4 minute shower....do you?

[Astrid]

Tank water here, so we are watching water all the time. I do struggle though to keep showers short (especially with hair washing), but to offset that I leave the plug in the bath and bucket that into the washing machine. Most nights though I bath with the girls, it is just easier, saves a fair bit of water and I save my showers for when my hair needs washing.

At the moment it has been raining a lot and the tanks have been overflowing, so I have been indulging and having very long showers.

FYI. There is a downside to all the reduced water usage. The sewer network in Aus relies on a certain level of water going through it to keep work properly. Less water = more blockages. Also all the grey water on the garden is a soil disaster waiting to happen.

[Nai]

Two minutes for most showers.
Four minutes twice a week, on conditioning days

:yeahthat:

I save my longer showers for hair washing days twice a week. Other days 2 mins is fine. I have a basin in the bottom to catch the cold water at the start and I use it to rinse out bathers or the nappy bucket.

I use an Emjoy thingy for de-hairing so it uses no water.

(I'm a cape wearing friggen super hero too )

There is a thing I saw on the New Inventors that stops the flow of water while you lather, condition or shave and then you can flick it back on and the water stays the same temp (not sure what it is called but I think it costs about $50)

[Phteven]

DH just turns the tap off while he lathers and he uses cold water all summer.
I guess he deserves a cape too except I've used it to dry myself so it's a bit damp.

[Phteven]

DH just turns the tap off while he lathers and he uses cold water all summer.
I guess he deserves a cape too except I've used it to dry myself so it's a bit damp.

[Kailani]

Oh but I do use a bucket at the beginning to catch the water until it's the right temp...that's good right??

I too always rinse off with a shower after having a bath...lol!

[NaeNae]

Nope I take as long a shower as I need, BUT we have our own water supply as we do not have town connection for anything other than phone and electricity. In Summer our showers are shorter than in the Winter. We have a 30,000lt well, a 23,000 tank all which supply the house and a smaller 12,000ish liter water tank for drinking water. Worst case scenario we can pump dam water to the house but that always really stinks.

[danniellabella]

These days I only shower every second day and have a longer shower!

:yeahthat:

[amberj]

Go you cape wearing shower heros! A couple of you mentioned not using hot water in spring/summer. Wow, is all I can say. I still steam up the bathroom in summer and have my electric blanket on 90% of the year.

Astrid, just out of interest, how is gray water going to cause a soil disaster?

[Janie]

Yeah, but Amber, did you see where those cold-shower people live??? Not in Melbourne!!!!! I don't think anyone living here would routinely shower in cold water, only on our really hot days.

Pony!

We are both really bad at short showers . When I'm not washing my hair and/or shaving, then I can manage a quick one, easy. But I have to wash my hair three times a week, and it's so thick it takes FOREVER! I try not to dawdle though. And DH gets so filthy at work some days, it takes him ages to scrub it all off. So we're not standing there doing nothing (I wish! Can't do that anymore without feeling guilty) but we're not having four minute showers either. It doesn't help that DH works in an industry where he is required to flush thousands of litres of drinking water down the drain every day. So he is of the opinion that the government needs to do more than guilt the nation into stopping their taps from leaking .

[luna moth]

Go you cape wearing shower heros! A couple of you mentioned not using hot water in spring/summer. Wow, is all I can say. I still steam up the bathroom in summer and have my electric blanket on 90% of the year.

We don't live in Melbourne anymore, that's how. One of the trade-offs, I guess. You give up living in a bicycle friendly city to live in a cold-water friendly city. From Dec-Jan our cold water runs at about 30 degrees.

[Salsa]

I live in Melbourne.
We have one of those timer clocks on the shower wall - cept its flat batteries right now...

I have tried but 4 minutes is not enough for washing my hair and shaving and everything else. I have started having a bath once a week to do a really good soak, scrub and shave. Other days I shower and only tend to wash my hair twice a week - though it really needs to be three times. My legs just stay hairier than Id like.

[Astrid]

Astrid, just out of interest, how is gray water going to cause a soil disaster?

Grey water contains bacteria, so short term is should not be used on any edible crop, in particular plants like lettuce. Well there are some that can tolerate it, but you would need to keep those separate. Washing powders have a salt based filler, so you could be loading your soil up with salt, salt can kill plants and if you are on top of a water table, the salt will work its way through. Chemicals in detergents can change the PH level of the soil and some plants will just not survive it. Chemicals can also build up and kill off the good stuff in the soil, like worms. It is preferable if using grey water to not always water the one spot and preferably use some fresh water in between. Also to be concious of any run off onto someone else's property.