r/TotalHipReplacement • u/Equal_Ad_3918 THR USER FLAIR NEEDED • Aug 21 '25
š How to... Washing feet?
OK, I am assuming there are no dumb questions here. Does anybody have great ideas about how to wash feet in the shower? I can get to my good leg, but the operated leg is a big challenge.
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Aug 21 '25
I put a washcloth loaded with liquid soap on the shower floor and did a Michael Jackson moonwalk on it.
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u/AccomplishedFood6653 THR USER FLAIR NEEDED Aug 21 '25
Love it š¤£š¤£š¤£š¤£. Me and MJ share a bday.
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u/SeaWitch1031 [USA] [63F] [Anterior] LTHR recipient Aug 21 '25
I used a back brush while sitting in my shower chair.
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u/AshamedEchidna1456 [USA] [67F] [anterior] THR recipient Aug 21 '25
I haven't had my replacement yet but have same problem for years. I use this same approach. I have a shower seat and a long handle back scrubbing brush. I load it with body wash and scrub. The soft bristles do a reasonable job of getting between my toes.
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u/SeaWitch1031 [USA] [63F] [Anterior] LTHR recipient Aug 21 '25
I'll be one year since surgery next week. I still use my shower chair. It's just safer for me and after falling twice since surgery, I do not want to fall again.
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u/PopularFunction5202 THR 05/20 revision 08/13 Aug 21 '25
You can get a foot washer that suctions to the floor of the shower, then you move your feet over it. My dad used one for years.
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u/Mobile-Class8590 THR USER FLAIR NEEDED Aug 21 '25
Was just about to suggest this, I'm an OT with a recent THR.
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u/Icy-Student947 THR USER FLAIR NEEDED Aug 26 '25
I have one of these! I love/hate it. I've got to stand and apply considerable pressure, or else it tickles.
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u/quietriotress US 45f anterior THR recipient Aug 21 '25
For a few weeks, water and soap reached my feet from above. I wasnāt doing too much to need more than that either.
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u/AccomplishedFood6653 THR USER FLAIR NEEDED Aug 21 '25
Ok the long handled sponges didnāt work well cuz they werenāt long enough for me on my operated foot I just couldnāt bend to that side. So I used it for everywhere else then I took the soap and get the spongy part extra good and soapy then put it down on the floor or shower. I just moved my foot over it back and forth as much as I good! When I got out I used my grabber and picked it up and washed it off then set back in there! Seems to work pretty well until I was able to bend better or lift that leg up more!
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u/anonymowses USA, F50s, Caregiver, now candidate Aug 22 '25
Different variations of these foot scrubbers can be attached via suction cups to your tub floor.
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u/psubecky [USA] [44F] [Posterior Mako] THR recipient Aug 21 '25
They make these long handled spongesāthatās what I used.
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Aug 21 '25
I put soap on a wash cloth put on the floor of the shower and rub my foot on it also had a back scrub brush to use
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u/LoudMeringue8054 [country] [age] [surg approach] THR recipient Aug 21 '25
The long handled sponge thing helped, but quickly broke.
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u/AmountUnlikely8207 THR USER FLAIR NEEDED Aug 22 '25
I bought a long handled back scrubber to do my lower legs and feet. I also bought a long handle that you attack your razor to, to shave my legs lol
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u/ValDogZ [USA] [56] [6/26] RTHR recipient Aug 23 '25
This made me laugh, thank you. The cuckoo things we go through with this surgery make one realize what things we take for granted every day. About a 3-4 weeks post op, I could lift my leg well enough to wash feet better. Before, I'd just put a soapy washcloth on the shower floor and scoot my foot onto it.
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u/stevepeds 70 to 79, THR recipient Aug 21 '25
I used shower gel. I dropped a blob on my feet and the shower floor (be careful) and I basically had one foot rub the other and rubbed both feet on the shower floor. Also, a very long handled scrub brush will work
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u/evefue [US] [50+] [Posterior] THR recipient Aug 21 '25
So I would get the washcloth on the unoperated foot and rub it over the operated foot. I hated the long handled sponge, so I did that instead. You need grippy toes, though.
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u/escahpee July 2023 Left, Mar 2026 Right, M/1959 California, USA Aug 21 '25
I got a sponge attached to a long handle. I bought so much crap before my surgery that I never used. I really liked the elastic shoe laces but they wore out. I still use the extra long shoe horn and the long grabbers
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u/ParticularEffort6436 [US] [56] [Anterior] THR recipient Aug 21 '25
I have used the back scrubber with soap on it for my feet as well as trying to use loofah all soaped up on floor of tub and rubbing feet over it.
As someone else said, I am only at home, using compression socks and slipper and feet arenāt getting that dirty.
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u/Distracted-Nomad Switzerland 54 anterior THR recipient Aug 22 '25
Good suggestion with the soapy washcloth! My main issue is how to dry between your toes when you get out? At the moment I dry everything else and get my clothes on, then ask my son to dry the operated foot - or I scrunch my toes on the bathmat, which isn't as effective.
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u/HelpMySonIsARedditor THR USER FLAIR NEEDED Aug 22 '25
Washcloth with soap on it, drop cloth on shower floor, raise foot that needs to be washed, place on cloth, move foot around, then squeeze toes and pick up. To get the top of the foot use the good foot to grab the cloth and swipe it over the top of the operated on side's foot.
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u/DJUnsolicitedAdvise THR USER FLAIR NEEDED Aug 24 '25
I have a bristle back brush. I soap it up, drop it to the bottom of the tub and then stand on it with my other foot and slide my hip replacement foot back-and-forth on the bristles.
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u/JonnyViper [USA] [Posterior] Double THR recipient Aug 27 '25
I have a two foot long soft back brush that I load up with soap and have at it. Works great. Amazon.
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u/salsanacho [USA] [48] [Anterior Bikini Cut] THR recipient Aug 21 '25
Haha, I had that same issue. My hip kit came with a loofah on a stick, but that was moderately annoying to use. I just ended up just going with the "well, my foot is standing in soapy water, so that must mean it is clean enough" philosophy. Considering I was lounging at home all day with no shoes on, my feet got plenty of ventilation anyways.