Second, there is no hot water plumbing in the hotel rooms. The shower head has its own heater which heats the water as it passes through it. You regulate how hot you like the water by simply increasing or reducing the flow using the single water knob on the wall. Simple in design, terrible in execution.
The worst part about it is you have high voltage and water occupying the same space. And you are standing in water with a high voltage source and more water right above your head. This is a deadly mix and I wonder how many people have gotten killed while taking a shower. I have learned what not to touch while the shower is running. Touch the knob to regulate the water and it’s OK. Touch the flange around the knob and you will get a little poke.
Third, because of the mineral content of the water, the little holes on the shower head are mostly plugged up. As a result, there are a few jets of water that shoot off in random directions, very few of them towards the person standing under the shower head. You almost have to run around to get wet. And with water on a slippery tile floor, slipping is a real danger.
After a couple of days of only one or two little jets of water actually hitting me when taking a shower, I cast about for something to improve the situation. Sharp objects are frowned upon when boarding airplanes so I had nothing small enough. I finally remembered I had taken the little SIM card ejector tool for when I swapped SIM cards in my cell phone. The little pokey end was just the right size to ream out a couple rows of holes in the shower head (I made sure the wall switch was off before touching it). Now most of the water falls straight down instead of at crazy angles and it actually increased the flow. I can actually get wet without running around.
You wouldn’t think that, coming to Africa, the most dangerous place to be is in the shower. The risks are many: electrocution, broken bones, lacerations, concussion... Oh, yeah, and if you actually drink any of this water that comes out of the tap: food poisoning.
Looking at how this hotel was built, I had surmised it was built somewhere in the 1950’s or 1960’s. I was surprised to learn that this building was put up in 2016.
Some of our building codes in the US border on the ridiculous, but I would think that things that would allow electrocution in the shower would be universally frowned on by those that write the building codes. Yet these are used all over the place. And the wiring seems universally janky. Connections and wiring all held in place by black tape. If they are held in place at all.
And this is a higher-end hotel.
But I have to keep things in perspective. While I may be used to buildings with hot and cold indoor plumbing and complain about a hotel that has only cold indoor plumbing, out in the bush where we have been working, the standard is no plumbing. Just having clean water is a luxury. Many people around here create earthen dams on their land to catch the rainwater runoff. The murky water contained behind these dams is used for their daily water needs and is shared with any animals that happen to be in the area.
When we were testing the water flow yesterday, a young Maasai woman came over to where the water was flowing out of the end of the pipe and used it to wash her sandals and her feet. I’m sure that was the closest she has ever gotten to what we would consider a shower.
So having to clean out a shower head with a SIM card tool is more of a first-world problem.
At least the Maasai don’t have to worry about electrocution.
I've seen the same shower heads used all over in third world countries in Central America, Ecuador and caribbean. Very effective cheap way to get hot water, but a big improvement would be to have an inline GFC -- a First world luxury. Bless you for providing "a cup of CLEAR water" to those who have never had this necessity.
ReplyDelete