Friday, January 22, 2010

When is it best time to take a bath/shower?

I am trying to save water. When is the best time to take a shower so that I am not using so much water? At night? In the morning?


Any other ideas of how to save water or electricity? I know to turn off lights and to shut off water when brushing teeth. But anything that I don't know about??? ThanksWhen is it best time to take a bath/shower?
First, it might pay to check with your local utility to see what they recommend for environmental and cost reasons.





Otherwise, if it's just a question of how you can take a minimum of one short shower per day, I've found the answer is:


-Do your exercising and running in the early morning, at 5 or 6. Then eat breakfast. Then shower, brush your teeth, etc. Then dress and go to work or school. Incidentally, this seems to be the order one finds at regimented academy schools, where there's no time to repeat tasks in a given day.





Water and electricity conservation tips abound online, so a quick Google search can help you there. Personal finance websites, such as Kiplinger's or others, can be of great help.





http://www.kiplinger.com/magazine/archiv鈥?/a>





What comes to mind on water conservation:


-Minimize your loads of laundry per week to just a couple. Use one bath towel a week and one hand towel. Probably fine to have just one set of exercise clothes; one pair of jeans for the week; buttoned shirts can sometimes go a couple different days. You won't smell so long as you change your under-clothing daily. Just keep the exercise clothing, jeans, or buttoned shirt on hangers after the first wearing to air them out. Also try to minimize bedinng; if you can get by with basic sheets and a comforter (with duvet cover if necessary), do so, since there isn't much to wash weekly or monthy (just the sheets, pretty much).


-For showers, try to keep it under five to seven minutes. This can be more difficult with long hair, soft water, or low water pressure. I keep a stop watch in the shower to hurry me up; I try to hit ';split times'; for the different steps in showering. Cooler water can speed things up, but you might not get as clean. A shower head that gives the feeling of increased pressure, such as from Waterpik, can help speed things up a small bit without wasting extra water. ';Navy showers,'; in which one rinses initially for 30 seconds, turns off the water, soaps and scrubs up, and then rinses off, can certainly save water and some time, but they tend to be a bit of a pain (soap in the eyes). Shower gels can sometimes work faster than bar soaps, but gels are more expensive.


-If you have a gym membership, and if your morning ablutions aren't too complex, you could just go to the gym in the early morning, work out, then shower and dress for work there, and go straight to work. It would save you money on water at home, to be sure. You'd have to take along your work clothing in a bag, of course, and likely would have to eat breakfast at home before leaving for the gym, as opposed to after exercising, since you can't bring your kitchen.





Electricity:


-Fluorescent bulbs


-Turn off lights when not in use


-Turn off computers when not in use


-Unplug ';energy vampires/gremlins'; (chargers, etc.), which many people unthinkingly keep plugged in


-Utilize natural lighting


-Look for Energystar-rated items


-As a cost-saving measure, use your electricity elsewhere (charge the phone and computer in the car or at work; make your coffee at work; do work- and reading-related office tasks that require electricity at work, school or the library; then come home to eat and sleep, basically)


-Don't watch or have a TV; watch clips of news and shows online


-Keep laundry to a minimum; avoid ';hot';; ';warm'; is usually the warmest you need.


-Read your refrigerator instructions to see what the most efficient settings are


-If you have an older water heater, read online about options to help insulate it to prevent it from having to reheat so often


-Adjust the thermostat when you leave home (easy to do with a programmable one). With practice, you'll find the best balance, comfort-wise and cost-wise.


-Keep an eye on your local-government websites for any new programs available under the federal stimulus plan. Billions are designated for local governments to help citizens make their homes more energy-efficient; it remains to be seen how it'll be spent.When is it best time to take a bath/shower?
best time? When you get real stinky. the amount of water used is a function of time and water pressure. Shower as quickly as you can, I'm under 3 minutes, including shaving. The lowest pressure would be at peak use time, early in the morning and in the evening.
i'm not sure that timing matters but you can put a shower head on that saves water. Also try: watering yards @ night so water doesn't evaporate, laying mulch in gardens, turning your thermostat up, and unplugging cell phone chargers when not in use.
I would say during the day; otherwise, it is tempting to just stand in the shower and relax, wasting water.

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