long before they came up with fancy plumbing. Perhaps many of us have heard stories about old-timers in e.g. Sweden who, when staying out in the country, would go down to the lake with a bar of soap even in the winter, but I am not sure quite how customary that was, plus it’s not environmentally friendly… ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-showers-become-popular-in-the-us-instead-of-baths/999135/49 "2024-03-27T17:08:24Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > BTW I must point out that in an actual **bath** room with a drain, unlike that hotel room, you can just dump a bucket or ewer of water over your head, even if there is no shower head. People had figured this out long before they came up with fancy plumbing. Yeah, I’ve done this when the shower was out of order. Also the convenience of standing under a continuous running stream of warm water is a luxury we take for granted. In times when I have needed to conserve water or energy for one reason or another, I’ve used the _Submariner’s Shower_ method. Turn on the water long enough to get thoroughly wet, then turn it off, soap myself all over and turn the water back on to rinse off. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-showers-become-popular-in-the-us-instead-of-baths/999135/50 "2024-03-27T18:56:21Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Turn on the water long enough to get thoroughly wet, then turn it off, soap myself all over and turn the water back on to rinse off. That has always been my method of showering. I have never stayed in a submarine. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-showers-become-popular-in-the-us-instead-of-baths/999135/51 "2024-03-28T00:54:40Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > e.g. Sweden who, when staying out in the country, would go down to the lake with a bar of soap even in the winter, but I am not sure quite how customary that was, plus it’s not environmentally friendly… well they did go down to the lake, and not drive down - so there was this envirmental effort > [@Mangetout](#): > > the _Submariner’s Shower_ method I feel cheated … what, no powerdrill? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-showers-become-popular-in-the-us-instead-of-baths/999135/52 "2024-03-28T11:11:44Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Maybe you got sweaty? Hey, not all of us sweat a lot! I, for instance, only sweat once a year - I start sweating in April and finish in October. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-showers-become-popular-in-the-us-instead-of-baths/999135/53 "2024-03-28T11:42:29Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > In times when I have needed to conserve water or energy for one reason or another, I’ve used the _Submariner’s Shower_ method. Turn on the water long enough to get thoroughly wet, then turn it off, soap myself all over and turn the water back on to rinse off. That’s a typical California shower. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-showers-become-popular-in-the-us-instead-of-baths/999135/54 "2024-04-16T00:56:56Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Perhaps many of us have heard stories about old-timers in e.g. Sweden who, when staying out in the country, would go down to the lake with a bar of soap even in the winter, but I am not sure quite how customary that was, plus it’s not environmentally friendly… They make biodegradable soap, shampoo, etc that’s safe to use on bodies of water. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-showers-become-popular-in-the-us-instead-of-baths/999135/55 "2024-04-16T01:54:26Z")
Tub baths are more difficult for Seniors. Their balance is not as good. We put in several grab bars in my mom’s shower. There’s no way she could climb in and out of a tub. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-showers-become-popular-in-the-us-instead-of-baths/999135/56 "2024-04-16T19:31:54Z")
we did that in Army but with bucket ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-showers-become-popular-in-the-us-instead-of-baths/999135/57 "2024-04-16T21:22:35Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > > [@puzzlegal](#): > > > > I think he’s referring to what I’ve always called a “sponge bath”. > > I think it might be slightly different - “sponge bath” or “bed bath” usually means to bathe the whole body using a sponge ,washcloth or pre-moistened wipes. “French bath” or “whore’s bath” basically means pits and privates. I’ve also heard it referred to as a “bucket bath”. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-showers-become-popular-in-the-us-instead-of-baths/999135/58 "2024-04-16T21:29:20Z")
Huh. I’ve often given myself a quick sponge bath, but never used a bucket (always a sink with running water) and certainly i wouldn’t do that anywhere near a bed. I’ve never heard of a “bed bath”, but would thank that’s something a nurse does to a bedridden patient. So, maybe a special case of a sponge bath. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-showers-become-popular-in-the-us-instead-of-baths/999135/59 "2024-04-16T21:35:44Z")
When you’re on an extended hiking/camping trip where you may have to haul your water from a “source” a considerable distance to where you pitched your tent you quickly learn to conserve water. The bucket holds the water you’re using for washing. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-showers-become-popular-in-the-us-instead-of-baths/999135/60 "2024-04-16T21:40:12Z")
I bathed closer to the water source, and farther from my campsite, when i used to do that. 😃 So i guess i have used a bucket, or maybe a water bottle. But mostly i do sponge baths at the end of dance weekends, when I’ve checked out of my hotel room and don’t want to be toooo sweaty on the plane. Or sometimes at the airport after a very long flight, because i feel gross. And only because it’s not convenient to find a shower, of course. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-showers-become-popular-in-the-us-instead-of-baths/999135.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-showers-become-popular-in-the-us-instead-of-baths/999135.md?page=4)