DIY: The Bare Essentials for an Outdoor Shower

When envisioning a more practical approach to an outdoor shower, it helps to start with the bare essentials. In most cases, that includes a source of water and a little privacy. When it comes to providing a source of water, an easy way to achieve this is to use a garden hose at a heightened position and then securing it with planter hooks.

For instance, you might mount a hose atop an arbor or pergola to cleverly hide it from plain sight. Taking advantage of natural plant life for privacy and concealment makes decorating much easier -- and even a bit more elegant. Simple outdoor shower ideas like this work best in warm weather.

DIY Outdoor Showerhead

A little creativity can go a long way. For instance, grab a bucket and puncture the bottom with holes. Then have your hose empty into your bucket to serve as a showerhead. With a little tinkering, the water pressure can be raised or lowered to your liking. Using common shelf brackets, mounting a bucket or another fixture against a fence or wall can be accomplished in only a few minutes.

Freestanding Outdoor Shower Enclosures

Outdoor showers are usually permanent or semi-permanent installations, but for someone working with finite space, deciding to use a portable enclosure is often a good idea. Being able to move or store the enclosure can be a big plus for someone who’s only using an outdoor shower during warmer months.

The type of freestanding enclosure you choose is up to you. You may want a more natural look with the woodsy aesthetic of bamboo, the industrial feel of galvanized metal, or an indoor vibe of opaque tempered glass.

Shower Enclosure Flooring Ideas

Homeowners looking for quick and simple outdoor shower ideas need to look no further than sanded wooden pallets for a makeshift showering platform. Pallets are a great outdoor shower base idea because they’re designed to hold a fair amount of weight, and the positioning of the boards allows water to freely drain away, shifting to the ground below. However, you will need to replace your wooden pallets every few years due to accumulation of mildew, mold, or rot that can come from the wood being saturated with water.

Using the same principles but in a more sophisticated way, you might instead use composite decking to create a weather-resistant showering platform. An added benefit to using composite decking as a platform is that it’s resistant to mold and mildew, fade-resistant, and won’t splinter like natural wood. With the right design and placement, drainage can take care of itself. Just remember to make sure you’re using biodegradable soaps that won’t harm nearby plants!

An outdoor shower can be a practical way to keep from tracking dirt indoors or into the pool. However, just because it’s a practical addition doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice aesthetics. There are a variety of ways to cleverly integrate an outdoor shower into your backyard design, giving you a measure of privacy along with a functional area for use during warmer months.