How do you shower....? (1 Viewer)

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Nosmo King

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New to this MH lark so I'm going to ask what is probably a daft question....

How do you take a shower in a Camper... (I know the 'get wet, soap, rinse scenario) but -
Can you get the walls wet?
Do you need to wipe it down and dry it after?
What are the risks of water leaks and the dreaded damp?
How well are these things sealed?
Tell-tale signs of leaks?
Ventilation - get rid of the steam-clouds?

TIA
 

Puddleduck

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Our shower and loo is a sealed plastic area so no chance of the shower water getting into the fabric of the motorhome unless there was a gap or hole in the moulded plastic.

I usually do wipe the shower screen down with a minky type cloth afterwards - and we leave the top vent open when stopped for more than a quick break as I like the shower / loo area to be well ventilated.
 

Lenny HB

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I find the boss gets a bit ratty when I jump in with her.:)
Normally a race to get in first as last one in has to wipe it out. Use a silicon squeeze to wipe down then dry off with a microfibre cloth.

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DBK

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We always wipe down afterwards - otherwise in time you get limescale building up plus of course extra humidity.
If you aren't sure about drying towels (especially in winter) afterwards use a small microfibre cloth or a J cloth to remove a lot of moisture from your body - wipe and squeeze - you'll be amazed how effective it is. :)
 

DBK

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I find the boss gets a bit ratty when I jump in with her.:)
Normally a race to get in first as last one in has to wipe it out. Use a silicon squeeze to wipe down then dry off with a microfibre cloth.
Is a "silicon squeeze" a euphemism for one of the late Hugh Hefner's girl friends? :)
 
Oct 10, 2009
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Campers/motorhomes can be all sizes. Fresh water tanks also vary. Some of the largest vans can have over 200 litre tanks, ours is 115 litres. A recent thread on here concerned itself with how much water was used in a careful shower and I recall that the consensus was 15 litres by showering as you described.
Also shower sizes vary. We have had three motorhomes: our Autosleeper Talbot Exress Symphony shower was tiny. Our Fifer PVC shower was slightly larger, and the Auto-Trail Delaware shower is only a little smaller than a house shower. I think it is important to wipe down the shower after use, especially as ours’ have all only had one drain and you don’t want stale water sitting in the shower tray. Also hard water leaves stains on the shower walls.
Re: leaks, You could have water escaping from curtains but plastic or glass shower screens seem to be well designed. If you mean from water escaping via the tray or wall joints, there are threads on here about that, and they aren’t pretty. Many suggest that the standard of build is so bad that such leaks can be expected, although we have not any any such problems.
Ventilation seems to be either by a high level wall vent or a roof light, and some have fans. We don’t have a fan but we don’t get condensation, although if we left water in the shower tray and the air was cold, I think we would.
There are some great conversations on the forum about whether camper /moterhome showers should be used for anything other than storage or a place for the dog(s) to sleep; I suggest you search for them as they will give you more insight into the subject.
Conal

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Allanm

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Our shower has white plastic walls, I use a Karcher window vac to clean and dry them after we’ve both had a shower. Opening the roof vent ( if you have one ) gets rid of the steam, when it’s cold outside, we open the vent after we have both finished.
 

Welsh girl

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We don't use sites a lot so shower in the van, always wipe the walls and tray to dry them after each use..Then open the windows and ceiling roof vent to Air and dry the room off.
 
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Nosmo King

Nosmo King

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Naked? Why do you need to be naked? I always shower fully clothed...

Anyway - thanks folks for the mostly helpful replies.

Site showers would be the first choice, if you're on a site. But if you're not on a site, it might be a bit of a long walk, and when you do find a site the site owners might not be that impressed with you rocking up clutching a towel and your favourite bath toy...

Seriously - the shower in the camper (PVC) is not that big so water will, I suspect, cover everything. The walls don't look waterproof (like coated hardboard) and the seals around the tray look ok but are not confidence inspiring... so yes, Conal, I'll try and find a few previous posts - but how does a leak past the tray manifest itself?
Do I need to reseal everything myself (are they really that bad?)?

Thanks again
 
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Apr 27, 2008
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Always use the van shower even on a site. Just spray with Mr muscle shower cleaner as above. Ours is a proper separate shower not a wet room though. With a wet room some drying is needed, but I've not found them very usable.
 

Lenny HB

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We do not bother wiping down our shower anymore. Instead we use Mr Muscle Shower spray as soon as we finish, same as we use when showering at home. Stops build up of soap scum and limescale.
Hate those products, the chemicals in them make me yuck.

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GerTee

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Always wipe down after using the shower and we tend to use baby wash or shower gel rather than soap as soap tends to stick to the plastic and can leave a lot of marks that need extra scrubbing. And we hate cleaning!
 

Shrimp

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Strip clothes off, get into shower cubicle shut door and ensure drain traps are open.
Turn water on, wet hair, turn water off, shampoo hair, turn water on, rinse hair.
Completely wet body, turn water off soap & scrub all over, turn water on, rinse off soap, turn water off.
Dry hair & body, walk away & leave for hubby. He dries shower walls & floor when he’s finished!
Simples!
:D
 
Oct 10, 2009
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I have just done a quick search for shower leaks, and leaks, and found a few. It seems that cracked shower trays are the main culprit. Unfortunately the posters I found reported damp and soggy floor which led back to the leaks.
Also seals seems to fail on older motorhomes/campers.
I recall that the shower walls in my Autosleeper were as you describe and they dried quickly after use.
I am sure that the majority of showers are fit for purpose if a little small.
 

stewartwebr

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We have a nice long hot shower thanks to the Alde Sure Flow which gives us unlimited hot water (fresh water content dependent) and the last one in uses a Karcher to clean the walls and the glass screens.
 
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The Dotties

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In the nuddie during a heavy shower, running around the site with me plastic duck.
You have been warned!
 

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