That ain't roses I'm smellin by zzetta13

They have a airrecycling system that is run by the engine and thats what keeps the air fresh, smelly on the other hand, might happen

And yes, there is a shower, check the RPG if youve got it.

You can’t stop the Signal.
Keep spreading the word about Firefly!

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Wednesday, May 3, 2006 5:21 PM

They have a airrecycling system that is run by the engine and thats what keeps the air fresh, smelly on the other hand, might happen

And yes, there is a shower, check the RPG if youve got it.

You can’t stop the Signal.
Keep spreading the word about Firefly!

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Wednesday, May 3, 2006 5:21 PM

They have a airrecycling system that is run by the engine and thats what keeps the air fresh, smelly on the other hand, might happen

And yes, there is a shower, check the RPG if youve got it.

You can’t stop the Signal.
Keep spreading the word about Firefly!

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Wednesday, May 3, 2006 5:21 PM

They have a airrecycling system that is run by the engine and thats what keeps the air fresh, smelly on the other hand, might happen

And yes, there is a shower, check the RPG if youve got it.

You can’t stop the Signal.
Keep spreading the word about Firefly!

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, May 3, 2006 5:21 PM

They have a airrecycling system that is run by the engine and thats what keeps the air fresh, smelly on the other hand, might happen

And yes, there is a shower, check the RPG if youve got it.

You can’t stop the Signal.
Keep spreading the word about Firefly!

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, May 3, 2006 5:21 PM

They have a airrecycling system that is run by the engine and thats what keeps the air fresh, smelly on the other hand, might happen

And yes, there is a shower, check the RPG if youve got it.

You can’t stop the Signal.
Keep spreading the word about Firefly!

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Wednesday, May 3, 2006 5:24 PM

RMMC

I'd guess using dry chemical bath. on a ship, water would be at a premium. Inara is the only one on board who'd actually be able to afford the luxury of bathing with water while out in the black.

****
RMMC

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Wednesday, May 3, 2006 6:11 PM

You think you know--what's to come, what you are. You haven't even begun.

Zoe does say that she "wouldn't mind a real bath" which tells me there aren't real baths (or showers) on the ship, no matter what an RPG book might say. They must have a way of bathing (sponge bathing would conserve a lot of water) because they're generally very clean with shiny hair, but showers would waste a lot of water. Remember Mal used only the minimun water needed when he washed his hands. Chemical bathing makes sense, but I bet there's sponge bathing as well, either every other day or right after a chemical bath, or the chemicals might start to eat away the tender flesh. I know my skin would go crazy if that's all it had. Nasty rashes.
As for keeping the air fresh, that's a good question. The air cycling system might have filters to clean out the smells, but it probably wouldn't smell like springtime on the ship regardless. You can get used to smells, though, if you're around them enough. I bet it mostly smells like metal, some sweat, that kind of thing. But certainly metallic and greasy and maybe dusty.

*************************************************
One summer.
One mission.
One legion of Browncoats.

Starting June 23rd, we aim to misbehave.

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Wednesday, May 3, 2006 6:18 PM

Never said there were any real baths either. Just said there is a showerroom. Also, not sure wether they actually use water there, there are alternatives to it.

You can’t stop the Signal.
Keep spreading the word about Firefly!

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Wednesday, May 3, 2006 6:18 PM

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Wednesday, May 3, 2006 6:18 PM

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Wednesday, May 3, 2006 6:18 PM

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Wednesday, May 3, 2006 6:18 PM

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Wednesday, May 3, 2006 6:18 PM

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Wednesday, May 3, 2006 6:23 PM

RMMC, that is one of the things I thought about before posting. I mean the water thing. Seems like any ship considered a transport vessel would understand that "Cleanliness is next to Godliness" as the saying goes. Even if God isn't allowed on the ship.

Water tanks the size they would have to be for everyones needs would be enormous. I would think that unless you made a rest stop on some moon every few days that H2O might get a little on the low side.

Chemical baths sounds very pliable.Water used only for cooking and medical applications. Course I never noticed but there could be a Glade plug-in in the dinning area or outside Jaynes bunk

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Wednesday, May 3, 2006 6:40 PM

ROCKETJOCK

This is one of those areas where Joss made a decision for dramatic reasons that don't hold up too well scientifically. In space vacuum distilation would make recycling waste water cheap and easy, for one thing. For another, the human metabolism actually produces water, as a by-product of resperation--in a closed system, you'd end the journey with more H2O than you started with...

Let's assume, though, that whatever recycling system Serenity uses, it's a less than totally efficient lowest-bidder-contract model, probably aging and leaky. Shower facilities would be communal, probably in the sick bay, with usage limited to avoid strain on the recyclers. For day to day, you get by with sponge baths. And when you do take a shower, it's a "Navy Shower" (Wet down, turn water off, soap up, wash soap off--two minutes of actual water flow, three max. Ghod, I hated water hours aboard ship...)

Boy, they probably look forward to planetfalls, where the ship gets hooked up to external water, and everybody can finally sluce off. Inara especially probably can't wait for a nice, long soaking hot shower, with scented soaps, and conditioning oils...

I'll be in my bunk...

"Water, water everywhere, so let's all have a drink!" -- Homer J. Simpson

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Thursday, May 4, 2006 1:03 AM

NUCLEARDAY

Sounds like the whole "chemical bath" thing makes the most sense to me with what I remember from the series. Not that there's a whole ton of info to go on there, of course :)

Obviously, it's treacherous trying to read too much into the science behind Firefly, but that seems to make sense. We get the idea that water must be pretty scarce for some reason or another on board the ship. Sure, Inara gets her sponge baths, but... well, there's a pretty compelling reason for why Inara gets to have a sponge bath on occasion

Far as the potential smell onboard goes... I bet it might get a tad 'heady' on Serenity. I'm sure the cockpit chairs have built up quite a bit of 'character' by now, for example. You can see some of crew at times tidying up and such, I'm sure you learn pretty quickly on Serenity that anything not stowed away gets broke real quick. but I don't recall any scenes of Inara bustling through with a vacuum cleaner, either :)

Anyways, my two (and a half) credits.

________________________________________________
You can take my hope when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers. (Or if Kaylee asks me nicely...)

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Thursday, May 4, 2006 1:12 AM

GEEKUSA

There is a shower/bathroom located across from the infirmary. You see Book leaving it in Objects in Space, I believe, with his arms laden with toiletries including towel. Whether they actually have a real shower/bath or if it's a chemical one is up to speculation, but it's present. Considering that Mal uses the sink in Serenity the pilot, I think it might be more like the Navy showers. Unless either the mysterious door on the bridge or the forward corridor leads to another bathroom, the passenger dorm one is probably a communal shower.

...course, that's just my general speculation.

"Knew it...probably...saw them cops...and...turned...tail..."

"Can't...sentence...properly."

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Thursday, May 4, 2006 1:18 AM

You think you know--what's to come, what you are. You haven't even begun.

But you also see Book washing up at his sink in Jaynestown, splashing some water on his face. Looked like he was getting ready to wash his hair in it. That makes sense with the chemical bath theory, though, since hair might not react well to all those chemicals...

*************************************************
One summer.
One mission.
One legion of Browncoats.

Starting June 23rd, we aim to misbehave.

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Thursday, May 4, 2006 1:50 AM

TUFTYFELLA

maybe they got 1 of http://www.lindapine.com/airfresh on the rear view mirror?

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Thursday, May 4, 2006 2:49 AM

FUTUREMRSFILLION

I asked a similar question in the unused door thread. I was hoping someone would tell us ther was a shower behind the door. There must be, Zoe said she wanted a "real bath". Not that she wanted to "feel clean"

Please God, before you make River a stone, make a shower room on Serenity.

My mother and I always agreed on one thing in John Wayne moives - he would get off the trail and run up and kiss Margaret (was it O'SUllivan or O'Hara?), Anyway EWWWWWWWW! Dude take a BATH! Brush your TEETH, the commence to get your freak on.

So Mal baby, wash first!

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Thursday, May 4, 2006 2:53 AM

DUG

Funny. I always thought that showerhead you see in Mal's bunk in Our Mrs. Reynolds was a.... showerhead. We see a shower in the captain's bunk and see Book coming back from a shower (admittedly, while they were docked). We see one sponge bath, and that from the one person living in a shuttle rather than in a vessel built for long term occupancy.

We've had this thread before. What we came up with was that a 1000 gallon tank could last them for some time. That's not at all too large for a transport of Serenity's size: only 10 ft by 10 ft by 10 ft; roughly the size of a bedroom. I think we came up with a max of about 6 weeks, assuming tight rationing and very little bathing. This was based on real world sailing ships and assuming some level of grey water usage and recycling/ distillation. Shorter trips would mean more water could be used, so less smells.

On current ships water usage is adjusted based on how long till they can re-supply and I see no reason that wouldn't be true in 500 years. That also explains the "real bath" comment in that Zoe wouldn't have to limit her water usage to conserve once they reach port.

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Thursday, May 4, 2006 4:06 AM

Very educational posts guys

The chemical bathing does sound like a real option. Since I can only go by "Earth That Was" in the 60ies the members of the Apollo Moon Landings always looked so scruffy when they returned.

In building the Joss/verse I was very taken with the details that were applied to the FF series.
For instance. The "Boys" on poker night betting with ships chores instead of money.Book tosses in "Septic vac" while Jayne annies up "Dishes"
Selling points of the show that worked so ruttin well.

"Now theres a nice pile of things I don't have to do." S Book

Z

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Thursday, May 4, 2006 8:21 AM

INDIGOSTARBLASTER

A combination of chemical baths/Navy showers/sponge baths/sonic showers (don't know if these actually exist, but they might by then) to conserve water onboard ship makes sense to me.

Also, it's possible that the "real bath" Zoe refers to is something more akin to a Roman or Japanese (up to the neck) bath. The central planets seem to have revived (or kept) a number of ancient luxuries and pastimes (ballroom dancing, swordfighting, archery). So maybe Zoe gets regular showers on Serenity, but has to wait for a planetside vacation to get a full immersion, swim-around-in-blood-temperature-water bath.

Just thinking of the crew all splashing around in a steamy Roman bath together, with massage oils scattered around the perimeter and fluffy white towels waiting for them, is making me kinda melt-y... is it getting hot in here? :)

Indigo S.

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Thursday, May 4, 2006 8:24 AM

FUTUREMRSFILLION

Where is there a shower head? I have never noticed one! I will have to go look! Which episode? Or is it in the BDM?

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Thursday, May 4, 2006 8:35 AM

FMF I think it was "Our Mrs Reynolds"
that the shower head was seen in but I'm not sure.

INDIGO, traditional bathing, hmmmm.....would that include Saffrin and Inaras specialty... "FOOT WASHING"

"I wish you hundreds of fat children." Inara

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Thursday, May 4, 2006 8:46 AM

DUG

The shower head is in Mal's bunk during Our Mrs. Reynolds. Never noticed it until after a very similar thread that started when someone asked if there is a way to wash clothes onboard. My wife thought I was nuts when I stopped the ep and rewound shouting about shower heads.

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Thursday, May 4, 2006 8:52 AM

INDIGOSTARBLASTER

Ooh, foot washing. Now that you mention it, zzetta13, foot washing would feel incredibly luxurious onboard ship, and not really take that much water.

Can't you just see Zoe soaking her feet (Wash doing his husbandly duty washing them :), eyes closed, just imagining the rest of the bath?

[Wash: Did she really make bao? (noticing Zoe's glare) Quaint!]

Indigo S.

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Thursday, May 4, 2006 8:59 AM

INDI, thats the exact image I had gotten. Zoey with that extreme moment of after-glow as seen in I think it was SHINDIG.

Only it would be Wash "Washing" de-feet, chuckle

"You could lock the door and keep the power hungry maniac at bay." Zoey

Z

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Thursday, May 4, 2006 3:42 PM

RMMC

dug: thanks for pointing out the shower head. I completely missed it.

Your explaination does sound very reasonable, but I can see water as being a premium commodity on some of those rim world planets. Several look like the US southwest--dusty, dry, scarce vegetation. I'm thinking there may be times when they can't afford to fill that tank, especially in that time between OiS and the BDM where they can scarcely afford to feed themselves. Unless they have a back-up way to clean up, Inara should have smelled Mal at the training house. Then again maybe she did...after all she did light incense.

And for the concern for chemical irritation, there is a dry shampoo that's actually been on the market that has been used in hospitals. (I had a friend that had to use it since she couldn't shower having just had an appendectomy.)

****
RMMC

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Thursday, May 4, 2006 4:26 PM

NCBROWNCOAT

My Mom used the same chemical bath (really looks like a lotion or powder depending on the manufacturer) in the hospital.

Collectors for the humidity humans give off and residual water could provide a lot of water to use.

And if I'm giving my poor education in chemistry a workout here-isn't a by product of hydrogen fuel cells H20?. If I remember way back to high school and recent talk about powering cars from hydrogen fuel cells there was mention that the only by product is water.

Otherwise it would get pretty ripe aboard Serenity.

One summer.
One plan.
One army of Browncoats.

On June 23rd, we aim to misbehave.

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Thursday, May 4, 2006 4:56 PM

You think you know--what's to come, what you are. You haven't even begun.

They do say they use fuel cells, don't they? And you are correct; hydrogen fusion makes water. Very hot water, in fact. I read an article about a man who set up his house to run on fuel cells, and the amount he saved on his water bill made up for the high cost of cells! He didn't even have to heat it! So maybe that's how they fill their tanks without having to pay a lot. Interesting, interesting...

*************************************************
One summer.
One mission.
One legion of Browncoats.

Starting June 23rd, we aim to misbehave.

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Saturday, May 6, 2006 8:06 PM

You think you know--what's to come, what you are. You haven't even begun.

I'm watching Our Mrs Reynolds right now, and I saw the "showerhead".
It's a light fixture.
There's a good shot of it right behind Book's head after Mal comes to. It has a smooth glass interior. It's a light.
There's another fixture just like it low next to the bed, which you can see both during the seduction scene and when Inara finds Mal passed out. It looks like it's lit, too, but it could be a reflection.
So, no showers in the bunks.
Hey, all that water would ruin everything, anyway.
I could still buy the showers next to the infirmary, though.

*************************************************
One summer.
One mission.
One legion of Browncoats.

Starting June 23rd, we aim to misbehave.

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Sunday, May 7, 2006 2:56 AM