Staying clean in camp showers

Merrykalia wrote:
I have two shower mats that I take to the bath house for me and my 2 girls to use when showering. They are made out of the same stuff that you get for non-slip rugs or to keep dishes from moving around....navy blue and kinda squishy. I hook the hooks of a bungee cord to it and carry it back to our fifth wheel and set it up on it's side to drip dry (about 30 minutes).

Thanks for the idea to use the non-slip rug material for a bath mat. Since we don't have much room to stand them on their sides to dry, I fastened 3 small magnets along one edge and stick it to the outside of our Sprinter to dry. Like you said, they're dry in no time!

I'm sure this subject regarding cleanliness in showers and restrooms can be debated for a very long time and I want to leave a final thought. Many of us that feel and look healthy can and do carry many forms of intestinal parasites that we don't realize we have because we may be asymptomatic. Some that can be acquired in an unsanitary condition are hook worms(bare feet touching infected surfaces), tape worms, round worms(younger children get it and is not uncommon) and ringworms.

Myself, I've personally gotten a bad case of poison oak from using the same public restroom over a period of 3 days. I feel it was from the handles and door knobs because we'd not been on any trail of any sort and mostly stayed in the rv or in town. And then there was the athletes foot that I got using a public shower. In 40 years after high school I'd never had a case of athletes foot until then so I don't feel particularly more susceptible than anyone else.

avanti wrote:
Just as some folks prize long, leisurely hot showers, I prize our private, clean, intimate wet bath. Campground showers give me the hebie-jeebies because they feel gross, not because I see them as particularly dangerous.

When our kids were small, my wife and I used to argue about the merits of various activities and cleanliness practices wrt the health of their developing immune systems.

I also agree with Dr Solo and we are farmers going back generations, as well as medical backgrounds and have no problem sticking our hands and arms in places, well........ you get the picture. Our kids from small babes have peanut butter tasting, roll and eat dirt or suck on stones off the land, chomp on an odd dog biscuit or similar and experience many things parents today would be horrified about, and so on to build up immune systems naturally. None of us appear to have any of the common allergies of today, apart from an odd hay fever susceptible person during harvest time.

However I agree with Avanti it's the "gross feel" of public restrooms, and unfortunately in this day and age with the world through air travel having become one, the spread of diseases through the largest organ we have our skin. If using a public restroom is an absolute must, none of us in our family ever touch handles, seats or even outside elevator switches, door entries and escalator handles. No we don't carry sanitizer with us and sometimes stink of fish, horses and other animals we pet and enjoy at times. I'd rather deal with ring worm any day over some of the illnesses we've seen folks in hospital come into spread through contamination from other human beings. OCD you think? Let's see how you feel when a close family member becomes very sick from contamination through others bad hygiene which has become prevalent in the last couple of decades plus moreso than ever when I was a child it appears. Even when our kids were growing up their friends never washed their hands before sitting to eat at our table unless we reminded them, so it begs the question what do parents teach today = monkey see, monkey do comes to mind.

@drsolo:
I actually agree with everything you say. My use of the term "brave" notwithstanding, I don't actually fear the sanitary conditions of public facilities, at least within broad limits of cleanliness, and I don't hesitate to use them when I have to. It is really more of an aesthetic choice. Just as some folks prize long, leisurely hot showers, I prize our private, clean, intimate wet bath. Campground showers give me the hebie-jeebies because they feel gross, not because I see them as particularly dangerous.

When our kids were small, my wife and I used to argue about the merits of various activities and cleanliness practices wrt the health of their developing immune systems.

OK, well I got my degree in microbiology and I am amazed by how OCD people can be about "germs". In fact, exposure to most germs in low doses just strengthens a persons immune system unless they are in a high risk group. What I worry about in a hotel room it isnt the bathroom but the possible bedbugs, cockroach egg cases, the unwashed quilts and carpeting, AND, eating in most restaurants where the kitchen is behind closed doors. Our skin is the first line of defense against pathogens and it is very good as long as it isnt broken. Those who get recurring fungal infections of the "athletes foot" variety are likely to have a genetic susceptibility .
In fact, Early exposure to germs has lasting benefits
I not only grew up camping minimalist, but my farmer grandparents did not have a bathroom at all so it was sponge baths, thunder mugs and outdoor toilets. So I dont really miss not having a shower in my RVan and besides sponge baths I use CG facilities. As long as I dont smell sewage I am fine, altho I have to say one CG in the Florida Keys didnt provide hot water at all. Yikes.

I thought everyone just set up an outside shower so you could use it in the Walmart parking lot? Since I hadn't done that yet, I thought I was breaking some kind of B-Van code of conduct. :D

bsinmich wrote:

DutchmenSport wrote:
Just step outside the shower naked and get on dry ground! Who cares! After being in the army, does anyone really care any more. If someone is that 'curious'.... shoot ... let 'em look! Believe me, after Army life, it just don't matter any more!

It gets pretty embarrassing with everyone laughing.

Now that is funny. :B

DutchmenSport wrote:
Just step outside the shower naked and get on dry ground! Who cares! After being in the army, does anyone really care any more. If someone is that 'curious'.... shoot ... let 'em look! Believe me, after Army life, it just don't matter any more!

It gets pretty embarrassing with everyone laughing.

Flip flops and try to be there before anybody or late after anybody

Previous to my retiring, a portion of my job was inspecting public bathing places which often included shower and toilet rooms. An example is the YMCA. Restrooms for restaurants were also inspected.

I want to tell you that the wet dirt you see on the floor is probably more sanitary than the knobs on the shower faucet, the handles on the sink faucets and the door handle leading into the restroom.

I cringe when I enter public shower/restrooms because of the bad habits of people(I'll leave it to your imagination) and I have to listen to people expectorate, usually into the sinks or onto the shower floor. And then there are the other sounds and odors from people performing their bodily functions. I can't hold my breath long enough!

To those of you who bring mats to stand on when you shower and then let it air dry to use again, I urge you to sanitize it again first.

Those of you who like sitting on a surface while showering should bring their own chair.

I have a class b with a smallish wet shower and I ALWAYS use it to bathe and also use the toilet.