Shower
A shower is a component of a typical modern bathroom. It offers a quick and effective method of personal hygiene through "showering" the body with warm water, often in combination with soap, a shampoo or a shower gel.
Origin
The hygiene regiment in the form of a shower goes back to the time of the Greeks and Egyptians, as evidenced by vase and murals. It would take some time until the general spread of showering occurred. A first step toward the spread of showering was when the Prussian military installed showering rooms in their barracks in 1879.
Cultural significance
Showering in the Western World is mostly part of a daily routine, but is also practiced for wellness and relaxation. Showering has today largely replaced bathing. Many households today do not own a bathtub any more, but rather a shower in its place.
Showering procedure
Showering results in a few phases, in which the skin and also the hair are wet with water, then the cleansing products are applied, allowed to work, and subsequently rinsed out. If necessary, a new soaping and rinsing is performed.
Too frequent showering with cleansing products can damage the skin. In order to protect the hair, a shower cap may be used.
Constant use of soaps or soap-based products in the shower can produce soap scum on the walls or floors, caused by the reaction of soap with lime in hard water. One of the advantages of using a shower gel instead of soap is that this soap scum does not form, reducing cleaning and maintenance of the shower.
Structure and designs
There are free-standing showers, but also showers which are integrated into a bathtub. Showers are separated from the surround area through watertight curtains (shower curtain), sliding doors, or folding doors, in order to protect the space from spraying water. Shower stalls are typically open at top. There are seldomly floor-level showers. Here, the wall and floor of the shower areas are tiled or otherwise made waterproof. Showering rooms, like the kind at swimming pools, in locker rooms, or with the military are mostly completely open.
David Schmidt of the University of Massachusetts researched the aspect of why shower curtains billow inwards during showering ("shower-curtain effect") and received for it the Ig Nobel Prize in 2001. [1]
Trivia
With the film Psycho's infamous "shower scene," the shower stall's image changed. Janet Leigh's character was stabbed to death in a hotel shower during this Alfred Hitchcock film.