MovieChat Forums > Grey Gardens (2009) Discussion > I know it's not my business and all but ...

I know it's not my business and all but how did they bathed?

posted 13 years ago by darielles
9 replies | jump to latest

I wonder from all those years living in filth, how did Big Edie and Little Edie bathed? When I saw the scenes when the inspectors came at their house, their bathtub was filled with junk and filth all over the place. I did heard some rumors about them using rainwater as their resource for water. It seems like they just didn't clean themselves for all those years which I find that hard for anybody to live without bathing or no care about their hygiene (especially when they are women ( Of course, I mean Little Edie) who have personal needs before they hit menopause).

[–] lilypad183 13 years ago

when big edie was sick just days before she died, she went to the hospital.
they wouldn't put her in a hospital room after they checked her out until they gave her a good bath. i guess she was pretty rank.

in the doc, little edie answered the front door and said she had taken a bath.
i imagine she took a sponge bath since there was little running water in the house.

i doubt they used rainwater since it would have had to be carried to the second floor and water is so heavy.

[–] darielles 13 years ago

Thanks lilypad for answering my question. My friend and I was watching this movie a couple days ago and we were wondering when did they ever bathed while living in that kind of condition and plus they had very little money to pay the bills including the water bill. I couldn't imagine myself skipping a day without taking a clean bath or shower. Do you know what bacteria and bad body odor does to your skin? It's like one of the worst things of all. My grandmother's friend had told me that back in the day, most people use rainwater to bathed in if there was no running water (usually boil the water over a stove for warmth).

[–] lilypad183 13 years ago

"(usually boil the water over a stove for warmth)."

darielles,
i doubt they had a working stove. one stove i saw in a pic was a wood stove that was falling through the floor.

[–] Verdoux-1 13 years ago

Do you know what bacteria and bad body odor does to your skin?

Yes, it protects you from viral and skin infections. When you bathe or shower daily, you get rid of the good bacteria from your skin as well. If you clean your skin daily you also have to moisturize it.

[–] brockmeeks 10 years ago

That was why people including Michelangelo refused to bathe during plagues.

[–] StaunchWoman 8 years ago

i doubt they used rainwater since it would have had to be carried to the second floor and water is so heavy.

If rainwater was used (and it seems like the most plausible explanation for the occasional sponge bath), it was likely collected on the second floor, near whatever room they used at the time.

We've met before, haven't we?

[–] Quicksilver1900 9 years ago

What crossed my mind was how they managed without dental care. Surely they would have had horrible abscesses and lost every tooth they had, and would certainly have had to have seen a dentist to deal with that.

"I am always happy to engage in POLITE discourse."

[–] TeenGangDeb 9 years ago

Not to mention tooth infections can lead to death!

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Love means never having to say you're ugly. - The Abominable Dr. Phibes

[–] 8 years ago

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