Summer Showers
Plan a Refreshing
Outdoor Shower
I like to shower outdoors. There, I said it.
And now all my neighbors are probably nervous.
When building our house, I knew that a large
part of a new home is putting in a new
landscape – and that means sweat and plenty
of it. Knowing how much I enjoy landscaping
and gardening (my husband would say it’s
fanatical and our checking account would, too),
and how darn hot it is in South Texas, there
was only one answer: an outdoor shower.
Having been fortunate to stay at boutique
hotels from Costa Rica to Bali to Hawaii, I
have had the great pleasure of showering
outdoors in garden spots all over the world.
Interestingly, an outdoor shower is often a
selling feature of these beautiful inns and
resorts. Plus, when you’ve been at the beach
or gardening all day, there’s nothing like taking
a shower in the great outdoors with the refreshing
breeze on your skin.
It makes sense too
An outdoor shower is also a good idea when you think about it. One of the things I like least is that moldy, stuffy, humid feeling in the bathroom after someone has taken a shower, especially during the summer months when it’s extra sticky. Of course, I think an outdoor shower feels incredible in the winter months, too. An outdoor shower is a wonderful way to keep the humidity in your house low, and keep its nasty bed partner, mold, from developing.
Plus, fewer and fewer houses are being built these days (builders take note) with any kind of bathroom ventilation (and I’m talking about windows here, not those dinky fans), so there’s no escape for all that steam and it ends up making the whole house smell musty, which makes me positively crazy. That’s what makes an outdoor shower such a good idea.
Outdoor shower basics
Now, before considering one of those “hose connection” showers, think again. For an outdoor shower to be worth the time and energy, it must have a few of the basic elements before it’s worthy of stripping down to your birthday suit in the backyard. First and foremost is hot water. You need a warm shower to get the real shower experience, so don’t try to hook up a hose and think you’ve got a new selling point for your home. Hire a plumber to do the job right. Most of the time, you can find a bathroom on an outer wall that the plumber can connect to, saving the expense of running long plumbing lines.
The second most important element is privacy. You have to be comfortable taking a shower alfresco and that means good screening. This can be accomplished by a curtain, a fence, or a wall. My shower screening is made up of four landscape timers that I bought for $2 each at the lumber yard and some corrugated tin (four sheets at $6). So, for about $30 in materials and 30 minutes in labor, I got all the privacy I could want quickly, easily, and inexpensively.
Nice to haves
Some other nice to have features include flooring, spa-like features, and other shower accoutrement. Topping the list is some kind of place to stand that’s smooth and comfortable and will keep your feet clean. I bought a large paving stone to stand on and filled in my whole shower area with gravel. The water drains off and it keeps my freshly-washed feet mud-free.
Another nice element to add is some kind of shelving to hold shampoo, soap, and other bathing paraphernalia. For my shower, this was a cut piece of 2x4 (gives me more money for gardening). Other features that enhance the experience include hooks for towels, extra large towels so you’re fully covered when you get out of the outdoors, and a rainfall showerhead or other specialty showerhead.
The reason I like these is because an outdoor shower is supposed to feel like a natural experience and turning to face a wall and a standard showerhead sticking out of it, doesn’t feel so, well, natural. A waterfall or rainfall showerhead makes it feel like you’re showering under a storm cloud that’s raining 100 degree water. You’re imagining it right now, aren’t you?
It’s not long before Father’s Day, and let me tell you, men love outdoor showers, and this could be the one Father’s Day gift he won’t forget. Every man who finds out we have one, especially men in construction and trades, absolutely rave about it. Get steamed outdoors and keep the steam out of your house this summer by adding an outdoor shower to your home. In one weekend, you could be enjoying the beautiful coastal breezes on your skin, too. But don’t blame me if your water bill goes up.
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Kathryn Weber is the publisher of the Everydayclean.com Cleaning Calender, that calender that puts you in control of your home by ending the power struggle. For more information log on to http://tinyurl.com/d9rh5.
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