What Happens When You Stop Washing? The Filthiest Tales Of Humans Refusing To Bathe

Dirty outliers

At 94 years of age, Amou Haji was known as the “world’s dirtiest man”. In pictures, his body was caked in dirt, and he was often seen smoking multiple cigarettes at once. For over half a century, this Iranian hermit refused to go near clean water or bubbly soap as he thought it would make him sick.

This non-washing habit first occurred after emotional setbacks in his youth that caused him to have an isolated life. Even the thought of clean water and food reportedly made him uneasy, with his favorite food being rotten meat (that of porcupines being a specialty) with a side of animal feces to burn in his smoking pipe.   

Eventually, after many years of resistance, he finally caved to peer pressure and washed. Unfortunately, a few months later, in October 2022, he became ill and died. Despite people speculating that the bath was the root of his demise, there is no current evidence to suggest this, and we cannot rule out the cause of death was simply old age – he was 94, after all. 

Amou Haji was not the only well-known non-washer. In 2009, it was reported that Kailash Singh (a farm worker in Varanasi, India) had not bathed or brushed his teeth in over 35 years. The father to seven daughters claimed he didn’t wash due to love for his country, however, neighbors claim it was because a seer said if he did not wash he would be blessed with a son. Therefore, he used a “fire bath” to keep himself clean, believing that lighting a bonfire helps kill germs and infections in the body.

This is not a modern phenomenon either. Back in the 18^th Century, there was a man called Nathaniel Bentley, a London-dwelling merchant who apparently refused to wash or clean after his fiancée tragically died on their wedding day. His dirty ways turned him into a celebrity at the time and gained him the name “Dirty Dick”. His house and warehouse were so filthy that any letters addressed to “The Dirty Warehouse, London” were delivered to him.

These are obviously extreme cases. In all instances, the individuals appear to have stopped cleaning themselves as a result of deeply personal experiences. It is also difficult to know the extent to which their peculiar habits directly impacted their health, but there is a good reason why we should not try to emulate their example.

What happens if you do not wash for a long time?

There exists a delicate balance on the skin between good bacteria and other microorganisms (too much washing/ scrubbing or too little bathing can disrupt the balance).

Dr Samantha Eisman

There are no specific recommendations for how often you should bathe, even the scientific experts may vary in opinion. That being said, the most common complaint for someone who does not scrub regularly is that they can produce an unpleasant odor. This is caused by bacteria and sweat being trapped in the crevices of the skin.

“There exists a delicate balance on the skin between good bacteria and other microorganisms (too much washing/ scrubbing or too little bathing can disrupt the balance)”, Dr Samantha Eisman from Sinclair Dermatology told IFLScience. “Without washing, many skin bacteria/organisms can overgrow, however the most concerning would be Staphylococcus aureus”.

Staphylococcus aureus is a gram-positive bacteria (a bacteria with a thick cell wall) that can cause a lot of clinical diseases, including infections that we commonly refer to as “staph infections”. In most settings, they do not cause harm, however, sometimes staph infections can become serious and even fatal.   

A lack of washing can also cause a build-up of dead skin. This layer is known as the stratum corneum, which in Latin means “horny layer”, although it has nothing to do with feeling a bit frisky. Instead, it refers to skin cells that have become toughened like animal horns.

Another issue with not washing is the possible risk of passing on diseases. Whenever flu season comes around, or when there is an increase in COVID cases, one of the first things people start talking about is hand hygiene. This is not just a protective measure designed to help individuals, it is also a vital step in stopping the transference of infections from person to person, especially within medical settings.  

What conditions can not washing aggravate?

Eisman suggested that many skin conditions can be made worse if you do not wash, some of them include:

• Acne – a common skin condition that causes oily skin, spots, and sometimes areas that are painful or hot to touch.
• Atopic dermatitis/eczema – Inflammation that damages the skin barrier, which causes dryness, itchiness, and rashes.
• Seborrheic dermatitis – Often affecting places on the body with many sebaceous glands (e.g. scalp), it can cause rashes on the body and dandruff. 
• Skin infections – These can include folliculitis (where the hair follicles become inflamed) and ulcers (sores that are difficult to heal). 
• Hidradenitis suppurativa – a chronic inflammatory skin condition. 

What can happen if you wash too much?

Then there are people on the other side of the extreme, who happen to shower multiple times a day, like Al Roker. Lo and behold, there can also be conditions that occur if you wash too much, including eczema, dry skin, and rosacea.

Eisman explained that if these conditions get bad, it is recommended that people use soap-free and fragrance-free washes, short showers over lengthy showers or hot baths, warm water instead of scorching hot, avoid vigorous scrubbing or exfoliants, pat dry with a towel, and moisturize the face and body after washing.

So, despite seeing examples of the extremes of people washing multiple times a day to years without so much as a sliver of soap, the actual bathing recommendation varies from expert to expert. Some professionals think you should shower everyday, and some think two or three times a week is the sweet spot. Probably, the best thing to do is listen to your body and tweak the frequency of taking a dunk in the tub until you find what’s best for you.  

The content of this article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions. 

All “explainer” articles are confirmed by fact checkers to be correct at time of publishing. Text, images, and links may be edited, removed, or added to at a later date to keep information current.