laundry on Serentiy

POSTED BY: gohm
UPDATED: Monday, February 6, 2006 22:06
VIEWED: 12333
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DUG

Friday, February 3, 2006 9:14 PM

Some degree of filtration I can buy, but not overly much based on the finances Serenity tended to have for maintenance.

Largely I think the degree of rationing would depend on the length of trip; if you were going to be in the black for a month everyone would have to take fewer showers if you were planning a 2 day trip. Fireflies were clearly designed to function without space ports since they do not require runways. I think in the original pilot Wash even hauled the new power cell/ fuelly thing in with the mule when they were *at* a spaceport. Seems reasonable to me that the ship would have some pumping capability to refill water tanks when on planets without larege support systems.

At the 5 gallons/ person rate that Jumper managed in Utah a 1000 gallon tank would last our BDH's 22 days. With some filtration and rationing that seems like it might work for their length of voyages.

MYCROFTXXX

Friday, February 3, 2006 10:02 PM

My thought about where the washer/dryer might be is in the galley behind the counter where you see several characters walk but never actually *see* what's installed under the counter. Makes sense to have all of the plumbing in one place. Sort of like how a sailboat is rigged.

Regarding the slightly OT subject of showers. The key phrase Zoe used was *real* shower, not "a shower". This, to me, infers they probably have a handheld shower unit like you'd find in your kitchen that releases measured amounts of water each time the button is pushed. And, as on a sailboat (and other boats for that matter) it likely is installed in a combination sink/water closet shower stall arrangement to save space and keep the room clean.

In case you couldn't tell, I lived on a boat for a while and this exactly the arrangement I used for over a year. Really cut down on cleaning the bathroom!

TEALCANDTRIP

Friday, February 3, 2006 10:22 PM

So searching through the screencaps at Can't take the Sky, I've come up with a few likely places.

First though, here's a skematic of the ship (the best I've found):

So: where's the laundry room? My guess in the dining room/ kitchen area, since it's close to the crew quarters and passenger dorms and I really can't see Mal dragging his dirty clothes up a ladder, then down a stairway, then through a hall or two just to do the laundry.

My Guesses:

A: the door on the aft port side of the dining room. No character has ever used this door, and there is no known reason for it. Still, it's easily accessable in a place that everybody can use. Here it is behind Book, note the engine room is behind River:

B: The nook that forward of the kitchen. We don't really see this space, but here's a few perspectives:
(behind Zoe)
(behing Mal)
(this is the best I could find, as you can see there's not a lot in the nook)

C: The only other place I can think of is the spare crew quarters (next to Wash's aand Zoe's place). There's a ladder on the port side on the forward hallway (right across from the stairs to the cargo bay) that we never see used.

KIZYR

Friday, February 3, 2006 10:38 PM

The professionals here have already covered the rate of water consumption, how that all can be cut down. I got a few things to add, though, as this is something that's actually covered plausibly in the Serenity RPG book.

The deal about recycling water is mostly spot-on. Here's an excerpt:

Quote:
(p.100)
Water
Some really big ships have closed-loop water systems. They recycle some waste water through the algae tanks, but distill most of it through heat exchangers attached to the power plant. Smaller ships can make do with tanked water, supplemented by vapor condensed from the air and fuel cell exhaust. Water for drinking, cooking, and minimal cleaning runs to 6 pounds per person per day; washing and showering can add up to another 30 pounds, while laundering uses 30 pounds per person per day on its own. Clearly, the less used the better.

Plus, later on:

Quote:
(p.100)
Waste Management
Waste water is collected in septic tanks and spun to remove the solids. The water goes to the distillation rig to be purified; the leftover sludge is pumped out at each refueling stop.

Plus which, if the ship's being powered by hydrogen, then the byproduct of that is pure water, which can then be used to supplement the water supplies on ship.

Mostly, I think it's a combination of all the recycling systems on board, and some Navy-style water conservation. KF

~KF

Lord, I'm walking your way. Let me in, for my feet are sore, my clothes are ragged.
Look in my eyes, Lord, and my sins will play out on them as on a screen. Read them all.
Forgive what you can and send me on my path. I will walk on until you bid me rest.
~Haven Prayer

THEPISTONENGINE

Saturday, February 4, 2006 1:57 AM

Drinking water recycled as bathing water?
Urine?
"It's sterile and I like the taste"

Quote:
Originally posted by tealcandtrip:
They could also use water multiple times.

Say drinking water is 'new' water.

Then used as sink/ shower/ bath water
Then dish/ laundry water (with a strong enough soap and a decent filter this could be okay)
Then coolant for the engines?

Just a thought.

MICHAELANGELO

Saturday, February 4, 2006 2:03 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by tealcandtrip:
So searching through the screencaps at Can't take the Sky, I've come up with a few likely places.

First though, here's a skematic of the ship (the best I've found):

So: where's the laundry room? My guess in the dining room/ kitchen area, since it's close to the crew quarters and passenger dorms and I really can't see Mal dragging his dirty clothes up a ladder, then down a stairway, then through a hall or two just to do the laundry.

My Guesses:

A: the door on the aft port side of the dining room. No character has ever used this door, and there is no known reason for it. Still, it's easily accessable in a place that everybody can use. Here it is behind Book, note the engine room is behind River:

That door forward starboard side is the kitchen pantry. In the movie this is where they lock up River & where Jayne gets panned as he tries to remove her from the ship. Directly opposite that pantry is a small nook/closet that may server the part...
The hatch behind Book leads to an airlock to reach the outside.

HALFBREEDINKC

Saturday, February 4, 2006 2:26 AM

I think this is why I like the Firefly/Serenity 'verse so much. It's "real" if you will, not some utopian star trek galaxy where, heck we'll just use the replicator and make whatever we need...(maybe they figured out a way to genitically alter human physiology to the point where humans no longer have to use the bathroom? LMAO - and of course no one sweats therefore no b.o. either, 'cause that would just be ill-mannered 'n heathenly), and the fans out there (on this site and others) actually THINK, they reason things out intelligently - granted we're all obsessed to some degree (but in a GOOD WAY) - but still, it's threads like this that make it so enjoyable!

HalfBreed in KC

"They don't like it when you shoot at them, I worked that out myself"

FORGOTN

Saturday, February 4, 2006 2:58 AM

1. Sereneity is a standard radion accelerator core. Not hydrogen. though useing hydrogen fuel cells for backup power is a good idea AND technology that we have almost perfected now. But they are self contained and have no exhaust so you couldn't use them as a power supply.

2. Water recycling is a must and well within our technology so reason stands that tech we have now that is neccesary in the future will be continually refined.

3. I seem to remember Joss talking about the ships water being stored in a tank underneath the cargo bay. because he planned to have it be used as a makeshift pool for a shiny character scene later in the series. So obviously the purifiers are on the outgoing pipe.

4. Maybe they do their own dry cleaning, Chemicaly washing their clothes would save on water and if they use a chemical steam at low pressure it would use substantialy less space to carry the needed supplies.

Oklahoma Browncoat- Spreading the signal in the vast empty nothingness

SNAP

Saturday, February 4, 2006 3:42 AM

I don't think the water system is such a big deal for a ship this size. Remember NASA did it back in the 60's with the Apollo, and that was just a tiny ship in comparison.

The Apollo missions went about 6 to 14 days each. Shuttle missions around 2 to 16 days. Space station missions can run months.

So... after 500 years of experience living in spaceships I think they could have the problem pretty much solved.

CLIOMUSE

Saturday, February 4, 2006 3:48 AM

This thread makes me ridiculously happy. I posed the same question on the Uni board last year and got similar responses. We aren't speculating on how they get from point A to point B, though plenty of folks do that too, we are asking ourselves how they wash their clothes! This is what is so great about the 'verse, all the little, normal stuff.

One of my friends suggested that they visit the laundromat at the port when they land. However, as they have a propensity for getting into situations that require rapid retreat, I can see a lot of clothes getting left in washing machines all over the 'verse or hauled back to the ship wet and soapy. (Hum, I feel a fanfic coming on.)

When I lived in England one of the houses I lived in had a washer/dryer combination under the counter in the kitchen. I worked pretty darn well.

I also have visions of Simon hunched over his sink scrubbing blood out of his white shirts with futuristic OxyClean and a toothbrush.

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