Temperature of the Bath
The temperature of the bath for cleanliness should be about 96º F. A cold shower bath or douche to follow the warm bath should be about 77º F. A cool bath should be about 77º F., but the timperature at the start may be lowered for those who are accustomed to it.
The water for a person in ordinary health shold be drawn about as hot as is agreeable; but care should be taken not to remain too long in a hot bath. This applies especially to persons who are thin-blooded, nervous, or neuralgic. After the body has been thoroughly cleansed, it is a good idea to granually introduce cold water into the tub until a perceptible chill is felt.
If there is running water in the bathroom, a shower bath may be had by obtaining the detachable rubber tubes and fixtures used for this purpose, which come very cheap. The shower bath is the best means of cooling the body after a hot bath. When this is done, or after a cold bath , a reaction should be brought about by a vigorous rubbing with a Turkish towel until the body is in a warm glow. This practice would almost certainly prevent all colds and many fevers, with their fatal consequences.
from HOUSEHOLD DISCOVERIES AND MRS. CURTIS’S COOK BOOK copyright, 1908
