Washing

Regularly washing and then rinsing both body and clothing is an essential part of good hygiene and health.

The soap can be applied directly, or with the aid of a washcloth or assisted with sponges or similar cleaning tools.

[7] The bidet is common in predominantly Catholic countries where water is considered essential for anal cleansing.

People bathe in water at temperatures ranging from very cold to very hot, or in appropriately heated air, according to custom or purpose.

Where indoor heated water is available, people bathe more or less daily, at comfortable temperatures, in a private bathtub or shower.

[13][14] Hand hygiene is central to preventing the spread of infectious diseases in home and everyday life settings.

[16][17] These include the five critical times during the day where washing hands with soap is important to reduce fecal-oral transmission of disease: after using the toilet (for urination, defecation, menstrual hygiene), after cleaning a child's bottom (changing diapers), before feeding a child, before eating and before/after preparing food or handling raw meat, fish, or poultry.

Laundry work has traditionally been highly gendered, with the responsibility in most cultures falling to women (formerly known as laundresses or washerwomen).

The Industrial Revolution gradually led to mechanized solutions to laundry work, notably the washing machine and later the tumble dryer.