Wearable shower bag for an in-car showering system
Darko SavicJan 09, 2022
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A wearable shower bag that's made from the same material as waterproof tents. You use it to take a shower in your car.
Why?
Have a quick shower when other options aren't available.
A way to shower in your car if you live on the road.
How it works
Similar in concept to a sleeping bag, this is a full bodysuit that you get into from the neck area. Once you're in, you tighten the string around your neck so that the water doesn't splash out. The bag is thin and made of a similar material that is used for waterproof tents. A cheaper DIY alternative could be to just use a large trash bag (2 of them to lower the chance of a leak).
The shower bag is connected to an empty growywater canister at the lowest point. When you're done showering, just pour out the canister.
Warm water
Take a canister of fresh water and warm it up using the car's 12V outlet. It might take a while, so plan ahead. Alternatively, fill the can with warm water in a public restroom.
The shower system
You can use a ready made shower systems like this or build something like this yourself.
When you're done showering, turn the bag inside out and rinse it. Shake it and wipe it down with a towel.
In practice, this might be too complicated and inconvenient
Povilas SJan 09, 2022
How would you actually shower in a bag? I see two options:
First - you have the upper end of the bag loosened up to allow you pouring water from a hose or a showerhead on your neck, shoulders, possibly even head and for it to run further down your body already inside the bag, so it would look something like a cone-shaped sleeping bag, but then you'd definitely have to stand (or in the worst case kneel or sit) for the water to efficiently run down the body.
For such system to be the most efficient, the canister would have to be under your legs, you'd basically have to stand (or kneel or place your legs on top while sitting) on it. In simple cars there's too little space for this, it's possible in a van or a similar, bigger car, but in a van, you'd rather make a better stationary shower like here, rather than using a bag. Also, to keep the upper end of the bag loosened while you pour yourself over with water, you'd have to mount it on some frame, use ropes, etc.
Second option - "shower" in other than upright position. In simple, low height cars, you could try showering half lying, with the canister placed at the end of your feet, but this would be more like bathing than showering, the bag, if it was tightly sealed, could fill up with water and you'd soak in it like in a bathtub, the hose providing fresh water would be connected somewhere along the shoulder line or in this case anywhere would perhaps be good enough.
Once you've soaked in a water-filled bag for a while you could drain the water to the canister by opening a valve and repeat such "showering" few times in a row. But how would you soap yourself in this case? In the first option, the loosened bag would allow you to rub soap on your body, but in the latter case there's no space for that, it would be super inconvenient.
To summarize, it would be easier to just drive somewhere remote enough and shower outside by using a portable shower that you hang on a branch or similar means. If it's really cold outside, then maybe a car is a better option, cause you can heat the interior up, but in a low-height car, it would be very inconvenient to shower using a proposed system. The cone-shaped shower bag I described in a first option might serve as an alternative to a more stable shower in a van or other big enough car, but it might be a headache to set such a system up and dismantle it after each time.
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Darko Savic3 years ago
Reasons why just driving somewhere isn't always easier:
you might be a woman that doesn't feel safe in remote places
you might be uncomfortable showering outside in winter temperatures
you might not want to pay to have a shower at a rest stop
you might not want to get foot yeast at a public shower place
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Povilas S3 years ago
Darko Savic Commenting on the picture you drew - fitting the bag on your body is not the problem, but how would you shower, meaning how would you effectively pour the water on your body while being in a bag? Try this in practice in a low-height car and you'll see the difficulty.
Let's say the part around the neck is tightened to keep the bag waterproof, and the lower part around the shoulders is loosened to allow you some space to hold the showerhead with your hand inside the bag, how would you pass your hand over the shoulders to pour the water on your back? In practice, this would be very inconvenient unless you built a more stable, more adapted system.
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Darko Savic3 years ago
Povilas S inner volume of the bag can be as big as necessary. Imagine a radius of 1m. You can shower just like in any other shower. It's not a problem if the bag touches you on the skin in areas where you are not currently passing over with the showerhead.
One easy way to test the concept is to put a chair in your actual shower, get inside a huge trash bag, make a hole in one of the bottom corners, put the showerhead in the bag, and pull the cord together around your neck. I don't see a problem at the moment. Will let you know once I take a shower later today
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Only one canister
Darko SavicJan 09, 2022
At the expense of the canister size and amount of available water, the system could use just one canister with 2 compartments. That takes less storage space.
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Bags instead of canisters
Darko SavicJan 09, 2022
Replace canisters with bags. A folded-up bag takes no space.
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General comments
Michaela D3 years ago
I like the idea of getting refreshed in a car and sometimes it is not necessary to take a full shower. For example, during a one or two-day trip you could just clean yourself with a small wet towel or cloth.
What you need are the cloth, two small buckets (one for clean water and one for dirty water) and the "shower bag". The "shower bag" would be wide at the bottom so that it can fit the buckets inside. You still get to clean your whole body in the shower bag without being naked in public but you don't need the shower hose and you won't make a mess in the car.
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Shubhankar Kulkarni3 years ago
If you have this whole system in place, why not shower just outside your car? The bag will cover you so won't expose yourself to people. Since you are outside, you can stand and shower properly. Also, if you use hot water, heated from your car, you can shower outside even in winter. You won't make the car wet, which you may do after the shower before drying up. This will eliminate most of the problems raised in the session.
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Darko Savic3 years ago
Shubhankar Kulkarni Good point!
Some scenarios where people would still shower in the car rather than outside:
You are in a city center, no privacy to be found, but you need a quick shower before a meeting
Spotlight effect - you are extremely conscious about what people will think of you
It's extremely cold outside (you wouldn't step out without a jacket)
Darko Savic Jan 09, 2022
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