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I'm a bit lazy about bathing, so sometimes I'll go a week without cleaning myself. I counteract BO by avoiding manual labor, so that I don't break a sweat; I also use deodorant and cologne. However, these prescriptions do not mask the smell of an unclean hiney.

How best to keep that area clean without bathing?

I will not accept Wet Wipes as an answer. I find that Wet Wipes often give me a rash.

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    I think this depends entirely on the friends you keep and what type work environment you have. If around people in a close way, show them respect by being neat and clean. When people do not take care of themselves, it isn't the fact they are dirty so much, but the failure to respect others. If I see a homeless person begging I'm not going to think much of it. But if I detect odor on people I work with, I take offense, especially if it's the same every day.
    – subjectivist
    Commented Feb 12, 2015 at 2:31
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    Prior to Eleanor Roosevelt in the USA people did not take regular baths - ever. So we have the entirety of human history before that. But I prefer science, medicine, technology, and cleanliness that accompany the modern age.
    – subjectivist
    Commented Feb 16, 2015 at 0:18
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    This guy has to be trolling..
    – seeker
    Commented Oct 5, 2015 at 4:04
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    Get a Japanese butt-washer toilet seat. Plain water, and makes paper seem barbaric. Great for those with mobility issues too.
    – JDługosz
    Commented Oct 13, 2015 at 5:21

7 Answers 7

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this question made me laugh because it hit so close to home. During college I sometimes went over a month without showering ~:) here are my tips

  • wear clean clothes! often times I find that it is actually my clothes that smell not me

  • when you get home for the day, get naked. the exposure to the air will dry off the sweat and stop it from "brewing"

  • dust the stinky parts with baking soda, a great de-odorizer that shouldn't cause a reaction

  • watch what you eat, eating a lot of processed foods and sugars can cause your sweat to be extra pungent

  • wear gym shorts/lounge shorts under your pants, the extra layers stop the smell from leaking out

  • sink bath, i know you said no bathing but just a quick splash of water and a stiff rub with a towel can help in a pinch

  • witch hazel wipes for your booty, unlike wet wipes they should not cause a rash and help to stop any itching you may be experiencing

  • learn to wipe your butt after going number two, seriously if your butt smells like feces its because you are leaving feces there after you "wipe", wipe that stinky brown away!

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    You have some good tips. Do you have sources to back up the claim that processed foods cause sweat to be super stinky?
    – whitewings
    Commented Feb 11, 2015 at 16:56
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    I think it is a well known fact, and most of us had a similar experience after eating something fried, something very fat
    – vladiz
    Commented Feb 11, 2015 at 17:18
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    my own experience (i used to eat very poorly and after changing my diet to much more veggies I actually was able to just stop using deodorant at all because my BO was no longer extant) and also the fact that chlorophyll which is found in fruits and veggies is a natural deodorizer, if you eat a lot of foods which don't have chlorophyll, i.e. processed foods, then the odors will build up and come out when you sweat.
    – celeriko
    Commented Feb 11, 2015 at 17:20
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    @celeriko watch the pseudoscience--"chlorophyll... is a natural deodorizer". For this to be relevant, it needs to: 1) migrate (in sufficient amounts to have an effect) to the appropriate body regions after being eaten in normal food quantities, and 2) persist for long enough that the effect is useful. Also, odors come from the skin. Have you noticed that "fresh" sweat, immediately after a shower, never smells?
    – piojo
    Commented Mar 7, 2015 at 14:28
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    I'm lazy as well, but according to this answer, you need much more effort to avoid smelling than if you just took that shower...
    – Tomáš Zato
    Commented Mar 9, 2016 at 14:18
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Just take a shower. Please.

Even if you are lazy about bathing, if you are experiencing the problems that you described in your question, it will take less time and effort to alleviate your olfactory issues by bathing relative to any other conceivable workaround.

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    Temporary homelessness makes your solution null and void. Of course public baths are an option, but they're hard to find these days.
    – whitewings
    Commented Jun 17, 2015 at 2:04
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    @user8547 > Well if you can manage to find a way to access the internet, you might find a way to clean yourself up; Also your question mentionned lazyness, not homelessness.
    – Laurent S.
    Commented Jun 18, 2015 at 12:59
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    You can get free internet in just about any urban area. Unless there's a public bath or it rains hard you'll have to pay to get a shower. I docked the answerer a point, as he didn't answer my question.
    – whitewings
    Commented Jun 18, 2015 at 21:05
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    Most of the suggestions in the accepted answer (aside from "learn how to wipe your butt" and sink bath) also seem like they wouldn't work very well with someone who doesn't have a home or money, Just saying.
    – Yaakov Ellis
    Commented Jun 20, 2015 at 19:45
  • I find most gyms offer shows to their members, even if you only get a short "day pass" or single month of membership - during the summer, most pools will also do the same
    – user2813274
    Commented Jul 23, 2015 at 19:03
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Good personal hygiene is important to keep healthy! But you can put off shampooing your hair for a long time without it getting greasy by using dry shampoo.

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  • But you still have to shower with this, don't you?
    – nelomad
    Commented Aug 16, 2016 at 21:53
  • @Adamawesome4 eventually yes, but for the dry shampoo itself, it's a dry powder you spray into your hair that absorbs oils and dirt. No showering required in the short term.
    – SiljeLB
    Commented Jun 20, 2018 at 8:35
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Not to sound alarming, and I'm not trying to read into this too much, but you should know that it is considered a symptom of depression, or some other psychosis, when someone stops taking care of their own personal hygiene. Feeling "lazy" about washing your body, or that this task is "too much work", are signs of depression. It's not considered normal for someone to neglect their personal hygiene.

You may not feel that you are depressed, but are there other hygiene or personal care tasks that are also getting neglected? It's a slippery slope. Even asking here, about how to accommodate this behavior, shows some acknowledgement that this is not normal. Cologne and deodorant don't count.

I'm not a doctor, so don't consider this as a diagnosis. However, this is not normal behavior and I hope you get motivated to either change your behavior or look into discussing how you feel about this with someone who is qualified to give you their professional opinion.

Web search on 'depression not bathing'.

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  • He may just be too busy or it is hard to get the shower.
    – nelomad
    Commented Aug 16, 2016 at 21:54
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    It's a serious problem if someone is unable to perform basic hygiene.
    – user70848
    Commented Sep 13, 2016 at 18:16
  • I agree, but circumstances may prevent him
    – nelomad
    Commented Sep 13, 2016 at 21:35
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I will not accept Wet Wipes as an answer. I find that Wet Wipes often give me a rash.

Try to find a wet wipe that does not contain Methylchloroisothiazolinone

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While I have never gone a week without bathing, I do find what I posted on another question works to control odor, which is to use surgical scrub. A common brand of 4% chlorhexidine gluconate available at drug stores is Hibiclens. (There is the veterinary brand Novalsan but that's 2% and doesn't work for some of the other uses I have for chlorhexidine. I also use it in mouthwash.) I've not had any adverse reaction and it also seems to help skin conditions which might be exacerbated by an irregular cleansing regimen.

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  • The downside to using surgical scrub soaps and other antibacterial soaps is you kill both any pathogenic bacteria AND the benign bacteria that live on your skin and protect you from the pathogenic ones. Don't use it unless you work in operating theatres or are having an operation.
    – SiljeLB
    Commented Jun 17, 2015 at 6:15
  • I've had no problem in years of use.
    – Nebuchadnezzar
    Commented Jun 18, 2015 at 11:32
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    I'm glad to hear it. However, there is such a thing as too clean. This is a good (though a bit old) article that summarises research on the subject, both for the general public and for healthcare professionals: wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/7/2/70-0225_article
    – SiljeLB
    Commented Jun 18, 2015 at 12:35
  • The article was interesting but mostly about frequent hand washing in professionals. It is apparent that frequent washing is not the questioner's habit. While I misunderstood his problem as armpit odor (it was worse, feces) I doubt intermittant use of surgical scrub will hurt. (Personallly, I also doubt there are armpit guardian angel bacteria or you'd see Jamie Lee Curtis touting Activia Deodorant.)
    – Nebuchadnezzar
    Commented Jul 3, 2015 at 20:01
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You need to bath. If you are really stinking bad then squeeze some lemon in the bathtub and add a few drops of rose water. It will make you smell nice. Also you can add liquid dettol(antiseptic liquid) to be hygienic.

If you don't want to bath then shave the hairs on your chest and underarm areas. Hairs in these areas absorbs the sweat and smells really bad.

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