What is a submarine shower?
Andrew Campbell
Updated on February 23, 2026
The showers on a submarine are set up much like the ones in your home, well kind of. They have hot and cold water access with a recirculation pump so that the water stays hot so that you can use it quickly and efficiently by minimising water usage. Reducing water usage is a constant major driver for submariners.
Do submariners bath?
Surrounded by water, the most precious commodity inside the submarine is water. “ None of us take a bath till we reach a port for replenishing,” explains a junior officer of the Indian Navy. Since water is precious, it is used only for drinking and cooking.Do nuclear subs have showers?
Submarines have to distill water they need for drinking, cooking, and bathing from seawater and have a limited supply, so the crew takes "submarine showers" - turn the water on and wet down, turn the water off and soap up. Turn the water on and rinse off.What do they do with poop on a submarine?
So, what we do is all the poop and all the excrement and all that stuff goes into the sanitary tanks. There's three sanitary tanks onboard a submarine. So what you have to do to discharge it is you have to pressurize a sanitary pump that blows the sanitary waste outside of the boat.Do submariners smell?
Some submarines smell like Cinnabon.The cooks on board the submarines are specifically trained, and they're really, really good. There's nothing better in the world than the smell of hot sticky buns going through the submarine at midnight. For more about the U.S.S.
Sub Life: 1 - The Head | Observation Post
How long are submarine showers?
With that being said, your next question may instantly be “How long should I stay in the shower for?” The easy answer is, as long as you want but traditionally should be between 3-5 minutes.Is food on a submarine good?
When a submarine leaves on patrol, food fills every available corner. Eating takes place in the crew's mess. Despite the tight galley space, good meals are the rule, with the same menu for officers and enlisted men. Extra funding for food makes submarines the best "feeders" in the Navy.Do submariners get claustrophobic?
Navy researchers emphasize that the submarine working environment is unique, with stresses beyond mere claustrophobia. In addition to facing potential danger from enemy attack and excessive underwater pressure, submariners have no personal space and no sunlight. They are subjected to disrupted sleep-wake cycles.Are submarines hot inside?
Even though the entire submarine has air cooling facility, only two decks are air-conditioned. The temperature in the rest of the submarine is around 30-35 degrees and the crew works in sweltering heat. The quality of the air is monitored constantly for impurities.Is there a gym inside a submarine?
Each Vanguard-class submarine has a doctor onboard and 24/7 gym facilities. “They are a great source of morale,” says Lieutenant Oli Hounslow as he describes the two 60-word messages submariners out on patrol can receive from home each week.Can you drink on a submarine?
“The use or introduction for drinking purposes of alcoholic liquors on board any naval vessel, or within any navy yard or station, is strictly prohibited, and commanding officers will be held directly responsible for the enforcement of this order,” reads the hundred year-old order.Do you shower together in the Navy?
There's no way out of communal showers. They're required. Everyone in your barracks will enter the shower room assigned to your barracks when commanded. The shower area is one large tiled room with multiple shower heads along the walls.What is the navy shower technique?
A Navy shower is "the term used for a water-saving technique that was started in the Navy to help save precious freshwater aboard ships. The basic idea is to hop in the shower, get wet all over, turn off the water while soaping up, and then rinse clean.How many toilets does a submarine have?
Other concerns range from bathrooms and bunks to potential pregnancies. Aboard fast-attack submarines, two bathrooms - each with four toilets and two urinals - serve 100 crew members. Crew chiefs and officers use another three baths.Do submarines have cooks?
There are four mess specialists, or cooks, on a sub's crew, and typically only one is in the kitchen at any given time. The cook on duty often must prepare the entire meal, mainly because there is very little room for anyone else in the kitchen.How do they make oxygen on a submarine?
Oxygen in submarines is produced by putting sea water through a process of electrolysis. Submarines typically have a couple of big oxygen tanks as well, used to quickly raise oxygen concentration if the system fails.How long do the Navy stay on a submarine?
Deployments on a submarine can vary in length, depending on the type of submarine. Overall assignments last three years. On a ballistic missile sub, two full crews rotate shifts to allow the vessel to remain at sea as often as possible. Each crew may serve for about 60 to 80 days before resurfacing and rotating out.Do you have to be quiet on a submarine?
Silent running is a stealth mode of operation for naval submarines. The aim is to evade discovery by passive sonar by eliminating superfluous noise: nonessential systems are shut down, the crew is urged to rest and refrain from making any unnecessary sound, and speed is greatly reduced to minimize propeller noise.What's life like on a submarine?
Life Is Divided Into Three Six-Hour SegmentsForget living a normal life while on a submarine, you live and die on a strict schedule. The hardest thing might be adjusting to the three, six-hour segment routine you have to endure. Crew members get six hours for sleeping, six hours on watch, and six hours for free time.