Tub O Sea Water
John Popelish
sewage system forgive you).
Add to 40 gallons (320 pounds) of water:
13 cups of salt (that's over 9 pounds)
4 cups epsom salt
1/3 cup salt substitute (potassium chloride)
5 teaspoons baking soda
And go for a nice long swim.
John Popelish
DaveW
> Here is my recipe for a full tub of home made sea water (and may your
> sewage system forgive you).
Didn't you forget 1 tsp. of miscellaneous biohazardous waste and a
shark?
Thanks again for the numbers.
- Dave W.
John Popelish
>
> John Popelish wrote:
> > Here is my recipe for a full tub of home made sea water (and may your
> > sewage system forgive you).
>
> Didn't you forget 1 tsp. of miscellaneous biohazardous waste and a
> shark?
Darn if I didn't. Oh well, that falls under the perogative of the chef.
> Thanks again for the numbers.
>
> - Dave W.
I just hope that I don't end up responsible for the death of thousands
of yard trees. I doubt that municipal sewerage systems would have much
trouble with an ocassional tub of sea water, but it wouldn't hurt to ask
if you were considering dumping a tub full daily.
By the sea. By the sea. By the beautiful sea...
J. P.
Andy Kanter
John Popelish wrote:
> Here is my recipe for a full tub of home made sea water (and may your
> sewage system forgive you).
>
> Add to 40 gallons (320 pounds) of water:
>
> 13 cups of salt (that's over 9 pounds)
>
> 4 cups epsom salt
>
> 1/3 cup salt substitute (potassium chloride)
>
> 5 teaspoons baking soda
>
> And go for a nice long swim.
What do you think this would do to the balance
in a septic system?
Andy Kanter
http://www.clearskin.com
DaveW
>I just hope that I don't end up responsible for the death of thousands
>of yard trees. I doubt that municipal sewerage systems would have
>much trouble with an ocassional tub of sea water, but it wouldn't
>hurt to ask if you were considering dumping a tub full daily.
I think (like Andy asked) this would be more of a problem for a home
septic system than a city (or even suburban) sewer system. When
you consider all the thousands of gallons of really nasty *waste*
that goes down the hole in a highly populated area, plus all the
rinse water from showers, brushing teeth, washing hands, doing the
dishes, etc., I doubt an 'extra' 40 gallons a day from 2% of homes
would make a dent in how the treatment plants would handle it.
Even if it were a super-saturated salt solution, I'd bet the sewer folks
wouldn't blink an eye. By the time it gets to the treatment plant, it'd
be so diluted with soapy water and filth, it probably wouldn't be
noticed. It might do a little bit of cleaning in the pipes from your
house to the mains, although I doubt even that. Anything living in
there is probably pretty tough.
Of course you're right in that it wouldn't hurt to ask.
- Dave W.
John Popelish
That's the problem. I have no idea. But that much salt added to your
yard every few days is bound to affect trees that absorb water from your
system. Municipal systems may tolerate it better, simply because they
handle large volumes of water. But I don't speak for these utilities,
either.
J. P.
Avagard
are unable to soak or immerse yourself in the tub? My bones are too painful and
weak to get up from a sitting position on the floor or tub, but could it work
if I stood in the water and sponged my body with the salt water for say, ten
minutes, which is about all the standing I could do at one time?
I guess I should just try it, but I hate to go to all that trouble if someone
knows the answer. Thanks!
John Popelish
Even less that that might help, such as just sponging a little all over
after a shower and blotting off. If this shows promise, you might
consider putting a plastic step stool or other water proof bench in the
tub, so you can sit over and drip into the tub without having to get all
the way down. Then you could ladle or sponge water (just a few gallons
in the tub in a pail) over yourself.
If this also helps, you might invest in one of those little fountain
recirculating pumes so that you can just spray the solution over
yourself while sitting. Make sure that you plug the pump into a tested
(push the test button and verify that it pops) ground fault circuit
interrupter type receptacle. This will prevent a faulty pump from
electrocuting you. If your bathroom doesn't have one, it should, and
any electrician can install one for very little money. They cost less
than $20 at Lowes or Walmart. This way, you only need to mix up enough
to allow the pump to suck some up as the water drips off you.
Good luck,
John Popelish
John Popelish
> I don't know how expensive they are, but there are shower seats
> specifically designed for this use. Designed so they won't slide on
> the bottom of the tub and kill you. If anyone wants to try to do
> something like what John suggests *without* the aid of these
> special helpers, please be *extremely* careful. Heck, forget that,
> since stuff slides around in the tub so suddenly, without any warning
> whatsoever, I'd advise against trying this with any 'normal' piece
> of furniture at *all*.
>
> I'm not at all critical of the *idea* here, John, just the method. I
> slipped and fell in the tub once, and believe it or not, the shower
> curtain caught me and *held* me, so I was uninjured. It was,
> however, the most terrifying experience of my life. The images of
> my skull cracked open by the nearby faucet handles, the sink, the
> tiled floor, the doorknob, etc., flashed before my eyes in an instant.
> Water lowers friction, and soap lowers it even more. Be careful.
>
> - Dave W.
These are excellent warnings, Dave. I am a do it your selfer, so I just
think nothing of lashing things together and getting something the way I
want it. I would probably end up sitting on an inverted 5 gallon bucket
with foam tape around the rim, or some such. I forget that not everyone
is handy. One other thing. Salt water soaked skin seems slipperier
than just wet skin, in my experience. but as soon as you add soap,
shampoo or detergent, things get really slick, so you have to plan ahead
on not slipping, like putting one of those rubber bath tub mats down
first, or non-skid rubber flowers, or whatever.
John Popelish
DaveW
>Do you think its possible to realize the benefits of salt water bathing
>if you are unable to soak or immerse yourself in the tub? My bones
>are too painful and weak to get up from a sitting position on the floor
>or tub, but could it work if I stood in the water and sponged my body
>with the salt water for say, ten minutes, which is about all the
>standing I could do at one time?
Unfortunately, one of the benefits of *soaking* (for a half-hour or more)
is that the plaques dissolve away (even in normal tap water, I haven't
tried any sea water experiments, myself) to the point where almost
just looking at them makes them fall off (I tend to rub gently with my
fingers to get rid of the stubborn stuff). Getting rid of the scale, of
course, allows the salt water (or other medications) to reach the
actual growing skin site much more easily, *if* that happens to be
one of the requirements for this 'therapy' to do any good.
Our bathtub's overflow drain has cracks in its gasket, and so almost
any attempt at a real *bath* results in water dripping into my down-
stairs neighbor's bathroom. But, my wife and I are shower kinds of
people, so we haven't bothered getting this problem fixed. The
soaking experiments I have done have been with the aid of a 5-gallon
bucket, in the comfort of the living room watching the TV. This has
also limited me to only doing my lower legs and my elbows.
- Dave W.
DaveW
>If this shows promise, you might consider putting a plastic step
>stool or other water proof bench in the tub, so you can sit over and
>drip into the tub without having to get all the way down.
I don't know how expensive they are, but there are shower seats
AMANSFI856
softner makes the soap lather more and doesn't leave a ring in the tub. Our
water softner takes salt every so often to soften the water. Is that all there
is to adding salt to the water? Maybe the salt just softens the scales and
doesn't leave an irritating film on the spots?
arlene
John Popelish
A softener does not just add salt to water. It exchanges sodium atoms
for calcium atoms in the water. Here is a link to a brief explanation I
poster earlier (from the deja archive).
http://www.deja.com/getdoc.xp?AN=493174232&fmt=text
Soft water does reduce the soap film that is left in and on your skin,
because it keeps soap soluable, whereas hard water precipitates soap
into a waxy, insoluable deposit.
Regards,
John Popelish
Avagard
past (one at a time!) and I don't do anything that I perceive as dangerous to
my poor old bones! I would love to find the right equipment to be able to bathe
or soak in a tub though. I dream of a nice hot bath, candles, Billi Holiday
music, maybe a teeny glass of wine or a small puff of the herb I most enjoy!
Its the little things I miss most, you know? Thanks again! I'll try to find the
right stuff! Ava
Andy Kanter
Avagard wrote:
> I would love to find the right equipment to be able to bathe
> or soak in a tub though. I dream of a nice hot bath, candles, Billi Holiday
> music, maybe a teeny glass of wine or a small puff of the herb I most enjoy!
> Its the little things I miss most, you know? Thanks again! I'll try to find the
> right stuff! Ava
Ava, at http://www.dis-abilities.com/ there is large
list of companies that sell bathing related products.
Unfortunately, most do not have links to web sites
but they do have telephone numbers and addresses.
Several list bath lifts and bathing chairs.
This one, http://www.fabricoinfo.com/bathomatic/
is a chair that lowers you into the tub. From the
pics it looks like it's easy to install and operate.
Could be time dust off that Billi Holiday record.
Andy Kanter
http://www.clearskin.com
Avagard
because I just figured if you can't get down into the tub, you can't soak!
I cannot tell you how happy this one little thing could make me! I appreciate
your suggestions very much. Ava