Sponge Bath: Keep Clean Without Running Water

By Ole Wik
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PHOTO: MANYA WIK
The author washes his hair with a baking soda shampoo mixture as part of a regular sponge bath routine.

Some 10 years back, I left the city and set out to build a cabin in the Alaskan wilderness. It was late September before I could actually begin construction of the dwelling, and the rivers were already freezing, so I had to work hard and quick!

Yet — despite the rigorous physical labor — I’d go for days without a bath. At the time I told myself I couldn’t wash because of the cold weather and primitive camp conditions, but now I know that I simply hadn’t yet adjusted to “new” means of keeping clean.

Since then, I’ve spent as much as 26 months at a stretch without even seeing running water, and I’ve very rarely missed my daily bath. I’d like to pass on what I’ve learned about taking a sponge bath to any of you who may be about to quit the city and its conveniences, whether on a permanent or a temporary basis.

Clean With Seven Cups

I once doubted the word of a friend who told me that he’d been taught to take a complete bath with an army helmet full of water. Now I know he was telling the truth, because I’ve done it myself using a hard hat while fighting forest fires. The fact is, it’s possible to clean every part of your body but your hair — using an ordinary metal wash basin — with only seven cups of water … which is just under half a gallon!

  • Published on Mar 1, 1981
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