Ship of Fools: The Great Ship of Fools Hygiene Poll!

Thread: The Great Ship of Fools Hygiene Poll! Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.

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Posted by Marvin the Martian (# 4360) on :

Inspired by this now-closed Heaven thread, this poll seeks to answer the pressing questions about Shipmate hygiene - including the immortal "how often do you change your towel?" question.

All responses are anonymous, so do feel free to be honest. It will be interesting to see what a clean bunch we all are (if, indeed, we really are...)

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :

Gee, I am 'cleaner' on the internet re- temp files than i am in my house.

And I don't care.

Posted by Ann (# 94) on :

The aforesaid now closed heaven thread reminded me of this:-
Dilbert

Posted by PeteC (# 10422) on :

I seem to be average. One of the few times in my life.

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :

When I say that I never do some stuff may I point out that it is because I am prevented from so doing by being a completely and totally spoilt brat.

Posted by kingsfold (# 1726) on :

I answered based on how often I run the dishwasher.......

Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :

I hate baths, ever since I was a kid. I don't see the point. The longer you stay, the colder and dirtier the water gets.

I don't use a teatowel, I just leave my dishes to dry.

I don't know if vacuum cleaners exist in Brazil, if they do they must be rare.

And there isn't much of a point in washing my car. I might wash it today and drive into the rain forest again tomorrow.

quote:
Ann: The aforesaid now closed heaven thread reminded me of this:-
Dilbert

You remembered Dilbert comic from 1995? Wow.

Posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe (# 5521) on :

I much prefer a bath to a shower. Relaxing in the warm bubbly water is a treat conceived in heaven. The best investment I ever made was one of those walk-in tubs.

Posted by Marvin the Martian (# 4360) on :

quote:
Originally posted by kingsfold:
I answered based on how often I run the dishwasher.......

I remembered that some people don't have cars, but forgot that some people don't need teatowels because they have dishwashers. My bad [Hot and Hormonal]

.

But yeah, I'd count using the dishwasher as doing the dishes. Just like I count using a clothes washing machine as doing the clothes, even though some people probably do still do them by hand.

Posted by no prophet (# 15560) on :

Re internet temporary files. There are none to clean up with a Linux system. Everything goes on shutdown / restart.

Re vacuuming. The dog does much of the floor cleaning. She'd wash the dishes too if we let her.

Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :

Only 26% of shippies change their bedlinen weekly [Projectile]

Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :

The hoovering thing is going to be wrong because some of us sweep and mop only. (all wood floors plus a hatred of loud noises)

Posted by Schroedinger's cat (# 64) on :

The problem is, some of them I don't do, they get done by others in the household, and the frequency is variable. How often do I do the dishes - every few days. But someone else does them more often.

Also, I don't like showers - I fear slipping if I am trying to stand with water around me. I wash daily, but it could look as if I don't. I do like baths, sitting and soaking the aches and dirt away.

And lets not talk about bedlinen - which is not my responsibility to change and wash.

Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :

quote:
Originally posted by L'organist:
Only 26% of shippies change their bedlinen weekly

Alternately, 26% of shippies unnecessarily waste water and time compulsively changing things that don't need changing.

Posted by Hart (# 4991) on :

Dishes are washed after every meal in my house, just not necessarily by me. For dinner, I tend to be on left-over--tupperwearing detail followed by drying detail most days.

Also, for the showering, for me it's every morning (or I don't feel like I've properly gotten up), plus after each workout (hence the more than once per day).

Posted by la vie en rouge (# 10688) on :

I have been bathtub-less for ten years, having always lived in apartments with small bathrooms that only have space for a walk-in shower. It is a source of great sadness to me. Bathing is one of life’s pleasures. I do wash daily though (or more depending on my exercise schedule).

I agree that bedding needs to be changed weekly. What would Kim and Aggie say to you all [Biased]

Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :

I have a quick shower when I get up and a long, muscle relaxing bath after my workout every day.

I wash clothes more than once a day due to long dog walks and sweaty workouts.

All bedlinen is washed once a week just as my Mum taught me.

I change the tea towel more than once a day because OH is the cook and he's forever wiping garlicy and oniony hands on them!

I hoover about 3 times a day as I have two big dogs.

Computer clean up stuff I only do when it shouts at me.

My car is by far and away the dirtiest thing I own - totally neglected.

[Smile]

Posted by Marvin the Martian (# 4360) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Schroedinger's cat:
The problem is, some of them I don't do, they get done by others in the household

I envisaged the "you" being treated as shorthand for "your household". I guess I should have been more specific!

Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :

quote:
Schroedinger's cat: The problem is, some of them I don't do, they get done by others in the household

That's a problem?

Posted by Heavenly Anarchist (# 13313) on :

I'm claustrophobic and don't usually shower as I don't like water spraying on my face. I do love a good soaking bath though.
But anyway, don't only dirty people wash? [Smile]

Posted by Schroedinger's cat (# 64) on :

quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:

quote:
Schroedinger's cat: The problem is, some of them I don't do, they get done by others in the household
That's a problem?

It is a problem in answering the question as "me". And I actually don't know how often some things get changed.

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :

quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:
I hate baths, ever since I was a kid. I don't see the point. The longer you stay, the colder and dirtier the water gets.

Not if you keep the hot water tap running gentle throughout

Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :

quote:
leo: Not if you keep the hot water tap running gentle throughout

How do you keep the bath from overflowing? Do you open the drain too? Or do you open the tap so gently that the bath won't overflow?

(LOL, no hot taps in Brazil [Smile]

. I think I've seen baths here, I guess what people do is boil water and mix it with cold water.)

Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :

Um, yeah, our place is one of the grosser ones, but I'm posting our progress over on the decluttering thread.

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :

Never have a bath til you need one...

Posted by no prophet (# 15560) on :

I wonder what the longest anyone has gone without a bath? Mine is 43 days.

Posted by Doublethink (# 1984) on :

Is that without a bath specifically, or without washing ?

Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :

Without a bath I've gone for several decades [Smile]

I sometimes go without a shower for up to 2–3 weeks, when I have to wash myself in rivers etc.

Posted by no prophet (# 15560) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Doublethink:
Is that without a bath specifically, or without washing ?

Without showering, without bathing, except for washing hands and a little bit of face. The 43 days were on a canoe trip during cold conditions.

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :

OK, who never changes their underwear? Ewww! Sounds like time for a G.I Scrub!

Posted by RuthW (# 13) on :

Maybe they go commando?

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe:
I much prefer a bath to a shower. Relaxing in the warm bubbly water is a treat conceived in heaven. The best investment I ever made was one of those walk-in tubs.

Me, too. But drought! [Waterworks]

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :

quote:
Originally posted by RuthW:
Maybe they go commando?

Well done Ruth!

Posted by MSHB (# 9228) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Marvin the Martian:

quote:
Originally posted by Schroedinger's cat:
The problem is, some of them I don't do, they get done by others in the household
I envisaged the "you" being treated as shorthand for "your household". I guess I should have been more specific!

If I am not the person doing something, I have no idea how often it is done. I don't notice such things.

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :

The whole point of having staff is not having to notice these things!

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :

Which brings me to one of my favourite eavesdroppings.

We were a party going round Herrenchiemsee. We were being shown the royal bathroom - a replica of a Roman bath and so large you go down steps and walk across it. The guide was explaining that during the nine days King Ludwig had spent at the Palace, it had never actually been used (probably because you would need to drain a fair portion of the lake to fill it). Cue horrified American lady behind me - Nine days without a bath!

Posted by Ad Orientem (# 17574) on :

You forgot to add sauna into the poll. Beats baths and showers.

Posted by Ad Orientem (# 17574) on :

quote:
Originally posted by la vie en rouge:
I agree that bedding needs to be changed weekly. What would Kim and Aggie say to you all ?

Aye! Clean sheets on a Sunday for a good night's kip before the week.

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :

quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:

quote:
leo: Not if you keep the hot water tap running gentle throughout
How do you keep the bath from overflowing? Do you open the drain too? Or do you open the tap so gently that the bath won't overflow?

the latter

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Welease Woderwick:

quote:
Originally posted by RuthW:
Maybe they go commando?

Well done Ruth!

I shoulda known.

Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :

I am pretty lackadaisical about most cleaning: I do tend to wash my new black Focus on weeks when it doesn't rain!

Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Ann:
The aforesaid now closed heaven thread reminded me of this:-
Dilbert

That is sooo disgusting.
We'll assume for a moment that people properly wash and have nor grime left on their body. The skin cells exfoliated onto the towel feed bacteria. If that isn't gross enough, is your toilet in the same room as your bath? If so, you are essentially wiping your clean body with dirty loo roll.

Posted by Ad Orientem (# 17574) on :

quote:
Originally posted by lilBuddha:
If that isn't gross enough, is your toilet in the same room as your bath? If so, you are essentially wiping your clean body with dirty loo roll.

How does that work then?

Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :

quote:
Ad Orientem: How does that work then?

I think it mostly happens if you flush the toilet without putting the lid down. And that's the most I want to say about it half an hour before having lunch.

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :

Way to get a cast iron immune system though.

Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :

quote:
Firenze: Way to get a cast iron immune system though.

If you want to have that, then I suggest to guard your toothbrush in the close neighbourhood of your toilet. (It also gives a nice extra taste.)

Posted by Marvin the Martian (# 4360) on :

My toothbrush lives in a cup about four or five feet away from the toilet. Can't say I've ever noticed any "extra taste" to it, or for that matter any particular tendency towards the sort of illnesses one might expect to get were the scaremongering about such things true...

Posted by MrsBeaky (# 17663) on :

I shower to get clean and bathe to relax and when I'm feeling decadent I might do both on the same day.
But only when I'm in the UK.
Here, it's a temperamental shower only, with a dodgy electricity supply which makes for an interesting experience. Someone we know here got electrocuted in the shower....best not to dwell on that or we'd never be clean!

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :

One of the livelier showers I've encountered was fitted to the exterior wall of a cabin we were renting. Nothing like standing on a late September morning with nothing between you and the Great Canadian Outdoors bar a couple of planks and a film of hot, soapy water.

Posted by comet (# 10353) on :

So apparently, I'm a pig.

quote:
Originally posted by no prophet:
I wonder what the longest anyone has gone without a bath? Mine is 43 days.

you've got me beat - my longest backcountry trip (and therefore time spent "bathing" only in open streams or out of a morning kettle) was 25 days.

Fun fact! If you're in the backcountry with a group of people, it's best to make a "no soap" pact. thing is, if everyone is stinky together, no one notices it. But if one member of the team goes and scrubs up, suddenly everyone else can smell themselves and each other. It's best to co-ordinate bathing activities, then no one gets attacked by the smell.

as for washing the outside of my car - I'm in a rainforest. I think I've done it once. grand total. in the whole life of the car.

Posted by Heavenly Anarchist (# 13313) on :

When we do Tudor recreations at Kentwell we are all encouraged not to wash for the week or two we are there for authenticity sake. Can't say I noticed it much, perhaps we should start the process a few weeks before.

Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :

quote:
MrsBeaky: Here, it's a temperamental shower only, with a dodgy electricity supply which makes for an interesting experience. Someone we know here got electrocuted in the shower....best not to dwell on that or we'd never be clean!

I imagine that where you live, most electric showers are like this? One of these exploded above my head once, it's an interesting experience to stand naked in a rain of sparks. Since then, I shower cold.

quote:
Heavenly Anarchist: When we do Tudor recreations at Kentwell we are all encouraged not to wash for the week or two we are there for authenticity sake.

How close is the audience to the stage?

Posted by MrsBeaky (# 17663) on :

quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:
I imagine that where you live, most electric showers are like this? One of these exploded above my head once, it's an interesting experience to stand naked in a rain of sparks. Since then, I shower cold.

That is exactly what the showers are like, unless you are in a posh hotel. We choose hot or cold depending on the condition of the shower though that's probably a bit risky! Because we're at altitude here cold showers are a bit grim. When we visited Turkana and the temperature was above 30 both day and night a cold shower was most welcome.

Posted by Heavenly Anarchist (# 13313) on :

quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:

quote:
Heavenly Anarchist: When we do Tudor recreations at Kentwell we are all encouraged not to wash for the week or two we are there for authenticity sake.
How close is the audience to the stage?

We don't have a stage, the visitors walk among us as we get on with our daily lives. I work in the dairy making butter and cheese for the manor (which we really do eat at our meals) and the visitors come right up to me and ask what I am doing. I put on a clean shift every day though as I am a good honest woman.
Obviously those of us in the dairy are careful with handwashing etc, and we secretly sterilise everything we use with Milton and the aprons and cloths are machine washed daily. I'm not sure how often the vagabond washes though.

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

quote:
Originally posted by lilBuddha:

quote:
Originally posted by Ann:
The aforesaid now closed heaven thread reminded me of this:-
Dilbert
That is sooo disgusting.
We'll assume for a moment that people properly wash and have nor grime left on their body. The skin cells exfoliated onto the towel feed bacteria.

I gave this same speech to a nursing assistant I knew who said he never changed his towel because if someone washes themselves clean, the towel stays clean. Nursing assistant. I asked him what they had taught him about surface skin cells.

Posted by Ricardus (# 8757) on :

I'm new to car ownership. Can someone explain why I can buy products to clean my tyres? Isn't that like polishing the underside of my shoes?

Posted by Ricardus (# 8757) on :

quote:
Originally posted by PeteC:
I seem to be average. One of the few times in my life.

I'm quite relieved that, though I'm on the 'disgusting' side of the bell curve, I'm not the outlier I thought I was ...

Posted by The5thMary (# 12953) on :

I knew of a friend's ex-boyfriend who not only didn't wash his sheets on a regular basis but...oh why am I sharing this...he wiped his nose contents all over the sheets! [Projectile]

I can't believe my friend actually dated this pig. I didn't believe her about the sheets until I saw his bed one time...and promptly ran out of the room while he laughed and laughed. Probably became a serial killer!

Wash your bed-sheets in a timely fashion, people!

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

I can totally top that-- but I won't.

Posted by Doublethink. (# 1984) on :

Thank you

Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :

quote:
Originally posted by jedijudy:
Sounds like time for a G.I Scrub!

... which is? [Confused]

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

Wet down, Soap Up, and Rinse?

And do all you ladies know about the PTA wash? "Nuff said.

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :

A friend who went to a Convent School many years says that the nun doing the hygiene bit told them to:

quote:
wash down as far as possible, then wash up as far as possible - then wash possible.

Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
Wet down, Soap Up, and Rinse?

Isn't that how... oh, without a washcloth! Right, of course, though that wouldn't affect someone's underwear if they'd not been washing it, and so their nice comparatively cleanish body would get right back into the gross briefs or whatever. I thought maybe it was something in which the GIs would wash themselves with the underwear on, cleaning the underwear at the same time, which would at least be an improvement.

quote:
And do all you ladies know about the PTA wash? "Nuff said.

I had to look that up. I suppose for men it would just be a PA wash, though not the other kind of PA (Prince Albert) wash. As it were.

I have absolutely no idea what "wash down as far as possible, then wash up as far as possible - then wash possible" means. But then again my notions of female human anatomy (since it was a nun at a convent school) have been in the past shown to be jarringly lacking, so ... Perhaps that's OK. [Hot and Hormonal]

At least the GI in GI wash did not stand for "gastro-intestinal," as I briefly imagined, though I suppose that would indeed be one of the more rigorous levels of cleanliness to aim for.

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

(no, no no no no)

Wet Down --and turn the water off after you and your washcloth are wet.

Soap up-- take soapy wash cloth and do whatever you need to do, water still off.

Rinse-- rinse.

This was advice given to Californians in the 70's and some people called it the "army method," so I figured that's what GI wash meant.

Posted by mousethief (# 953) on :

I've heard it called a "Navy shower" and it's what you do when the ship is underway, fresh water then being at a severe premium. Once you're in port, you can take nice long luxurious showers.

Posted by flags_fiend (# 12211) on :

I'm intrigued by the person who apparently lost their car between questions 10 and 11...

Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :

I have been known to occasionally use a bath towel a second time.

Socks however get worn twice (once in hot weather). Is there a limit to how many times you wear socks for without washing them?

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :

quote:
Originally posted by ChastMastr:

I have absolutely no idea what "wash down as far as possible, then wash up as far as possible - then wash possible" means. But then again my notions of female human anatomy (since it was a nun at a convent school) have been in the past shown to be jarringly lacking, so ... Perhaps that's OK.

You're overthinking it, Chas. Just a joke (and one about use of language as much as anything).

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :

I was pleased to read about a Swiss hotel in the early 20th century where the staff got fresh towels and bed linen once a month.

Posted by Ricardus (# 8757) on :

The interesting follow-on poll would be 'How often do you suffer from these skin diseases, gastric troubles, etc?' and then (admittedly the Ship's technology won't allow it) correlate the results against the hygiene poll. I darkly suspect the result would show no correlation whatsoever.

Posted by Carex (# 9643) on :

Relatively normal it appears, at this stage of my life.

But there have been times with more primitive conditions when a cold mountain stream was the only washing facility. As well as: a waterfall with soap holders carved into the rock; a shower sprinkler in the garden with just a row of flowers for privacy in one direction (and expansive vistas in others); bathwater heated on the stove, then used by 5 people sequentially before it was used to flush the toilets; home-made sweat lodges with a cold river nearby; a home-made wood-fired water heater, with the water hauled in buckets from a nearby stream; and the refreshing aroma of rotting salmon with your shower when your water supply comes from a stream during spawning season.

Yes, modern plumbing certainly has its advantages! But the views from the waterfall and the garden while showering were truly spectacular...

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :

quote:
Originally posted by balaam:
...Socks however get worn twice (once in hot weather). Is there a limit to how many times you wear socks for without washing them?

Bearing in mind conditions of anonymity I know a certain unnamed gentleman, incidentally he hails from Canada and is an annual visitor to these shores, who used to teach his scouts a song that begins:

quote:
Black socks never need washing
the longer you wear them the stronger they get...

Posted by Zappa (# 8433) on :

Why on earth would anyone wash a car? It takes skill to get that dirt - like the scars in Jaws it's a sort of trophy - ands washing it away is like burning sacred texts.

[ 20. October 2014, 06:49: Message edited by: Zappa ]

Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Welease Woderwick:

quote:
Originally posted by balaam:
...Socks however get worn twice (once in hot weather). Is there a limit to how many times you wear socks for without washing them?
Bearing in mind conditions of anonymity I know a certain unnamed gentleman, incidentally he hails from Canada and is an annual visitor to these shores, who used to teach his scouts a song that begins:

quote:
Black socks never need washing
the longer you wear them the stronger they get...

You haven't lived until you know people who want you to wear the same socks for a while deliberately, but to each their own...

Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :

quote:
balaam: Is there a limit to how many times you wear socks for without washing them?

Zero (I hardly ever wear socks).

Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :

I bought my new little sporty subcompact Ford on the 28th of February last year. I have not bothered to clean the inside of the car yet.

Posted by Angel Wrestler (# 13673) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Ariston:

quote:
Originally posted by L'organist:
Only 26% of shippies change their bedlinen weekly
Alternately, 26% of shippies unnecessarily waste water and time compulsively changing things that don't need changing.

I read something a long while back that the once-weekly bed linen washings are no longer needed as we bathe or shower more frequently and so they soil less than they did back in the olden days when people only got a once-a-week bath. It made sense to me, so I stopped doing it.

Posted by Angel Wrestler (# 13673) on :

Missed editing window: I mean I stopped washing them weekly, that is. Especially now that I have to use a Laundromat.

Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :

In the tropics you usually sweat more at night. I just use a simple bed sheet, but I change it at least every week.

Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :

Whatever showers and baths and staying home!?

Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :

quote:
Sir Kevin: Whatever showers and baths and staying home!?

(Trying to parse the grammar of that sentence.)

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