Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with bath

What non-sketchy sites can I buy unscented bath beads from?

Canageek — Tue, 07 May 2013 20:09:03 -0800

My Mom used to love using bath beads, but we haven't been able to find them for ages (We used to get them at a little red shop instead of a bigger store; I think it was a body shop inside of a Sears or Bay or something like that?) Anyway, I figured I would get her some for mother's day. This is turning out to be a lot more challenging than I anticipated. I'm pretty sure they are still around, as a Google Image search for bath beads gets pages and pages of nice, pretty shapped beads. However, Google doesn't find much on that term on the first couple of pages, and directly searching the types of shops that pop into my head (The body shop, The Bay, Sears, Shoppers Drug Mart) don't have them.

I'm not used to this: Normally when I type a term into Google 1.5 billion people want to sell me said item. Now, I've only found one site that looks decently respectable so far, and a bunch of Amazon sellers.

Since this is going in a bath, I'd rather something from a respectable chain, or company, rather then Random Amazon Seller 434632. Does anyone have any suggestions? I've found The American Soap Company and they look OK, 1) but I've never heard of them before: Are they a respectable manufacturer? Do they make good bath beads? and more importantly, 2) all their beads seem to be scented. My Dad is very, very sensitive to smells, so perfumed bath beads are a no-go; I'd rather not have her gift give him headaches. A really weak vanilla might be OK, but anything stronger then that is a bad idea.

Also, the site has to ship to Ontario without a crazy shipping charge.

Oh, and I know it won't arrive in time, opps.

Should I give my cat a bath?

derbs — Fri, 03 May 2013 03:10:23 -0800

My cat, Gem, got into her first fight today. Heard some screeching, saw her getting chased, but managed to get back home. She doesn't appear to be hurt, just a bit roughed up and shaky. Thing is though, she smells of poo now. Do I give her a bath, and if so, how? I'm not sure how she managed to get poo on her. Maybe she sharted due to the fear? Anyway, I'm of the opinion that you shouldn't bath cats... she normally keeps her coat in excellent condition, but she does smell pretty bad. I've given her a wipe down with a damp cloth, but that hasn't really helped.

I also don't want to traumatise her again. I can imagine dunking her in the sink would not go well without thick gloves!

Sweat -- do I have to wash it off (besides for smell purposes)?

defmute — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 01:48:28 -0800

I've been looking for info on showering/bathing in relation to sweating and whether it's sanitary or not. I can only seem to find articles that basically say "yeah, you need to shower cause you'll smell" but can't find anything that confirms whether or not it's actually sanitary or not e.g. infections. What do ya'll think/know? PS - I understand that many of you posting will most likely not be doctors.

Extreme Basement Finish: Bath Edition

SquidLips — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 08:00:29 -0800

I've had a change of heart in what I want to do with my basement shower. Are my ideas feasible? So it's getting time to tackle the bathroom in the never-ending battle to finish our basement. The current frame-in is based on the previous plan to install a simple pre-fab square shower insert and go the easy route. The downside is, to me it looks cheap, and I end up wasting some space. Cost was a consideration before, but not so much anymore. So I'm ditching the pre-fab stall idea and going with tile. I have two questions regarding the plans:

First, Here is what it looks like now, with notes on what I'd like to do. The left side wall would be removed to open up that additional foot of space, I would build in a 4-inch (?) bottom step thing across the existing opening, and tile the whole thing with some nice stone tiles (with concrete backerboard). The back wall, currently framed to bring the whole wall plumb with the knee wall, would be removed, creating a small shelf running the length of that wall. Do-able? I can certainly handle the framing part, I framed out the rest of the basement myself. Just want to make sure I'm not missing anything.

Second, I'm kind of at a loss as to what to do with the drain. When they built the house, they left that 1' hole in the floor to access the drain pipe. I'm thinking the best way to do this is to uncap that pipe, put in the trap, and cap off a new vertical pipe sticking out of the hole, then fill in the hole with concrete level with the rest of the floor, so in theory it looks like the toilet pipe. Then I can mortar in the drain pan / liner, install the adjustable floor drain, and tile away. Then a part of me thinks that, if these types of drains are supposed to be adjustable, I should have the whole thing installed before I fill in the hole?

Good idea, bad idea? Please let me know what I'm missing, or other ideas / tips you may have. Thank you!

How can I keep my bath warm for longer periods of time?

squirbel — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 16:21:52 -0800

- I live in an apartment and the water heater does not give an entire 40g of hot water [the capacity of the water heater and approximate capacity of the tub]. - I would like to relax in the bath for at least 20 minutes or more. - I've tried boiling water, aquarium heater [fail, takes to long to heat], basalt stones [too small to matter]. Do you have any ideas for lengthening my bath time? My water goes lukewarm after ten minutes, almost chilly.

Small Business Bath & Beauty

pointystick — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 08:42:15 -0800

I love bath stuff (fizzies, melts, bubbles) & lotions & scented oils. I'm looking for small or independent sellers so I can discover more great stuff! I'm a big fan of LUSH, Origins, & Tokyo Milk and some of the other brands at places like Sephora. I love things that color, perfume, or fizzy up the bath water or exfoliate or smooth and moisturize me before or after and I adore things that smell awesome (I love BPAL too). (As recommended by AskMe I am working on self care and bath stuff is calorie-free and cheaper than a vacation to the islands!)

I bet I'm missing out on great products by looking at the easily-found stuff so I'd love some recommendations for smaller or less well-known producers - maybe on Etsy or online retailers or smaller makers with limited distribution (I'm in Atlanta).

Preferences include no animal testing (but I'm not vegan so milk and honey is A-OK) and I like many types of scents as long as they aren't too artificially sweet or very floral. I'm interested in many price points for treats both everyday and special occasion.

Since this is from the other side of the coutry & four years old, I hope this isn't too much of a dupe.

I promise I'm clever...

c'mon sea legs — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 20:03:03 -0800

I somehow cannot figure out how to make the water switch from bath to shower in the place I'm housesitting. Please help me determine what incredibly obvious thing I'm missing. I... don't know what I'm missing. Photos here: drain, faucet, lever; shower head. I can turn the water on (moving the lever thing counterclockwise, pretty straightforward), but it only has a 90 degree range of motion: left turns water on, right turns water off. The shower head itself has multiple options for changing the spray, but none of them make it turn on and off.

Things I've tried:
toggling the switch below the faucet
prodding around the faucet itself
various settings on the shower head
twirling, pulling, pushing all that can be twirled, pulled or pushed
standing back and wondering why I'm such an idiot (the answer is that I haven't showered in a while and that is essential to my mental functioning.)

So, any suggestions? I think I've pushed all the things that can be pushed, and pulled all the pullable things. What is the obvious thing I'm missing?

Waterproofing a hand shower mounted on a bath enclosure?

dave99 — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 03:04:01 -0800

I'm renovating my bathroom, and want a hand shower mounted in the tile of the batch enclosure, on a hose, like in this image. But it seems like water can get into the hose hole and then collect under the bath. There will be a shower over the bath, although at the other end of the bath to the handheld. My plumber is a bit worried about how to waterproof it. How are these type of retractable hand showers normally waterproofed?

I mean, what could be more delightful?

showbiz_liz — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 12:16:44 -0800

Stupid question: where can I buy bathtub crayons, in person, in NYC, before Saturday? Yep. Need bath crayons and need 'em now. I don't want to order online if I don't have to. (It's for a secret santa gift.)

Tea Tree Filter

bad grammar — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 16:44:28 -0800

Should tea tree oil in bath water sting like crazy? I'm not getting a good answer from the online tea tree oil fanatics who swear by its use for all medical and hygienic purposes.

I used 100% tea tree oil from the drugstore and put about 2 t. in my hot bath water. About halfway through the bath (not a long soak), it started to make my legs sting like crazy, and I drained the bath water, cleaned the tub and soaped all over again to get it off. It is still stinging. Oddly enough the rest of my body isn't experiencing the prickly sensation.

Is this a serious reaction (i.e. poison, allergy) or will it go away? I basically feel as if I've had a Finnish sauna and beaten myself with the traditional birch branches.

I realize I probably used too much. For impulse actions I identify with Mark Vonnegut who said "My mind is like a lynch mob."

Share house shower etiquette? (In Japan)

Kamelot123 — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 03:08:06 -0800

I am a guy living in a co-ed sharehouse in Japan. I may have committed a faux pas, and would like to know proper sharehouse shower etiquette. Details inside. Be warned - this is quite likely a stupid question! But I am socially oblivious regarding things like this.

I am a guy. I am currently living in a share house - multiple floors with two mini "apartments" on each floor, 5 people per apartment. Our rooms are private, but we share the kitchen. The apartments are co-ed.

You have to go outside and up one floor to reach the shower room - it is about a 15 second walk. I usually make the journey shirtless, with just a pair of swimming trunks, towel, and my shower supplies.

Today, while I was making the trip back I bumped into of the women I am living with. She was shocked that I didn't have a shirt on, and asked about it. I couldn't tell if she was just amused or actually offended (I live in Japan, people are very polite and passive in dealing with people - they usually don't complain to someone's face unless they are quite upset).

I assumed she was shocked since it is getting rather cold outside for Japanese standards - so I told her I don't mind the cold, and when it gets a bit chillier I'll start wearing a shirt. It is about 46 degrees Fahrenheit outside, but I am only out for ten seconds and I enjoy cold weather, showers, etc. so it doesn't faze me at all.

What would you do in this situation? Is what I am doing bad manners? If so, should I just wear a shirt or buy a robe or something? It seems like a hassle to me, but I've never lived in a co-ed dorm before and want to be a good neighbor!

Henry needs large, flat, shallow tray for his bath.

BlackBox — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 12:29:05 -0800

I need a relatively shallow 3'x3' or 4'x4', flat bottomed plastic tray... thingy. I want to give Henry, our very large African Spurred Tortoise, a bath. I want to give Henry, our very large African Spurred Tortoise, a bath. The problem is, I can't seem to find any large, shallow trays or tubs for the job. It needs to hold a couple of inches of water and let Henry move around a bit. I've gone to Home Depot and the local pet super store but nothing fits the bill. Hydroponics supply websites have trays but they're upwards of $60. Are there any other stores or specialty shops I should look into? Even just the right search terms would help a great deal, as I don't really know how to find what I'm looking for. Please help so Henry can feel refreshed and clean!

Public baths in Berlin

Megami — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 03:16:36 -0800

I am lucky enough to be going to Berlin for a week in September, and would like to know if some recommended public baths are okay. Have had recommendations of two different public baths, but this is from someone who was there a little while ago. Do you know what these places are like now?
Thermen am Europa-Center (I know this is a bath where everyone goes naked, that's not a problem)
Sultan Hamam

I am interested in both Turkish style baths and more badkultur type places, so if you have any others to recommend, please do!

How should I deal with my bath problem?

Jacqulyn — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 08:56:17 -0800

We are having bath trouble. The bond between the structure of the bath and the acrylic surface has broken, and when you step in the bath, the acrylic warps/bubbles. The acrylic is definitely going to crack at some point! What can we do? There are potentially three options...

1. Fix the bath - Is this possible? Maybe by drilling a hole in the fibreglass and injecting the gap with something?

2. Replace the bath - It's surrounded on two sides by tiled walls and at one end by a tiled shelf level with the bath. There are tiles down the side of the bath that isn't attached to the wall. I'm in London - what sort of price range am I looking at for replacing the bath? Would a lot of tiles need to be pulled out and replaced? Obviously money is an issue or this would be my immediate choice!

3. Live with the bath until it breaks - I could check weekly under the bath for leaks. How long do you think it will/could survive?

I do have accidental damage insurance -- this isn't something that would be covered under this, is it?

Thanks all!

Why do I experience ear pain a few hours after bathing?

GlassHeart — Sun, 06 May 2012 10:10:21 -0800

Why do I experience ear pain a few hours after bathing? Since I was a kid, I've been getting ear pain not long after bathing. I don't always get this ear pain, but it appears very, very frequently; about one in every four baths I take result in me getting ear pain afterwards. The pain tends to occur more frequently in my left ear than my right. The pain doesn't bother me as much as the temporary hearing loss that accompanies the ear pain because, usually, the only time I can feel pain in my ear when I'm experiencing this problem is when I pull on my earlobe. But I listen to music with headphones on very often, and it's annoying to hear music more clearly in one ear than the other.

I have a feeling that this ear pain is caused by soap-water getting into my ear when I stick my head under water to rinse my face off, or perhaps due to hair getting into my ears after I've shaved my face (I shave in the bath). Could soap-water and/or facial hair getting into my ear be the cause this? I make sure to rinse my ears well when I'm underwater, but I dunno. . . . I've a feeling that if I started taking showers, this problem would stop. But I unfortunately can't take showers . . .

Anyway, the problem is a little concerning. I have no clue if this problem could eventually lead to permanent hearing loss. I'll make sure to see a doctor about this sometime soon, but I'd still like to see what you have to say.

Thanks.

Healing, cleaning, happy bath houses!

xicana63 — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 07:27:41 -0800

Bath houses and traditions around the world? So I have a trip coming up to Budapest and was told that I should go "bathing". I have heard of Korean bath houses, Swedish saunas, Russian baths, Japanese hot springs and such and I've always been intrigued by them. I am dying to go to one (as I never have been to one before) but I'm super nervous and don't know if I actually have the nerve. So a few questions :

- What are different bath houses and traditions around the world?
- Have you been to these different type of bath houses? How was your experience? What was the proper etiquette? Do you have any bath house recommendations (any part/city in the world)
- How did you work up the nerve? (for nude and not nude bath houses?)
- Budapest specific, any recommendations, warnings, advice?

Sorry lots of questions. Thanks!

Bath Mat With Rocks In

kiripin — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 23:43:41 -0800

How do I clean a bath mat made of rocks and felt? I've been trying to track down a weird odor in the bathroom for months. Turns out the bath mat needs washing, which is fine, but we have this river stone bath mat. It has a felt backing with stones glued to it, and the smell is definitely in the felt. How do I wash and dry this thing?

Short showers (in height)

slidell — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:20:51 -0800

DIY bathroom remodel: I'm looking for small, and especially short, inexpensive, off-the-shelf shower options. Do you know where to find showers sorted by size? Do you know where to find oddly-sized home products? Do you have obscure and wonderful knowledge about shower stall options? I'm looking to install a shower (or tub, I suppose) in my bathroom. It's a DIY project, and my budget is low.

The confounding issue is that the ceiling slopes down (not the entire ceiling, actually, just the 12" or so closest to the north wall), making many off-the-shelf options too tall. At 32" from the corner, I only have 70" (at best 71") in height. The ceiling slopes down, so at 36" out, there's only 68" in height. This bathroom is installed in an attic, and this is one spot where there's no slack to go up; the roof is not far above the drywall here.

Most of what I've been finding is 72" of shower surround + 4-6" of shower pan = 76=78" (in part because code here in California requires waterproof walls for 6’ above the floor). Take this one, for instance. It has a 32" x 32" base, but even though its nominal height is 70 3/4", its assembled height (once you put the door above the floor plan) is 74". As you can see from that example, the height of the exterior shower wall (glass or whatever it is) becomes the real issue.

Finding a short shower surround is more optional, since I could just tile the walls myself if I had to, on trim a corner off a pre-made shower surround, though I'm nervous about both options. It's the exterior shower enclosure that has remained difficult to find. I've even started to look at glass walls for bathtubs, which are conventionally 60" high. That's so short that spray might come out the top, but if I could find a tall shower base, it might work.

My dream shower would be 30-32" wide, 42-48" long, 69" tall including shower pan and door, and cost $600 or less. (The short end would be the one where the nozzle comes out.) But what can't budge is the height/width relationship created by the sloping ceiling. Any ideas? I'm in Oakland if you have any local ideas.

Thanks for any help or ideas you have.

Making shower time even better

roaring beast — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 00:18:51 -0800

I love taking showers. Do you have any tips, tricks or ideas to make my shower experience even more enjoyable?

Chemists of AskMe, help me clean my shower

SuperSquirrel — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 17:26:40 -0800

What can I mix with either CLR or Iron Out to make the product stick to the wall of the tub long enough (an hour at least) to do its job? I have a one-piece bathtub/wall surround, similar to this. I also have hard water with many minerals that cause rust, calcium and who-knows-what-else stains on the tub and walls within a few days of cleaning. The tub floor is easily cleaned by soaking it with a solution of either CLR or Iron Out. After an hour or two, all I have to do is rinse.

However, the walls are harder to deal with. I’ve made up a water solution of each cleaner in a spray bottle, and sprayed the walls (at different times), but because the spray droplets don’t drip down evenly, I end up with clean streaks mixed with orange streaks after rinsing. I can get it clean with a lot of scrubbing, but that takes a long time and, frankly, is a pain in my butt.

So, my question is, what can I safely mix with either CLR or Iron Out to make the product stick to the wall of the tub long enough (an hour at least) to do its job? I’ve thought of mineral oil or baby oil, but I’m afraid that will make the tub floor too slippery.

Specs for CLR (a watery liquid.) Specs for Iron Out (a powder.)

Any ideas?

How to get rid of crud in my jaccuzi tub?

randomthoughts — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 07:07:05 -0800

Our new home came with a wonderful bath tub jacuzzi but with a nasty problem. When we fill the tub up with water and turn on the air jets all this nasty gunk and junk comes out of the tubes and makes the water disgusting. Is there a way to clean this out or to flush the pipes? I've tried running the jets and cleaning them out around 15 times and this crud still comes out.

Pimp my bath.

taramosalata — Mon, 23 May 2011 19:10:28 -0800

I want to take more long hot baths in the bathtub. How can I make this activity even more relaxing and indulgent? Bubbles low-priority. Interesting subtle scents might be nice, but nothing candy-like or super-perfumey please. As a shower-and-go gal all my life, I don't even know my way around bath salts / bath oils and the such, so rudimentary suggestions welcome!

NB: The tub is sized for one, and I'm selfish with baths, so naughtiness isn't part of the question -- though if you've strong feelings about this or that toy, by all means recommend....

How do I get this shower floor ready for shower pan and/or tile?

bilabial — Sat, 07 May 2011 13:24:13 -0800

What do I do about this shower situation? The step down shower floor is a mess and has tile sticking up from it, it's lumpy and uneven. I'm in charge of getting this bathroom put together, and I want to make sure it's done correctly. Tools don't scare me. A long explanation with a SLYT. The demo crew did not make this easy. So now I have to finish taking the shower floor apart. Maybe?

It looks like some of the wall tile is set down into the floor? I don't have a better way of describing what I'm seeing. There are two steps down into this walk in shower, and the bottom step seems really really low. We suspected that there were two layers of tile, so today I rented a power chipper and went to town.

I didn't hit more tile, and I'm loathe to go willy nilly with this thing. I'll be returning the chipper (also called a demolition hammer) to the big orange store in 2 hours, but if you can point me toward more clues about what's actually going on in that space, I'd be happy to take another crack at it.

That rusty bit of metal will have to come out also, and get reframed into a replacement partition.But I'm way less worried about that than I am about the shower floor being wrong.

I'm expecting that we'll need a shower pan, but not 100% certain of it.

Would prefer to "let the professionals handle it" but they don't agree on what they should do in there.

Where can I find this simple stone birdbath?

mds35 — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 11:10:00 -0800

Where can I find a very simple stone block birdbath? At the Mass Audubon Moose Hill Visitor's Center (Sharon, MA) there is a birdbath that is a single square slab of granite or maybe dark sandstone. It is about 6 inches thick and a perfectly concave spherical bowl has been carved into it. It is very simple.

I want this same birdbath for my yard.

I've asked the people at the visitor center a few times and they could not tell me where it came from.

My google-fu is not sufficiently powerful to crack this nut without your help, MeFites.

What is the name of this Romance language polymory film?

Nackt — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 11:06:27 -0800

Foreign Movie Filter: I need help remembering the name of a movie I saw at the Verzaubert festival in Berlin in November 2006. I know that it involved a wedding where the Bride did not show up and it ended with 5 people living in a polymorous relationship. Massive details below the fold. In November 2006, I went to a screening at the Kino International in Berlin during the Verzaubert festival. I know the film was in a romance language, but I do not know if it was Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, or anything else.

The movie I saw involved a Bride not showing up at the altar. The Bride left the wedding with the Best Man's wife. The ex-groom and his Best Man decide to move in together in order to move on from the shock of all the breakups. I then think, that the men go take Dance lessons to meet new women. They try hit on and fight over a woman at the Dance Studio. Ultimately the woman at the dance studio helps the men ignite their passion for each other and they wake up together one morning weirded out, but okay with it. Then the ex-Bride and the Best Man's ex-wife come back to their men saying they miss them and that they want to be together, but with everyone. I remember that the last scene involves 4-5 people laying together happily in bed together in one polyamorous relationship.

One scene that always stays in my mind is when the Best Man goes to his old apartment, where the two women are living unbeknownst to the men. They are in a bubble bath in room with giant glass windows. When the man walks in, one woman forces the other to hold her breath under water to keep up her single appearances. Eventually she does burst out of the tub to breath and I think that the man finds out that they are lovers.

I have been hunting for the title of this movie for many years and have not been able to find anything. Any Hive Mind help getting the name of this film and a location where I could possible purchase it would be excellent.

Thanks.