Woman sparks debate over reusing bathwater and the rules she sticks to – but others brand her idea totally gross

A mum has sparked a heated debate after revealing she reuses bathwater if her kids don’t have weed in it.

The debate took place on social media platform Mumsnet after one person claimed to know a parent whose family “reuses the same bath water every night”.

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According to the post, the tots would have a bath first before the mother-of-two heated it up for them.

The last one to bathe would be the father as he is “the dirtiest”.

Although the family of four did this to save money, the woman was quick to brand the practice “the most disgusting thing ever” and asked other parents on the platform if they would reuse their bathwater too.

Reaction online was mixed – and some people were shocked that the author found bathwater reuse so odd.

One mum, who posted under the username @Iminaglasscaseofemotion, said she and her family always bathe together.

“I follow the children or they follow me.

“Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with it, but I’m sure most people or moms will say it’s gross,” she added.

A few others also jumped in to say that this has been very common in the past.

Mumsnet fan @DramaAlpaca wrote that she didn’t find it gross back when she was growing up in the ’70s.

Meanwhile, bathwater reuse proved too much for other parents, who opined “it sounds a bit grim.”

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Another member of the platform, @nestisflown, said she would rather not bathe “than in the same water as my kids and husband”.

Bathing at the same time wouldn’t be a problem in her eyes – but bathing afterwards and reheating the water “only makes it seem that much worse”.

According to BabyGaga’s gurus, sharing bath water is completely safe and “there are no restrictions on babies sharing bath time with their older brothers and sisters, in fact this is a great and fun time for the siblings to bond.”

It turns out bathwater isn’t the only thing people are reusing to cut costs — many share sanitary napkins, too.

I haven’t bought anything in over a year,” one commented.

Another person listed their most reused items at home, including straws, sandwich papers, menstrual cups, washable diapers and washcloths.

Mumsnet fanatic @ThighsRelief advised saving food wrappers, like those in cereal boxes, for later reuse as sandwich bags.

Chloe, another forum member, revealed that she reuses her tampons and thinks cloth tampons are “total lifesavers.”

She said: “When I found out about reusable cloth tampons I was intrigued, although to be honest I thought they sounded a bit gross.

“You can use them until they fall apart, so at least a year or more. They fold up like a rolled up sock.

“After that, you just put them in a bag and throw them in the washing machine – I know that sounds shoddy, but it’s not. It’s cheaper and they stay nice – you wash them cold so they don’t stain.”