Monday 7 February 2011

A little scrubber

Well, that's me scrubbed up then. I don't do dancing under a shower every day, I save up my water rations and have a bath every fortnight, whether I need it or not ;0) Having a soak for half an hour is very relaxing, I can gather my thoughts, take stock, and make a plan for what I am going to do next. I might nod off for a few minutes, then turn the hot water tap on and wait for the warm glow to creep up towards my chin. Bliss.

What only one bath in two weeks? Shock horror!!! Yep, I don't do a dirty job, I don't sweat much and don't stink, and even if I did, there is only me who gets close enough to catch the pong. Of course I do have my cat licks as I call them, wash the essentials with a bowl of hot water, the bits that show, or are prone to whif a bit, the three 'F's' as I call them. I'll leave you to work that out ;-))

It bugs me that after you have a bath you then have to clean the bath, what a pain. Well I have come up with an idea that gets rid of that chore. When I have finished scrubbing myself, just before I get out, I rub my hands all around the sides of the bath, (you could use a cloth) on the waterline or just above it, because that's where most of the grime sticks. No special cleaner needed.

It seems daft to me to let the water out, then turn the taps on again to clean it, why not use the water already in it, and while I am still sitting in it. It's much easier than drying yourself, putting your clothes on, then leaning over it to clean it. This way, all you do is pull the plug out, get out, then swish the last bit of water down the plug hole along with the toe nails. Job done.

Another idea I had for cleaning the bathroom sink is to keep an old wash up brush close by, then when you have brushed your teeth, or washed your bits, have a quick scrub round with the brush as the water goes down the plug hole. If everyone did this in a multi person household there would be no moaning about the sink being left dirty. Again no special cleaner required. Toodle Pip.

12 comments:

  1. I'm an obsessive compulsive cleaner and I really wish everyone in my house could just clean up the sink after use, it's so simple!

    I like to use cheap washing powder to scrub the bath, it does a very good job!

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  2. I normally use a microfibre cloth but after husband has used it, there is usually residue of oil, brake dust and other mechanic/welding/ linked bits and pieces, so I have to use something else. I am waiting until I have used all my 'bathroom cleaners' then I'm going to use Meanqueen's tip of diluted washing up liquid to do the job.

    We all bath and shower far too much, it's become the norm nowadays. I really hate the term 'after I had MY shower' - after all whose shower could they have had?

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  3. I take what they call "military showers"...turning water off while soaping up, etc. Works for me! been too long since I've had a long soak in the tub though. lovin' the idea of that!

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  4. I keep a spray bottle with a washing up liquid and vinegar solution sitting under the bathroom sink. I use that to give a squirt around after a bath, then rinse it off with the shower head. That is quick and keeps everything clean very nicely. My bathroom only needs a quick going over on occassions, this way.

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  5. Are you using the bath water to flush the toilet?

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  6. Hi Lady H. I have used my bath water for flushing the loo, but it takes about a week to use it up, and as my bath is fairly new, I don't want the limescale to build up in it. Also, chucking water down the pan doesn't seem to have the same force to shift the solids as flushing does. I have noticed the bowl gets grubby quicker as well, and needs a scrub out more often.

    I do use the bath water for washing my car though, but it's a bit of a bind carrying it downstairs. My water bills are very reasonable anyway, £41 for 10 cubic metres, June to Dec, so it's maybe an area where I don't have to be quite so frugal.

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  7. Don't have that problem here Ilona as we have lived nearly 8 years in this house and I have had a bath twice, hubby never. As you can tell we love our showers. Think our climate has a lot to do with that. In the past whenever I have had a bath I would always clean it the same way as you. Wow Ilona well done on only using 10 cubic metres of water, amazing. During our toughtest water restrictions we were on an allocation of 280 litres per day for 2 people which equals 25.5 cubic metres per quarter which is 12.75 per person and you only used 10:) Gold Star♥ xxx

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  8. Another water saving idea is to do as Albert did in an episode of Steptoe and Son, and put the pots and pans in the bath with you to wash them!

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  9. Now that's a good idea, Little Blue Mouse, I had forgotten about that. It was hilarious wasn't it, ha ha.

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  10. Yes, I agree, there's too much cleanliness these days, re showers and baths, we really don't need them every day. I hate showers, all that standing about in the cold whilst you dry yourself afterwards, but I'd have a bath every day purely for the luxury of it. But I don't, just once or twice a week.(water saving and all that). As for the bath water and cleaning the bath, ditto. I also have, because we are in the dryest part of the country, a Droughtbuster water siphon, so I leave the water in the bath till next morning so it's cooled, then siphon it off through the window to the garden below where I have an assortment of hosepipes leading to various areas. Saves turning on a tap!

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  11. Can anyone anwer me this question please? I've been following this blog a relatively short while, and would love to go back to the beginning if I can but keep clicking on the older posts but it takes absolutely ages.

    Is there a quicker way?

    I'm enjoying this blog so much, it's a real treat to read Ilona's exploits and hints.

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  12. Hi Ilona!

    While we're on the subject of bathing and washing, I wanted to draw your attention to an interesting book written by Katherine Ashenburg under the title ''Clean'' in which she explores the history of personal hygiene. I enjoy reading about how people used to live and found this very interesting. Here is a titbit from it (if you want to read the whole article, cut and paste the link into your search engine):

    'In Roman times rich and poor people bathed daily, wallowing stark naked in the mixed-sex pools of public bath houses. Soap hadn't been invented, but servants rubbed bathers with oil and scraped their skin with curved metal blades. The residue oil, sweat and skin cells scraped off gladiators' bodies was sold to female fans in tiny pots and used as face cream.'

    Lovely, huh? Thank God for personal bathrooms, showers and soap, even though as a nation we do tend to be obsessed with cleanliness and personal hygiene. :-)

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books/article-548111/Washing-dirty-history-public.html

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