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Showers (Sep
2002)
Hot showers are as much a part of life in
the US as a refrigerator. (If I use the term "Ice
Box", how many of you will think of that wood box we
had in the kitchen into which we pt a 25 pound block of ice
every day or so? Not many. Everyone has a
reefer!) Similarly, ever house has a hot water
heater. As a landlord, I discovered that it is against
the law to rent a house without a functional hot water
heater. (They gave me 24 hours to get the busted one
repaired or replaced)
Not so in Belize. Well over 70% of
the population doesn't have a refrigerator, and better than
90% doesn't have a hot shower. (Hot water heaters are
more rare. Think about that. How do they wash
dishes? Cold water, with a dip for a rinse.)
Anyway, this is about showers.
Belizeans generally don't thunk much about a cold
shower. Where we came from, the water came out of the
ground at about 38 degrees, and so just the thought
of a cold shower made me shiver. I studied my options.
1. Become Belizean. Take
cold showers. (Unthinkable. I thought.)
2. Install an Electric Hot Shower Head.
Lots of Gringos do this. The head costs less than
$20US, and you install it on the end of the shower and wire
it to a good ground (VERRRY important!) and 110 volts.
It has a couple of settings. People tell me they get
used to it.
3. Install a Calentador de Agua.
This is what we did, and you can read about it here.
Trouble in Paradise. This
summer, I started having trouble with the Calentador.
It wouldn't stay lit. I replaced the pilot unit.
It still wouldn't stay lit. I rummaged around the
inside of the thing and found out that the combustion
chamber was all burnt up. I think that it was a
natural gas heater, and we were running it with LP gas --
Butane, actually -- and that's a lot hotter. After
about a year, I discovered that you have to turn the
"on" valve on the heater down a lot lower than
full on, or the heat of the butane will blow out the flame.
It also apparently burned out the guts of the
thing.
Anyway, I decided to replace it, and the
replacement is sitting on my front porch. In the mean
time we have had to take cold showers, and I thought I would
tell you how, in case you visit, and stay in a hotel
without hot water showers.
How to take a Cold Shower.
The water is never really
cold. It's probably 80 degrees during the day, ant 75
degrees at night. It seems cold to a Gringo like me,
tho, so here's how I do it.
1. Get wet. Turn on a
little water, wet your head and shoulders. Turn the
water off.
2. Soap up. Wet a wash cloth
or the soap and lather up a little.
3. More soap. Add a
little more water and scrub.
Meanwhile, your wet body is getting
used to being a little cooler.
4. Shampoo. Wet
your head again and shampoo.
5. Rinse. By now you
should be used to the temp of the running water and you can
rinse everything. Rinse twice! It feels
great! You'll be a Belizean yet!
If it's a hot day, you may want to stand
in front of an oscillating fan, or under a ceiling fan while
you dry off. That's the best part. Unless, of course,
you have someone in there to rub your back, and
stuff.
Update: Of course we
installed the new one. It's wonderful.
Newer: (March 2005) My newest
house has an electric shower head. Read about it here.
Newest.
US Consumer Product Safety Council has published a warning, here.
(Not the same brand.)
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