All I can suggest is to wipe whatever surface you have with baby oil,or cheaper equivalent.

Black grout.

I'm going on what I have read BUT a shower made from panels of a solid surface material like SWANSTONE, for instance, is supposedly resistant to all kinds of chemicals like gasoline, etc and can be cleaned with just about anything as well. As example: Swanstone has a new "KIT" they call "subway tiles" without any actual grout. They also have a larger "tile kit". It comes in about 20+ colors, including dark sienna brown and others. This is a non-porous material. I can remember having something like a corian shower, huge walk down shower in a high end home LONG ago. It was WONDERFUL. a breeze to keep clean and virtually no grout, just where the walls and floor came together. That might be a good option for you. Also, perhaps if you keep some Rain-x or Never Wet on your surfaces, it would keep the oil from sticking to the surfaces so you wouldn't have to scrub so hard and so much? would be worth a try. Oops, sorry, the link did not attach. Google solid surface shower panels and see what you can find. Good luck. Poor fella, I'll bet that shower feels good after that hard work and to get back home too.

Hmmmm, wondering what they have in his workplace showers? Of course they might be putrid, but worth asking?

If you go with a tile in the shower area, I would defiantly have no grout lines! Grout will only trap the dirt and grime. Stay away from heavily textured tiles and accent tiles as well. It will collect there as well. Solid granite sheets would look good for a shower surround and a glass door would be easy to clean too!
BTW I work in the oil field as well! :)

For stubborn areas, I recommend the cordless drill brush http://www.amazon.com/Chemical-Guys-ACC_201_BRUSH_MD-Surface-Attachment/dp/B003TU662Y .

Some places have work showers. Worth asking about, I agree with Sharon above.

Otherwise, I second the suggestions of bsellers1394. A heavy coating of water repellant or paste car wax on the walls (not the floors- too slippery) can work very well.

Some people have a second washer and dryer for very dirty work clothes. It might be something to think about if you are remodelling your bathroom anyway.

besellers- thanks for the tip Swanstone. I saw it in a hotel bathroom and wondered what it was. I hate my shower tile and grout. It is impossible to keep clean.

Sunnydrew: you might try a tile sealer available from tile places and big box stores. It helps a lot, especially for old tile and old grout (50 years old). Apply liberally, it soaks in, as the bottle says you may have to apply it twice. Some people also find that using only liquid soap, not bar soap, cuts down on soap scum. It depends on what kind of hard water you have.

apo- thanks for the tip. the bath room is 10 years old and doomed to be re-done. (soon I hope)

Do you have the option to install something similar to what you find in some houses around here, which is a very basic toilet/sink/shower type thing in the basement or garage? Idea being that miners would come home very dirty and come into the house that way and so not actually touch anything in the 'nice' areas of the house until after they'd showered and changed clothes.

Since the facilities weren't really in an area that was for public consumption, the materials used could be very practical even if it was also ugly - i.e. very easy to clean.

Do they provide showers and lockers at work ?

This site is very informative. Your site will be bookmarked for future reference.

@s thomas, did the LOC keep the drain from clogging up too? What IS that stuff anyway?...probably a common acronym I just don't recognize. TSP is till available as well at your HD . He could wash his clothes with it and everything (sparingly, of course!) There is also a TSP alternative. I would be inclined to keep a dispenser of DAWN in there as liquid bath soap for his first scrub down to "degrease, lather, rinse, repeat but with something a bit less harsh.

Seriously, that "corian" looking shower was my all time favorite. I'd just walk in the end of it with no hassel of a door or shower curtain, it was huge, had a bench WAAAY back then and a special nook to prop you feet to shave your legs and scrub your heels. It was just THE BEST. It really was a smooth, clean look, almost a casual elegance. I do NOT mean for this to be misunderstood as a fiberglass enclosure/surround. No, this is solid and the floor is laid to the foundation. It doesn't "give or flex" under the weight of a big guy or anything. I would strongly suggest this type option OR try to make a small garage bathroom as mentioned above where the material expense will not be so high, perhaps the labor would be though. I'd even give the poor guy HOT water ; ). If he is going to continue to come through the house, make him strip and "streak" or give him a raincoat so when he rubs against things, it's just the plastic covering him. Tee-Hee ; 0 !

I also love the ideas mentioned about having a separate washer and dryer.

As I use my computer and my lights are brightly on, I thank him for his hard, dirty work out there.

@sunnydrew, one last thing...my Dad was a military man in the Navy. At one point, he took his turn at being the "yelling Instructor'', like a boot camp situation. These young guys would come into training with their personal supplies all packed. Immediately, every one of those fellas had to turn over their bars of soap. They were given "ZEST" soap and that was ALL they were allowed to use. It was, at the time, the ONLY soap that did not cause soap scum which would NEVER have passed the inspections. Dad would bring home boxes of all kinds of soap reluctantly surrendered by these guys. We never had to buy soap! LOL!

Let us know what you are putting together for a design! I'm more than curious what you decide to do.

I think for the plumbing issue if installing a new bathroom somewhere, this might be a time where one of those on-demand water heaters would actually work pretty well as long as it's properly up to the job. Due to building constraints with old buildings and water pressure issues, those things and also pump contraptions (to improve water pressure from the shower) were pretty common in my experience in the UK, and for a single person taking a shower I think it would be worth looking into if the run from the existing hot water is going to be long and fiddly.

(IME they didn't work so well when it came to hot water for an entire house, particularly if you were doing anything where you wanted a fairly significant quantity of hot water quickly, like trying to fill a bathtub or a deep sink for doing dishes. Apparently you need way less actual volume of water per minute to have a nice comfortable shower than if you're trying to fill something. Which I suppose makes some sense - I want much hotter water for soaking dishes than I would shower in, so the shower heater thing doesn't have to produce that MUCH hot water as long as what it produces is hot enough that when mixed with cold water it sustains a nice temperature.)

Anyway, that's something I would look into and do some research on.

They have added a few items to the line :)
http://www.amway.com/Shop/Search/SearchResults.aspx?searchkeyword=LOC&includeLMS=false&pwsID=teamwellbeing

@bestseller..... LOC was an original Amway product..... all natural ingredients and an excellent degreaser. Amway used to proclaim that you could use it to clean engine parts and use it to brush your teeth it was so natural. I did use it a number of times cleaning engine parts, but never tried brushing my teeth with it. I loved the stuff, man it would clean heavily greasy hands in a heart beat and wasn't the least bit harsh on your skin. I saw on the link that Studio10001 put in the above posting that the they've expanded the LOC line to just about everything.......the original though is the Multi Purpose clean.

As to the shower itself, this wasn't a fiberglass insert type thing........this was a rough as it gets. I basically built a 3/4" marine grade plywood shower stall with a bench seat, then covered every exposed surface with a coat of fiberglass cloth and clear resin. Then a couple of finished coats of just clear resin finished it off nice a smooth. Lucky for me, the old original laundry location was in the so there was plumbing already, all I had to add was a new small water heater and a thru wall heating / cooling unit I got from a hotel salvage company to make my make shift bathroom all comfy. Summers are hot and winters are cold in OK.........

Amway LOC, Liquid Organic Cleanser. I will agree, this is something that WORKS. I have to deal with 'car clothes' and that is the one thing that will tackle that stuff. Thomas you must be downstate... summers are indeed long and hot here.

The other thing I will swear by for serious cleaning is Odo-Ban. It takes smell out of things. Mold and mildew, urine (pet and other). It was formulated for cleaning kennels and you buy it by gallon jug concentrate (Amazon online or Sam's Club)

GRIN and Johnsons and Johnsons BABY shampoo for the hair was the only thing that would get it all out of my dad hair. He was not allowed near anything until he scrubbed down...