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So, I'm not sure how this topic popped into my mind, but I'm kind of curious. Members of Dakka, what is the longest time you have ever gone without a shower, or bath, or some socially acceptable way of cleaning yourself? Why did this happen? I think this might bring out some interesting stories (mostly from guys I suspect, but any ladies out there are more than welcome to contribute).

Mine was during an ROTC orientation I had at college. It was basically taking all the new potential ROTC students to the nearest National Guard base and having senior ROTC students (and a honest to God Marine Corps OCS Drill Instructor they rustled up) yell at us for a few days. We had about 35 male members, and were given 5 minutes every evening to hygiene (shower, shave, brush teeth, etc). There were about 4 shower stalls in the barracks, so I did the rational thing: accepted I wouldn't shower for a few days and hung around the rear of the line trying to look busy until time was called so I could sneak in after lights out and shave to not get yelled at the next morning.

Went about 4 days without a shower, while doing all kinds of PT and rucking around ("land navigation"). I think that was about the nastiest I've ever felt in my life. Was an amazing experience to finally get back to campus after it was done and take about an hour long shower.

So, anybody else?

The longest I've ever gone without has been a week, and used to happen fairly often.

Depression killed off any idea of personal hygiene.

At Marine OCS, we never really showered, more just walked through a spray of freezing cold water in the middle of Quantico winter and dried off again as fast as possible. I chose not to comission, though, and actually deploying to the middle east would beat that record by a long shot. I also do a lot of backpacking, so now showers there for a week or so.

Surprisingly long.

10 days during a hiking/camping/survival trip into the white mountains. In normal life pretty much never more than 48 hours tops.

How are we defining socially acceptable? Is a 21 year old man getting bathed if he's bedridden socially acceptable?

16 glorious days of stink with only baby whipes and changes of underwear and socks. That was my last rotation at the National Training Center.

Longest was about a week on a long canoe/camping trip at Boundary Waters back in Boy Scouts. I don't know if that counts though because every two or three days we'd boil water and rinse off the balls and armpits.

Man, I want to do that again. The trip, not washing my balls and armpits. Not that I don't want to wash those off now. I just do that often enough.

Two weeks in the army at Ft. Dix NJ. I showered more regularly once I got to Iraq.

Longest for me was nine days, pretty ill and just didn't have the motivation to shower. Was bloody disgusting by the end, best shower I ever had by the end

 MWHistorian wrote:
Two weeks in the army at Ft. Dix NJ. I showered more regularly once I got to Iraq.

Based upon the few people I talked to who were from NJ, I always assumed there was something fundamentally wrong with the water. Maybe that was the strongest dose of it you could get and remain unaffected.

I was briefly homeless at one point. I went months without a shower. The rebound from that is that now I often take more than one a day.

40 hrs. Seriously, I could take a shower before and after work, then a bath with a comic book right before bed. I love hot water. I'd live in a hot tub, if it was an option.

four days. any more and my hair turns into a solid thing.

17 days. The new FoB only had a eight digit grid. Day eighteen was 5 gallon water can on top a 40 ft conex container. Sun and metal made a decent pee warmth flow for I only open up the cap to get that steady piss like stream "shower"

Here I was expecting when I said 4 days the general reaction would be "you are a sick human being." Apparently that ain't nothing.

Interesting.

Its only dirty when you throw the article of clothing against the wall and it sticks there.

I've turned in uniforms that would make God weep if He was down wind from us about a Klick away. They in turn just burn them being they are well "used"

Fifteen years.

People shower to cleanse their bodies of imperfections. I'm flawless, so I don't see the point.

 Void__Dragon wrote:
Fifteen years.

People shower to cleanse their bodies of imperfections. I'm flawless, so I don't see the point.

Sparkle dragon vampire eh

 Jihadin wrote:
17 days.

For me it was about this same time period... maybe another couple days (I seriously lost track of time then, due to constant missions)... The JSS that I was at, had a soldier being chaptered out (to the point they were sending him Stateside long before the tour was up), and his final farewell gift to the compound was a deuce in the shower/washing water container. By the end of my stay there at the JSS, the commander had put out the order that no one was to shave, in order to save drinking water (the day I left, there were 12 bottles of drinking water for 80+ soldiers, and I left on a convoy that was doing an emergency resupply)


Ohh the dirty looks I got when I got back to Camp Taji

 Ensis Ferrae wrote:

 Jihadin wrote:
17 days.

For me it was about this same time period... maybe another couple days (I seriously lost track of time then, due to constant missions)... The JSS that I was at, had a soldier being chaptered out (to the point they were sending him Stateside long before the tour was up), and his final farewell gift to the compound was a deuce in the shower/washing water container. By the end of my stay there at the JSS, the commander had put out the order that no one was to shave, in order to save drinking water (the day I left, there were 12 bottles of drinking water for 80+ soldiers, and I left on a convoy that was doing an emergency resupply)


Ohh the dirty looks I got when I got back to Camp Taji

We actually caught a guy taking a bath in the water buffalo. At night. He admitted doing it six times. I came real close to losing my composure and almost committed actual violence

 Jihadin wrote:

 Ensis Ferrae wrote:

 Jihadin wrote:
17 days.

For me it was about this same time period... maybe another couple days (I seriously lost track of time then, due to constant missions)... The JSS that I was at, had a soldier being chaptered out (to the point they were sending him Stateside long before the tour was up), and his final farewell gift to the compound was a deuce in the shower/washing water container. By the end of my stay there at the JSS, the commander had put out the order that no one was to shave, in order to save drinking water (the day I left, there were 12 bottles of drinking water for 80+ soldiers, and I left on a convoy that was doing an emergency resupply)


Ohh the dirty looks I got when I got back to Camp Taji

We actually caught a guy taking a bath in the water buffalo. At night. He admitted doing it six times. I came real close to losing my composure and almost committed actual violence

We actually caught one of our interpreters taking a dump in our sink. Thought it was totally cool.

 Ashiraya wrote:
Surprisingly long.

I feel like you need to expand on that.


For myself, I shower daily when I'm working because I have a very poor sense of smell and feel like if I have BO, I won't know. That being said if I have a week off as I just did, I might go 3 days.

I dunno if it's cuz I'm a fat guy and fat guys are just smelly, but I need to take a shower every day. Once in a while I may skip a day if I'm staying home and seeing no one but my dog (she doesn't seem to mind stinky things). At least I'll be able to blend in good with the walkers when the zombie apocalypse happens.

Hard to say. At one point, years ago I was going through a pretty rough patch. I was living alone and not leaving the house much if at all. I know that my living space got pretty nasty, and I could go well over a month without really interacting with anyone. Time during that period just seems to blend together in my head, it's really hard to put a firm timeline on anything. I must have gone at least a few weeks without showering at some point during that time, I kind of recall the bathroom getting filled trash at one point. It's all really hazy so I guess I'll just peg it at "about a month".

Well it depends what you mean. Showerless? Long long time (few weeks). Without bathing? A few days at most (long outdoor excursion, we didnt shower but we washed ourselves off/went swimming in streams/rivers/lakes)

 daedalus wrote:

 MWHistorian wrote:
Two weeks in the army at Ft. Dix NJ. I showered more regularly once I got to Iraq.

Based upon the few people I talked to who were from NJ, I always assumed there was something fundamentally wrong with the water. Maybe that was the strongest dose of it you could get and remain unaffected.

About a week for me when we've gone camping. Beyond that, I never go more than a day without showering.

There are a few people I know who I swear probably go months between any type of bathing.

I feel like if you don't shower for more than a week or so you'd get some kind of rash.

I was bed ridden for two weeks with encephalitis and was unable to even stand without agonizing pain, so yeah, that.

Seven days in a rainy field in southern Germany. Our first trip to Baghdad I went about a month with nothing but a garden hose jury rigged to an old water heater we stole and put up on the roof and filled up every day or two, but even though there was no real water pressure at least it was something. I had buddies cross the berm right when things kicked off that spent 40 plus days in their MOPP gear. That would have sucked.