Saturday, October 11, 2008

Timed Shower

I used to be amazed at how short Tree-Hugger's showers were, thinking she was just being eco-friendly and trying to save water. But now I'm not so sure that's the only reason.

Here is what happens every time I take a shower:

I turn on the hot water, which is always scaldingly hot. I turn on the cold water, which does nothing. I turn the cold higher. Still nothing. More cold. More cold. More cold. Finally, the hot water is just un-hot enough that I can bear it, so I get in.

After about one minute, the shower starts to get cold. I turn the cold down, and it returns to a nicely warm temperature.

After another minute, it starts to get cold again. I turn the cold down, and it gets warm again.

I repeat this process of turning the cold down until the cold water is turned all the way off. Then, when the water starts going cold after that point, I turn the shower off completely.

I haven't actually timed my entire shower length, but I've noticed that I've been taking much shorter showers than I did when I lived at home.

I suppose that's a good thing.

2 comments:

Alicia said...

Ah, but sometimes the best part of the day is a long, hot shower. I would call the landlord and kindly ask him to come look at the water heater.

My personal trick for too short of showers is to turn the water on in the sink until it gets really hot. Then wait 20-30 minutes before showering. Running the water earlier kicks the hot water heater into gear and heats up a full tank of water. Otherwise, the hot water runs out way too fast. Another alternative is to run your dishwasher in the middle of the night. It will use up the hot water in the tank and you'll have a fresh tank of hot water in the morning for your shower.

Veronica said...

Hey, smart move. I've never thought of that. Thanks Oriana!! Well, I hate it when you want to take a warm or hot shower, and then much to your dismay, somebody else clims into the other shower and takes away the warm/ hot water from you. Its a big bummer! Let me tell ya!