How to Wash After a Hip or Knee Replacement: A Practical Guide to the First Six Weeks

Nobody warns you about the washing.

Before a hip or knee replacement, most of the conversation is about the operation itself, the physio and how long until you can drive. Then you get home, and one of the first genuinely awkward realisations lands: you can't bend, you can't twist, you can't stand for long, and there's a fresh surgical wound on the very leg you'd normally rely on to get into the shower.

This guide covers what actually works for keeping clean in those first six weeks the practical set-up, the order to do things in, the kit worth having ready before you go into hospital, and the mistakes that leave people either grubby and miserable or, worse, putting their wound at risk.

A note before we start: every hospital gives slightly different instructions depending on your surgeon, your dressing type and how your wound is healing. Where this guide and your discharge notes disagree, follow your discharge notes. If you're unsure, ring the ward or your GP practice nurse  they would far rather answer a question about washing than treat an infection.

Why washing gets so difficult after joint replacement surgery

Three separate things collide at once.

The movement restrictions. After a hip replacement, the NHS advises that you should not sit with your legs crossed, should not bend your hip more than 90 degrees (a right angle), and should not bend down to touch your feet or ankles. That rules out most of how a person normally washes their own legs and feet. After a knee replacement, the limiting factor is usually a combination of swelling, stiffness and the sheer difficulty of getting a straight-ish leg over the side of a bath.

The wound. Stitches or clips typically come out at around ten days, and until the wound has closed properly it needs to stay clean and dry. Versus Arthritis notes that swimming, for example, is only sensible once the wound has been checked and is healing well. Soaking a healing surgical wound in a bath is a different proposition from a brief shower, which is why bathing is usually the last thing to be reinstated.

The fatigue. This is the one people underestimate. Major joint surgery is exhausting, and standing in a hot shower while holding onto a rail with one hand is far more effort than it sounds in week one. Plenty of people manage the shower and then need to lie down for an hour.

The first week or two: a proper wash without the bathroom

The goal in the early days isn't a shower. It's being genuinely clean — face, underarms, chest, back, groin, feet — without bending, standing for long, or getting the wound wet. Done properly, a seated top-to-toe wash takes about ten minutes and leaves you feeling more human than you'd expect.

Set yourself up first

Do everything in one place, sitting down, with everything within arm's reach at waist height or above — a chair with arms in the bedroom is usually better than a bathroom, because there's more room and nothing to slip on. Have a towel over your lap, a clean set of clothes ready, and a bin bag or bin beside you so you're not standing up mid-wash to throw anything away.

Warm the room before you undress. Getting cold makes everything harder and makes muscles that are already sore tighten up further.

Work top to bottom, cleanest to least clean

The order matters, both for comfort and for hygiene. Face and neck first, then arms and underarms, then chest and stomach, then back, then legs, then the groin and bottom last. Use a fresh wipe or a fresh section of cloth for each area, and never go back to a cleaner area with something you've already used lower down.

For the feet and lower legs — the parts you can't reach after a hip replacement — this is what a helper or a long-handled sponge is for. If you're managing alone, a long-handled aid designed for exactly this is worth its weight in gold, and an occupational therapist may arrange one before you're discharged along with things like a raised toilet seat.

A large, thick unscented biodegradable body wipe does most of this job in one pass without a bowl of water balanced somewhere precarious, which matters when you're on crutches and can't safely carry anything. Unscented is the sensible default in the weeks after surgery — skin is often more reactive than usual, and fragrance is one less variable near a healing wound. Rinse-free cleansing foam works well for the same reason on areas where you'd normally want soap and water.

Keep the wound out of it

Wash around the surgical site, not over it, and don't let water, soap or any cleansing product run onto the dressing. Pat the surrounding skin dry rather than rubbing. If your dressing is waterproof and your hospital has told you it's fine to shower, that's a different situation — but "waterproof" is not the same as "soakable", and nothing about a bath is compatible with a wound that hasn't fully closed.

Check the wound daily. Increasing redness spreading outwards, heat, swelling, throbbing pain that's getting worse rather than better, any discharge, or a temperature all warrant a call to your GP or the hospital the same day.

Hair is its own problem

Washing hair is the single hardest thing to do after joint replacement, because it involves either tipping forward over a sink — exactly the movement you've been told to avoid after a hip — or getting your whole body into a shower you're not ready for.

The workarounds are: someone washing it for you over a sink while you sit upright with your head tilted back; dry shampoo, which degreases but doesn't clean; or a rinse-free shampoo cap, which you warm, put on, massage for a few minutes and remove, towel-drying afterwards. No bending, no rinsing, no water anywhere near your hip. We've written a fuller guide to washing your hair after surgery if that's your main worry.

Weeks two to six: getting back into the shower safely

Once your wound has been checked and your hospital has cleared you, the shower comes back — but the way you use it changes for a while.

• Sit down. A shower stool or a bath board turns a balance task into a sitting task. This is the single biggest safety improvement available to you.
• Get a grab rail fitted before you come home rather than after. A suction rail is better than nothing; a properly fitted one is far better.
• Non-slip mat, inside and out. Wet tiles and crutches are a bad combination.
• Don't reach for your feet. A long-handled sponge, or a wipe you can use seated, keeps you inside the 90-degree rule.
• Have someone in the house the first few times, even if they're just in the next room.
• Leave enough time. Rushing is how falls happen.

Baths generally stay off the list longer than showers, because getting in and out involves precisely the movements you've been told to avoid, and because soaking isn't good for a healing wound. Ask at your six-week review rather than guessing.

What to have ready before you go into hospital

Everything here is far easier to organise beforehand than on day one back at home with a walking frame:

• Body wipes or rinse-free cleansing foam, plus a rinse-free shampoo cap
• A shower stool or bath board, and a grab rail
• A long-handled sponge and a long-handled shoehorn
• A raised toilet seat (often arranged by an occupational therapist)
• Loose clothing that goes on without bending — no laces, nothing tight over the hip or knee
• A dressing gown, a spare towel, and a chair with arms in the bedroom
• A jug or beaker for hair-rinsing help, if someone will be assisting you

Our Top to Toe Kit covers the washing half of that list in one order, which saves working out quantities while you're recovering.

Frequently asked questions

How long after a hip replacement can I shower?

It depends on your dressing and your surgeon's instructions — some patients with waterproof dressings are cleared to shower within days, others are asked to wait until the wound is reviewed and the stitches or clips come out at around ten days. Follow your discharge instructions and ask directly before you assume.

Can I have a bath after a knee replacement?

Not for a while. Soaking a healing surgical wound isn't advisable, and climbing in and out of a bath involves exactly the movements you're being asked to avoid. Most people are showering long before they're bathing. Check at your follow-up appointment.

How do I wash my feet when I can't bend?

You don't bend — you extend your reach instead. A long-handled sponge, a helper, or a wipe used while seated with your foot resting on a low stool (without breaking the 90-degree hip rule) all work. Trying to reach your feet after a hip replacement risks dislocating the new joint, so it's genuinely worth the equipment.

Are body wipes hygienic enough to replace a shower?

For a short period, and used properly — one wipe per area, cleanest area first — yes. Antibacterial wipes remove the sweat and bacteria that cause body odour, which is the practical job a daily shower does. They're a bridge for a few weeks, not a permanent replacement for washing.

Can I use wipes near my surgical wound?

Around it, not on it. Nothing should be applied to the wound or dressing unless a clinician has told you to. Clean the surrounding skin, keep the dressing dry, and leave wound care to the district nurse or practice nurse.

The short version

For the first week or two, wash sitting down, top to bottom, with the wound kept dry and untouched. Handle hair separately with a rinse-free cap. From around two weeks, once you've been cleared, move to a seated shower with a rail and a non-slip mat. Save baths until someone has told you it's fine.

Feeling clean matters more than it sounds during recovery. It's one of the few things in those six weeks that's entirely within your control, and it makes a noticeable difference to how you feel about everything else.

If you're facing a longer or less predictable recovery, our guides on staying fresh after surgery and how to wash without a shower go into more detail.

This article is general information, not medical advice. Always follow the specific instructions given to you by your surgical team, and contact your GP or hospital if you have any concerns about your wound or your recovery.