You learn something new every day! A gentleman came in to the Co-op where I work on Saturday, and he was looking for a sprayer. The kind that you pump up and use to spray pesticides etc. However, this was not what he wanted to use it for. He had read in a magazine that for people who don't have running water (campers, boaters, homesteaders) purchase a sprayer and an extra length of hose. Fill the sprayer with water and leave it in the sun. When you are ready to shower, pump it up with pressure, and voila! Soap rinses off quicker with a bit of pressure. Beats the hanging bags that work by gravity in my books! And I would think it would use less water. This may be old news to some, but I thought it was terrific, and worth sharing. (I would, however, dedicate the sprayer to showering, I wouldn't want to be rinsing off any kind of chemical, even fertilizer!) Enjoy!

-- Bernie from Northern Ontario (Bernadette_kerr@hotmail.com), January 20, 2002

Answers

I like that idea. It'd work pretty well for rinsing off equipment after you use it, too

-- Gary in Indiana (gk6854@aol.com), January 20, 2002.

I like it, did he say anything about size of sprayer he was looking at or about painting it, maybe one side or bottom black to increase heat absorption. Guess I'm asking about any other specifics he may have said about the set up he had read about. Is one brand better, last longer than another.

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), January 20, 2002.

Neat idea, we have one of the "shower bags" that we take when we go camping, it is hard to rinse the shampoo from our long hair, the sprayer sounds like a great idea--I may have to give that a try! Thanks for the info.

-- Sharon (spangenberg@hovac.com), January 20, 2002.

I used one on a pick up truck camper that I painted black and mounted on the roof.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), January 20, 2002.

I have a house and 3.7 acres without a well. I haul drinking water and collect rain water. In my house I have a shower stall already built waiting for the day when I will have a well and they for the day I have running water to the house. I now have a solar bag shower hung in the room to use. I just got and I mean friday a shower I ordered that uses 4 d cell batteries and is supposed to run the pump for four hours. This shower has the bag like a regular camp solar shower and a hose with an electric pump to give you water pressure. I haven't used it yet as I have been short on water with the cold weather but as I also got a stocktank heater should have enough to try the shower. I will let you all know how it works. I do like the idea of the sprayer too as it doen't use batteries. I will report on how mine works and go more into the reasons I ordered after I have used it. gail

-- gail missouri ozarks (gef@getgoin.net), January 20, 2002.

The fellow that I got the info from was looking for a metal sprayer. His intent was to use it to rinse off his truck after driving on our local roads. We do something up here that most people in the southern states won't be familiar with. We put salt on our roads to keep the ice melted. Great on the roads, but major problem with rust on our vehicles. So he was looking for metal because there'd be less problem with the water in it freezing and splitting a plastic sprayer. He said that someone had laughed at his idea and said 'the water will just freeze your truck' to which he replied 'great! what a good way to keep the salt off!'

I would assume that size would be dependant on how much water you use per shower, and how many people intend to shower with one tank of water. I know we sell 1gal, 2gal and 3gal sizes. They may come larger- I don't know. So there should be a sprayer to suit everyone' needs. You could also collect water in another container, preferably black, and just refil your sprayer for the next shower. (Painting the sprayer itself black would be a good idea too, as someone suggested.) Anyway, take a good idea, adapt it to your own needs, and make it better! Isn't that what it's all about? p.s. enjoy that first shower!

-- Bernie from Northern Ontario (Bernadette_kerr@hotmail.com), January 20, 2002.

I collect rainwater from the gutters on a small shed into a 100 gallon plastic stock tank. I have a 12v dc pump which is powered by a photocell that pumps the water into a 33 gal plastic barrel which I painted black. A resin chair and a wooden skid to stand on and we have a great shower which is usable from April till Sept depending on the weather. A normal shower uses approx. 8 gal or water and we repump after each use so there is always hot water for the next day. This system has worked for 6 years with no problem other than buying a new battery every once in a while. Good luck.

-- jim phillips (jhphillips@ccrtc.com), January 20, 2002.

Empty and rinsed 1 gallon milk jugs have always worked just fine for us as an alternative shower. Before our house was built and the water lines froze in our trailer, we often heated water on the coleman stove and filled these, then took turns standing in front of the campfire "showering". Oh, the good old days.......

-- rose marie wild (wintersongfarm@yahoo.com), January 20, 2002.