This is a judgement-free zone, please be nice 🙃
Probably a week as a kid, when camping. But I’d swim every day which kinda caps the grossness to an extent.
Also before puberty I’d go days between baths.
My nickname in junior school was “stinky” which probably tells you all you need to know. Grew up poor, primary caregiver had mental health issues and financial troubles meant electricity for hot water was not a regular thing…
I don’t remember exactly but my mom who actually worked and did her best those days to support us would have made sure I was bathed on the weekends at least. So one week tops.
I’m still paying for the lack of regular teeth cleaning in my youth. Nowadays I’m pretty fastidious about hygiene, and showering regularly!
A day, maybe ?
Do sponge baths count?
I lived in a van for a while, where I mainly used a wash cloth and a bucket. I had several plastic water bottles that I would pack into a backpack, bring into a public bathroom, and refill under the tap. When I got back to the van, one got mixed with no-rinse soap (that I’d gotten at a camping supply store), and 2 or 3 were used for washing my hair. On occasion I did go to the beach and use the free outdoor showers, but that wasn’t a viable everyday solution.
6 months, during high school over the winter. Shower was broken (water would only come out perfectly hot or cold, nothing in between) and parents/landlord would not fix it. I kinda just gave up on it. Nothing bad came out of it. Nobody at home or at school ever said anything or even noticed, as far as I could tell. No, they were not just being polite. I watched everyone closely, as much as an experiment of personal curiosity as anything else, and there were no signs of disapproval, nobody had a clue. I suffered no social consequences whatsoever. Wearing a new set of clothes every day alone was sufficient to stay clean.
Can’t decide whether I just have one of those Asian genes that make you not smell, or whether Americans as a culture are psychotically brainwashed by soap companies’ propaganda to the point where even the idea of “spending more than 1 day away from shower” is worse than death for them. Never used deodorant either (other than to try it out - just makes me feel gross, sticky, and smelly). Imagine how much money those deodorant companies are missing out on me over a lifetime!
What length of hair did you have?
Good question to ask! I had short hair then, which is why it worked. Have long hair now and could not get away with it again - start feeling too greasy after a week, and I like my hair silky with conditioner.
Two weeks, a few times. Backpacking in the sierra, kayaking in Baja, and climbing trips to j-tree. Except j-tree, trips included swims but no soap. DYK salt water kills most bacteria that cause body odor, some salt rash but no odor kayaking in Baja.
This thread makes my asshole itchy.
Just 3 days. Finals week in the university.
About three weeks, while I was training to be a truck driver.
I’d gotten my CDL through a trucking company’s “apprenticeship” program, which was actually a super-predatory mill they ran to compensate for their insane turnover rate.
The final phase of this company’s program, after I’d acquired my CDL but before receiving my own truck assignment, had me driving/riding on a “trainer’s” truck for 20,000 miles, while the more-experienced trainer showed me all the ins and outs of life on the road. In theory, anyway.
In practice, I’d learned essentially everything there was to know after a couple of days. Enough to get by on my own, at least.
So my trainer suggested we run the truck as a team operation from then on, running long-distance, time-sensitive loads, forcing one of us to drive while the other slept, in order to burn through my training miles faster. The company was tracking training miles by the truck, not by the driver, apparently.
Rather than driving 400-500 miles per day, I was pushing 1000 miles per day, every day, the truck only stopping for fuel and to work with customers. Between pickups and deliveries, my trainer had this annoying habit of only visiting truck stops while I was asleep, and finding random industrial parks and highway shoulders to park on for shift changes. I never had time to take a shower.
I staved off the stink with copious amounts of baby wipes and Febreeze. I also found out later, that my trainer owned the truck we drove, and my wages were not taken out of the revenue for the loads he ran. So I was effectively free labor for him.
I don’t work for that company anymore. I’m still in trucking, but I spend weekends at my house. And I try to shower at least every other day on the road.
Probably pushing 2 months. I was thru hiking the Appalachian Trail and was in full on dirty hippie mode.
This is so cool seeing inspiring stories where I only expected grossness!
Three and a half weeks, 25 days. More than forty years ago I was lost in the wilderness on a school camp. Broke both ankles and couldn’t walk.
We need more details! Who found you? What did you eat?
Couldn’t eat anything. Story below.
Wow, thanks for sharing that story. What were nights like? Were you able to sleep? Did any animal interact with you?
The nights were cold. It was the end of winter, there was snow further up the mountain, but not where I was. I dug down into leaves so I was half buried most of the time. I talked and sang to magpies, there were other animals around. I think I slept a lot of the time, they said I was feverish and in some kind of shock from the broken ankles. Later on I thought it had only been a few days.
What did you drink? I can imagine someone surviving without eating for 3 weeks but no water? Impossible
This deserves more interest than it got.
Assuming it is true of course.
than it got
You commented only after an hour lol.
Go on… (Sorry just hoping for more info)
Mount Buffalo National Park, 1982. Four of us left the camping area to watch the sunset. I stopped to take a photo and lost the trail. Went running after the others, slipped and rolled down a cliff, landed upright, but felt both ankles pop and break. (The whole park is Australian bush around granite boulders and cliffs). The others thought I had gone back to camp and didn’t report me missing. Next morning the group packed up and hiked to the next camp site, no one noticed I was missing until that evening, so they looked in the wrong place. I crawled to a creek and fell down the gully, drank snow melt, no one heard me shouting and crying. Eventually they gave me up for dead. Three German tourists found me by accident three weeks later, one went to get help. I got a ride in a helicopter, in hospital for two weeks while they fed me through a drip. The school gave me a payout through their insurance on the condition we didn’t sue them. I’m almost 60 now and my ankles still hurt and grind and pop.
Wholly hell, that’s wild, I been through that place a couple times. Rough area in parts!
This is an insane story. I cant imagine the pain you went through. Im so glad the Germans found you.
More crazy he was left for dead. You think they put together a huge search party first.
Slap my balls and call me Sally, that’s a heck of a story you got there. I hope it has served you well in many a bar night.
What a story. You weren’t able to move for three weeks ?
Thanks for responding, sorry you went through that, can only imagine the mental impact it had to have. Hope all is well these days.
It was long ago and far away. I’m fine now, thank you.
What did you eat and drink?
Drank water. Couldn’t eat, moving hurt too much and made me faint.
Cant drop that kinda teaser and not give the rest of the story!
A little over 3 months is my record. Mental health issues, naturally! 🥳 🎂 🎉
Several months now. Maybe a year. Long Covid with ME/CFS has permanently tied me to my bed. I basically spend my time collecting energy to go number 2, which is the last thing I can stand up for. And only because using a bedpan looks about as strenuous as walking to the toilet. And that way my wife can change my bedsheets.
But not being able to shower is awful. I stink. And I have to watch parts where skin is rubbing on skin for infections. Zinc salve and a cotton scarf help.
I also have LC. I can have a shower. But I take at least an hour to gear up for it. Then I can only do it sitting doen, then I take an hour to find the energy to dry myself off, then I take an hour to gain the energy to get dressed, etc. Tl;dr it takes all morning and I can’t have a shower every day.
I took a shower at 11 am and I’m still exhausted at 5 pm (the summer heat doesn’t help).
Close to a month. Depression.
I did change my underwear though 🤷🏿♀️
probably a week
