How long have you been without a wash?

[littlebiglane]

11 weeks But then I was a scuzzy student....

However these days (and alot longer in the tooth) I think that hygiene is central to good morale. Good morale is essential for survival or living in the bush. Therefore I place a very high regard on the regime of hygiene when out-back.

LBL

 

[Wayland]

Like all good Vikings, I have a bath every Saturday whether I need one or not....

 

[nickg]

It depends if you are doing it by choice or necessity.
In the military washing is not always a good idea - soap etc can be smelt for a considerable distance by indigenous peoples so a long OP routine does not include washing even if you had sufficient water.
As a civviy there are fewer imperatives to not wash but the preservation of natural skin oils is often desirable eg in arctic conditions. In some places the use of soap can be a disaster where there are a lot of biting insects as the fats that are left on the skin can be a positive feast.
In a military situation 6 weeks is my longest as a civvy 2 weeks.
Cheers
Nick

 

[Tadpole]

Six months, after the first month, you cannot smell yourself, after two months you would not care if you could, your hair stops getting any greasier after about six weeks, and your beard (if you are lucky enough to avoid lice) stops itching as well. Your feet are the real problems as they will start to rot after two or three weeks in the same socks and boots. Your crotch will go the same way, but in less time (the same fungus that causes athletes foot). Your teeth (it's your gums really) will start to loosen in about two months unless you are really careful.

Six months living on the streets will reduce your pride and your health to nothing. I was lucky and had a tent in the summer months, and lived in an abandoned tea room in the winter (isles of Wight 1982-1983)

 

[Cap'n Badger]

Like all good Vikings, I have a bath every Saturday whether I need one or not....

Ditto...tho an occ'al 'Cats lick' wi' a flannel durin' the week ifin I've been eatin' onions..lol
longest?.....3 weeks while hitchhikin' around uk.

 

[jonajuna]

the whole point of me camping is so i dont have to wash

got to brush my teeth though urgh

havent you lot heard of aerosol deoderant? aka "shower in a can"

as for people that shower twice daily, it (so ive been led to believe) isnt actually that healthy as it means your skin is permanatly damp (especially hary areas) leaving you at increased risk of fungal infections and paradoxically, soap and water will strip your skin of natural oils leading to dry skin conditions

any dermatologists that can confirm or refute this?

 

[andybysea]

I only shower when i shave my head(every two weeks) apart from that the occasional wipe with the flannel.(Ive stopped using deodrant its bad for you)
thought id better add something so as not to apear a tramp, i change my clothes regularly, like i said i wash with a flannel, i have limited hair so never need to wash it except after having shaved it to remove loose hairs from shaving it, and having read (weather or not its true)that anti persparents and deodourants have been linked to certain cancers i now dont use them.

 

[poddle]

Simply cannot bear being dirty, three days and I'm climbing the walls,I hate the early stages of a beard and HAVE to shave every second day.
Can't stand being a minger.

About 4 days is the longest I can recall. Good point about the Feet and Crotch Fungal infections too, very nasty stuff.
I have had that problem when I could not get my clothes washed.

 

[Gweedo]

10 days on the final exercise of a Jungle Warfare course in Belize. The only 'wash' you got was when you did your river crossing drills - you only felt 'clean' for about 10 minutes after that. The worst thing was having to get back into your cold, damp, minging clothes first thing in the morning having spent the night in your 'dry' clothes. Being allowed to brush your teeth (but without using toothpaste) just about made it bearable.

On return to camp the shower was absolutely blissful!

 

[dave k]

My record? I think it's 3 days. Even hiking / camping in scotland I jumped into a little loch and had a clean even though it was only about 5 degrees.

I can't even start to think about not washing for weeks at a time - strange, as I love to get covered in dirt on the mountain bike and hiking... Maybe it's just me!

 

[born2roam]

Not sure about my 'record'. Probably a weekish or so.

But then river crossings, tropical downpoors or something like that cleaned me up a bit.

Mind you I haven't really used shampoo for several years and rarely use soap. Just wash and scrub. This came from travelling a lot and a lightweight virus I had/have... I shave with a normal bar of soap. Unscented preferably.

Clean clothes, skin helps you in your protection from the elements. Cold or heat. But sometimes choices are not to be made by you but by your environment (army etc).

Grtz Johan who is bored out of his mind for the remainder of the working day

 

[Newby]

I've got a mate who's 43. I don't think he's had a wash yet!

 

[oetzi]

2-3 weeks without washing and in the same clothes.

The worst I ever read about in the other direction:
In a german outdoor forum someone askred which kind of deodorant he could take on a wintertrip (ca -20°C) without risking it freezing.
And you wouldnt believe what I hear in the shop about what people see as necessary to take along.
For example a portable solar shower and 300ml of concentrated soap on a 3-person/2-week hiking trip through scotland.

 

[bhofmann]

Oh dear, looks like I really poked the nest this time! okenest:

I wasn't bragging, and as someone who showers and washes his hair every day and works at a desk, the idea of doing that again is shocking.

I just thought it would be an interesting topic. I would rather wash daily, but there are times and places (as pointed out above) where water is so precious that washing isn't an option.

 

[Broch]

There's something quite Zen about getting up early and washing in cold water as the first rays of sun hit the camp.

Circumstances permitting I will try to stay clean when trekking but I accept that there are times when water is just too valuable.

Most animals groom and clean every day - several times a day in some cases.

Cheers,

Broch

 

[Alfredo]

3 complete weeks without a real shower it's my record, BUT I was next to the sea, in a remote part of the world, with just the amount of water to drink for not to die..at the end of the 3 weeks I was (almost) clean, but litteraly cover of marine salt

 

[lannyman8]

i think its about 2 weeks but it may be more when i come back from Afghan........ lol..

im stuck i a f.o.b. ha ha ha .............lol.........

 

[andythecelt]

Even on an overnighter I have a quick wash in the morning, I love those bidegradeable baby wipes, I can do all those important bits with a single wipe in order of increasing mingness. If I'm properly sweaty like in summer I'll use one before sleep too. It just makes me more comfortable and a small pack of wipes weighs next to nothing, well worth it for the increased comfort I find. Besides, they're a hell of a lot more quick and effective than tiolet paper for those cleanup operations when it's -9 and nature calls. Ask anyone that's changed a nappy... not necessarily at -9 you understand!

 

[Madpuppy]

5 days, it was about 2 days to long for me and I'm sure it was to long for my fellow hunters. But we were all in the same boat so no blood no foul.

 

[Pcwizme]

My Record stands at 8 days, but i dont have an issue as long as i can change me socks and underkecks reguarly