I ended up scrubbing them out more than I actually used the hot water.
Been there. The slime is usually biofilm from stagnant water and heat—black hoses are notorious for it. Copper would definitely cut down on that, but it’s pricey and a pain to bend unless you’ve got the right tools. I tried PVC painted black once, thinking it’d be easier to clean, but it warped in the sun after a few weeks. Honestly, unless you’re using it daily and flushing it out, plastic setups just seem to get gross fast. Maybe a clear flush-out every couple days helps, but I haven’t found a perfect hack yet.
I’ve been wrestling with the same thing since moving in—thought I was clever using a long black garden hose for a “solar shower,” but after a week it was like cleaning out a science experiment. I get what you mean about copper being a pain, though. I looked into PEX tubing too, but I’m not sure how well it holds up in direct sun over time.
Has anyone tried those solar camp shower bags? They seem easier to clean, but I wonder if they’re just as bad for slime if you leave water sitting in them. Or maybe it’s just inevitable unless you’re draining and refilling constantly. I keep thinking there’s gotta be a way to rig up something low-maintenance that doesn’t turn into a petri dish... Maybe some kind of filter or UV light in the loop? Not sure if that’s overkill for backyard showers, though.
- Had a tenant try the solar camp shower bags last summer—worked fine for a couple weeks, but yeah, slime built up fast if they didn’t empty them daily.
- PEX is great for plumbing inside, but direct sun really does a number on it over time. Gets brittle and cloudy.
- UV filter sounds cool, but honestly, might be more hassle than it’s worth for just rinsing off after yard work.
- I’ve seen folks use black-painted metal barrels with a spigot—easier to scrub out and less plastic gunk.
Ever thought about just running a quick bleach rinse through whatever setup you use every week or so? Not perfect, but it helps keep the funk down...
- Tried the solar bags myself a couple summers ago—funny how fast they go from “hey, this is genius” to “why does it smell like pond water?” if you skip a day.
- Black-painted barrels are old-school, but honestly, scrubbing those out is a workout. I once found a frog living in mine. Gave up and switched to a 5-gallon bucket with a cheap garden sprayer—less capacity, but way less cleaning drama.
- PEX in the sun... yeah, learned that the hard way. Left a coil on the roof for two months and it turned into crunchy spaghetti. Not my finest DIY moment.
- Bleach rinse is solid, but I get lazy. Sometimes I just dump a kettle of boiling water in and hope for the best. Not exactly science, but it keeps the green fuzz at bay.
Honestly, I think half the fun is seeing how long you can go before the setup turns into a biology experiment.
I get the appeal of the 5-gallon bucket and sprayer (less scrubbing, fewer amphibian squatters), but I actually went the opposite direction. After a few too many “is this water or soup?” moments with smaller setups, I bit the bullet and rigged up a closed-loop system using a black irrigation pipe coil inside an old glass shower door frame. It’s a pain to set up, but the glass traps heat like crazy, and since it’s sealed, there’s way less algae or weird smells. I just flush it every couple weeks with vinegar water—no bleach fumes, and it seems to keep things pretty clean.
I tried the boiling water trick before, but I always worried about melting something or cracking plastic. Maybe I’m just paranoid after watching my neighbor’s rain barrel buckle from thermal shock last year... Anyway, the glass frame is overkill for most people, but if you’re into tinkering and don’t mind a little upfront work, it’s been surprisingly low maintenance for me. The only downside: moving it is a two-person job, and my back reminds me every time.