Lakeside Cabin Perfect For Outdoor Shower

Editor's note: Flip Putthoff is on vacation. This column first ran in 2000.

Summer revs up my enthusiasm for mankind's greatest invention since soap on a rope -- the outdoor shower.

Nothing beats an outdoor shower for rinsing off the residue of a hot day at work or play. Soaping down under twinkling starlight is a refreshing treat.

When my dad, uncle and I built my little cabin years ago, an outdoor shower was the first thing we built. Washing machine hoses deliver hot and cold water from inside the abode to the outdoor shower. The hoses hook up to the shower's plumbing inside a wooden enclosure.

Becoming one with your shampoo outdoors isn't just a summertime joy. Hot water means the shower can be used year-round as long as the temperature isn't much below freezing. When it is, the rubber washing machine hoses make it easy to drain the shower. The hoses are quick to hook back up when warmth returns.

Cold months are some of the best times for an outdoor shower. Crank up the hot water and soon the shower is putting out more steam than Old Faithful. It's comfy inside the wood enclosure.

During summer when company comes, you can run a platoon of kids through the outdoor shower and not hear a word of whining. When you're 8, taking a shower outside is way cool. For the adults, there's no mess to clean up. With an outdoor shower, the indoor bathroom and shower stays much cleaner.

Once August rolls around, a dip in Beaver Lake can feel like a warm bath. A cool outdoor shower truly refreshes.

I've been an outdoor-shower enthusiast since my misspent youth when my buddy, Hog Ears, and I worked at Table Rock State Park near Branson. Hog Ears lived in a bare-bones cabin the park provided for two or three college interns who worked there each summer. An outdoor shower was all they had.

I loved using it when I'd visit their cabin. Taking a shower outside was the greatest thing. I decided that when I built my own home, it might not have a garage but it would have an outdoor shower. It does to this very day, and I still don't have a garage.

All a person needs to build one are some basic plumbing parts, a couple of washing-machine hoses, lumber and some nails. A couple bags of concrete mix are good if you want a concrete floor to stand on.

It also helps to have a bit of wooded real estate between you and the nearest neighbor.

Outdoors on 07/31/2014

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