Alaska Cabin Life OFF-GRID SHOWER FOR FULL-TIME INDOOR USE

Today we show you 2 simple and inexpensive shower/bathing options for offgrid and water conserving lifestyles. No running water or electricity needed.
Here's some links for the equipment we used today:
10-gal hot water stock pot: amzn.to/3uBMcQL
Camp Shower: amzn.to/3vN4X4M

[@Mindy56743]

The first one is what I grew up calling a sponge bath. My grandma used to say “ was down as far as possible, wash up as far as possible, then you wash possible” lol

[@FlatTireFarmHomesteadingAlaska]

Hey Miss Mindy, cute memory. Thanks for sharing. Happy Sunday friend. 😊

[@Mindy56743]

@@FlatTireFarmHomesteadingAlaska my grandma was a very old fashion lady and I always felt it was funny what possible was

[@LifeinAlaska]

A shower makes a ton of difference! Thank you for sharing

[@FlatTireFarmHomesteadingAlaska]

I’m glad you enjoyed it, friends. Stay warm out there. 😊

[@MattAK]

We call the second method a "motorhome shower" because the old motorhome we had for most of my childhood only had a five gallon water heater for 6-9 people. You learn to shower quick or mom will get after you for her cold shower!

[@FlatTireFarmHomesteadingAlaska]

That’s awesome! Thanks for the laugh, Matt. Stay warm out there friend. 😊

[@stephaniehill655]

I love the hand puppet at the end.. LOL 😄 great information on the shower as well thank you so much for sharing God bless

[@FlatTireFarmHomesteadingAlaska]

I’m glad you enjoyed the hand puppet. It just kinda happened so I went with it. Ha!

[@lindad2008]

I’ve taken many a sponge baths in my 68 years but thankfully we are fully on grid. Kudos to you both for following your dreams! Excited to see the progression on your beautiful homestead and all your tips and tricks along the way!❤

[@FlatTireFarmHomesteadingAlaska]

Thanks Miss Linda. Stay warm out there friend. 😊

[@earthmuffin28]

I ordered this shower! We don't live off-grid, as much as I would like to, but we do use some solar Etc and we have a hunting cabin that I believe this shower is going to work for us! Since now it will have a shower, it might even become a quiet little spot for me to hideout! Thank you!

[@FlatTireFarmHomesteadingAlaska]

Oh yay!! We love this shower. I actually think I’m going to water our seedlings this year with the extra one. Ha!

[@earthmuffin28]

😅❤

[@Me-td8eo]

Hello, Chrystal. I have all the "fancy" amenities at my house. I used to take sponge baths at my 1st "on my own" house because of no running water. Then came the "shower from a bag" unit. I'd be more than happy to do all that again in a tiny home in Alaska. Stay safe and warm my friend. Julie

[@FlatTireFarmHomesteadingAlaska]

Hey Miss Julie! You did have all the fancy showers! We practiced with that shower bag at the old house too, but if you hung the bag on the shower neck we had to crouch at the bottling of the tub. Ha! No fun. I’m pretty sure we still have one hanging at the front of the property on a tree. It’s how we make extra hot water at the beginning of our journey. People on in all finds of “tiny homes” in alaska. Lots on 12x16 dry cabins with a wood stove and a bed and that’s about it. Ha!

[@carole6779]

Very cool. I love this approach, so water efficient. I purchased a rechargeable USB camping shower pump 7 or 8 years ago (bright orange) when I was somewhat off-grid for months due to a dispute over a broken well pump. The outdoor propane units were too expensive and fiddly, plus that whole carbon monoxide thing is off-putting, lol. Anyway, the USB charged the battery for several short showers before I needed to recharge. I never had to keep anything plugged in but there was NO separate on-off switch, either. That's a terrific upgrade. Once my pump was on, it was on, so I also got extra length of hose and set up an on-off splitter that allowed the water to recirculate into the bucket while I lathered up my hair, which is almost as long as yours. That was an inexpensive RV hack I found on the Internet, a little tricky to track down the parts at that time but worth it once I had it set up, because there was no convenient way to turn off the pump itself during a shower. Just looked up my unit on Amazon (Ivation, I think) and there are WAAAYYYY more choices now, which is awesome. I have to admit, now that I have moved and have a "real" shower again, I don't use the pump any more. However, I love having it as a back-up. Once a week showers with sponge baths the rest of the time works for me most days. Thanks so much for sharing this! 😄💖

[@FlatTireFarmHomesteadingAlaska]

Hey Miss Carole! The on off switch is definitely a necessity. That’s another reason we don’t use the longer car adapter cord. Only the battery pack has the switch. It would be a frantic, soap-in -the-eyes mess without that. Ha! Stay warm out there friend, thanks for watching. 😊

[@5canwalk]

Great off-grid necessity that u have shared! Solid channel content!

[@FlatTireFarmHomesteadingAlaska]

Thanks friend! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Stay warm out there. 😊

[@Jasonrcsd]

Fascinating! Also wondered why people didn’t finish the inside. Makes sense. Got a chuckle with the SOP comment.

[@FlatTireFarmHomesteadingAlaska]

We’re glad you enjoyed it, Jason. Life is real around here. Ha!

[@Alaskan6pack]

Very thorough shower review. 😊 Best yet! ... thank you for sharing.

[@FlatTireFarmHomesteadingAlaska]

@@Alaskan6pack that little handheld shower just died. We ran it 4.5 years as our full time shower. Best $40 ever spent!

[@Alaskan6pack]

Oh nice! Do you have your amazon link on that video to it? Lily and I just watched your other video where you install the shower doors and make him dinner. You guys are too much, we were laughing so hard at you two! In your " real shower" now - do you still use your bucket method? How does it drain out ? Do you guys have a video on that?

[@FlatTireFarmHomesteadingAlaska]

@@Alaskan6pack we still use the bucket method, but this last winter, we installed a French drain that the shower and kitchen sink drain to. Here’s the link. amzn.to/3ZejDd6

[@FlatTireFarmHomesteadingAlaska]

@@Alaskan6pack here’s the drain video Alaska Off Grid Cabin Gets Some Plumbing kzbin.info/www/bejne/i3PKqGRqftqBfsk

[@Alaskan6pack]

Yeah! You guys make learning so much fun, thank you!!! 😊

[@sandijammes7761]

Oh. My. Wow... I can honestly say that all the questions I've thrown at myself when considering the possibilities of being off grid (at 113 yrs old) have come back to me as "meh...I could probably do that". I have OBVIOUSLY NOT questioned myself about showering!! It has become glaringly apparent to me, through this video, that even with all the fancy equipment you guys have, I probably would NOT be invited to many gatherings. At least in the winter. I could learn to enjoy an outside shower in warmer months. But oye! The work involved for a regular shower inside in the winter! I can honestly say I'm impressed by your shower set up, but I can also tell you that I'm WAAAY to spoiled to do that every time I need to shower!! You didn't mention where you go & how you get rid of the water in the tub you stand in. I'm gonna assume the shower is on the main floor of your house for ease of getting rid of it. My 1st thought was that you ALSO have that water for "flushing", but I'm betting there's a composting toilet in your life that doesn't "flush". (Which at 113, WOULD be something I'm NOT too spoiled for!) So what do you use the used water for?? Inquiring minds need to know, now that we've all showered together!🤣❤️

[@FlatTireFarmHomesteadingAlaska]

Good morning Miss Sandi! The grey water from showering is not reused for anything other than maybe feeding the clover bed down the hill. It just goes outside an a sand bed. 😊

[@earthmuffin28]

113 years old? I just want to say I think you're awesome...

[@sandijammes7761]

@donnacalhoun3314 You are sweet, but I have to confess that my 113 years, have been calculated in what I refer to as "trucking" years. 🤭 They affect a person a little differently than a "regular" year. 🙃 (Especially when you're particularly clumsy and uncoordinated, like me!!) 😉🤣 Thanks for the comment tho! Like I said, you're sweet & you made my day! Take care & God bless you & yours.🙏🙏🙏 Hope to see you around the Flat Tire Farm again. It's one of my favorites! ❤️

[@tonyaufken01]

Excellent information and how to video!

[@FlatTireFarmHomesteadingAlaska]

Thanks friend. Still loving this shower. 😊

[@survivinglife__unplugged]

I couldn't wait to watch this one! I loved this video. We're slowly collecting the things we need for the build. My brother is blessing us a shower surround and base from a tear down he did that we'll be using. We're getting a propane portable hot water heater to use. I do think we'll combine the "sponge" bath method along with that too conserve more water. Just using the sprayer to wet and rinse off. Our little boy is only 6 so I can totally see bringing in the tote sometimes so he can have an actual bath to soak in 😊 I think I see a utility sink in the background for the kitchen, we scooped up one of those too 😀 I've questioned myself so many times on this because I'm the one planning all this out while hubby works everyday to provide our funding. Seeing you guys already doing it is so reassuring. I don't seem too far off on everything I've thought of so far. The shower curtain sticking to you is seriously one of the worst things 😆 even with a traditional shower in our old home we had that issue. I found the thicker and heavier the shower curtain, the less it would cling to me. Thank ya'll so much for this video, stay safe and blessed 🥰❤

[@FlatTireFarmHomesteadingAlaska]

I’m so glad you loved it! When we were considering a camp-lux type system with the propane, there’s a few things that we looked at: 1. The flow rate. We tried to get as close to 3gpm as possible. Some of those are only 1gpm. 2. Does it have a pump or does it require a pressurized supply line to work (like in a house or camper). We weren’t ready to set up a 12v pump system for our house at the time. So this type wasn’t an option. 3. What’s the temperature change capacity? The ones we looked at only could change the temperature of the water 50°. That means if you want a 110° shower, you’ll have to start with at least 60° water. The water comes out of the ground at about 40° around here. So that’s wasn’t any option for us either. 4. The power needed. We wanted a system that needed little/no power to run. 5. Could we use it summer and winter? A system that needed to be outside would not work here. The water would instantly freeze outside in the winter. 6. We considered modifying a propane heated system to be inside and vent outside, but the way those units are vented doesn’t allow for a vent extension to be connected to it. And we didn’t want to put a permanent whole in our wall just yet. 7. Also, the clearance necessary to keep things fire safe was more room than we had. Some of them need 3 feet of clearance on all sides. We didn’t have that space. Hope those tips are helpful. 😊 I’m happy to help hash out whatever you need. Don’t be afraid to ask. If you want to talk about how the sink runs e-mail me. Someday I’ll do a video but it’s not at the top of the list. 😊

[@survivinglife__unplugged]

@@FlatTireFarmHomesteadingAlaska we're going with an ecco-flow L10. It has a g.p.m. flow of 3.0. We'll be running it with a 12 volt pump. I totally see why it's not a good option for Alaska. Water and plumbing in general is so much more difficult than down here in the south. We will be insulating the lines in but the freeze threat is much lower of course. That specific unit can be modified for indoor use but we've not decided where we want it yet. We've looked at all kinds of options from super simple to the more complicated like a wood fire heated hot water coil system. It's stressful trying to pick the right one, especially on a tight budget. You're doing an amazing job of finding the best ways to work with your environment.

[@FlatTireFarmHomesteadingAlaska]

@@survivinglife__unplugged You did your homework on this one. Nice job lady! I’m impressed. Keep making it happen. 😊

[@ljtminihomestead5839]

That's pretty neat!! We have a camper in VT. We use solar shower bags in our built outside shower stall. In bad weather it's a sponge bath inside. I often wondered if battery showers would be worth it. Not only that but for power outages here at house in CT. It's not high on my priority list, but definitely now on the wish list!! I almost spit my coffee out when you said the shower curtains touching you!! I have a tiny shower stall in our bedroom bath and the shower liner likes to attack me too!! 😂

[@FlatTireFarmHomesteadingAlaska]

Now …when the coffee comes out your nose, that’s when you know it’s funny, ha! I remember when bathtubs all used to be cast enamel, then you could get the curtains that had little magnets on the bottom hem. Those were magic! Now most of them are fiberglass …boo! Thanks for watching Miss Nora, Happy Sunday!

[@ljtminihomestead5839]

@@FlatTireFarmHomesteadingAlaska You both are too funny! Yep, my first apt had a claw foot bathtub, best tub ever!!

[@stephencameron1709]

Great video! You guys are amazing. ❤🙏

[@FlatTireFarmHomesteadingAlaska]

You are too kind my friend. 😊 I’m glad you enjoyed it. Stay warm out there. -13°F here today, but beautiful out!

[@lilyisawesome9967]

Hey It's Lily!! Love the video aunty Chrystal and uncle reeve!

[@FlatTireFarmHomesteadingAlaska]

My Lilybug! I love you too my sweet girl. 😘😘

[@AlaskaMyHeart]

🤣. Pretty cool shower. However yeah. I’m not plugging nothing into electrical and mixing water!!!! Pretty sure I remember don’t stick a fork in a socket!!! 💥 ⚡️ 💀

[@FlatTireFarmHomesteadingAlaska]

Its got a battery pack. It would be like dropping your phone in the tub while you’re surfing the web. Ha!

[@RobinJones-ow9oz]

I could do that but not with long hair. Its it really hard having long hair.

[@FlatTireFarmHomesteadingAlaska]

It definitely took some getting used to that’s for sure. 💕💕

[@maryjahnke]

I'm loving the way you guys do things. You keep me laughing 😃 😀 😄. Love the hand pupit at the end. Keep bringing the video's. 🦩🦩🦩🦩🦩🦩🦩🦩 it's 72* right now

[@FlatTireFarmHomesteadingAlaska]

72°! That’s a smoldering hot summer day here, ha! -13° at the moment. I tried to clean a window…poor life choice. Ha! Glad you enjoyed it. 😊