Do you run the water while soaping up in the shower? (lemmy.world)

submitted 3 months ago by xylogx@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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I used to but now I do not anymore.

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[-] GBU_28@lemm.ee 67 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Yeah I'll not be guilted into the notion at saving SECONDS of residential water use has any impact on climate. Water savings by industrial process and unmanaged municipal leaks are much higher on the list. The seconds of reduced residential use are less than a "drop in the bucket"

Caveats being I don't live in a drought striken area, I don't take overly long showers to begin with, and my utility bills are a non issue financially.

[-] jubilationtcornpone@sh.itjust.works 7 points 3 months ago

Some water systems have an insane amount of leaks. One house I lived in, the water and sewer plants were owned by the HOA. They estimated that they lost 75% of the water to leaks.

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[-] HipsterTenZero@dormi.zone 49 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Can't stop, sorry. The shower is my final refuge and if I start being conscientious about water usage there, I will end up breaking down in a denny's bathroom at 2am or something.

[-] IMALlama@lemmy.world 35 points 3 months ago

Using California as an example, agriculture consumes 4x the water of everything else combined - business + industry + parks + homes.

Austerity at homes is generally more of a show than anything else. You can read about the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, but it looks like the legislation isn't mandated to be implemented until the 2040s.

[-] aramova@lemmy.world 9 points 3 months ago

Came here hoping to see this comment.

Now let's talk about paper straws in plastic wrapping...

[-] Illuminostro@lemmy.world 5 points 3 months ago

'DON'T FUCK WITH MY ALMONDS, TREE HUGGIN' LIBCUCKS!"

[-] RisingSwell@lemmy.dbzer0.com 33 points 3 months ago

If i turn the water off it takes a good 30 seconds to be hot again, so it just stays on.

[-] avguser@lemmy.world 31 points 3 months ago

Yes. I don't take wildly long showers, so the conservation isn't really worth the convenience of being able to step in/out of warm water at will.

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[-] bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 27 points 3 months ago

Yeah. My shower has two knobs, so it takes ages to find the right balance for the temperature. It would be annoying to turn both knobs off and then turn them back on and find the right temp again

[-] OutOfMemory@sh.itjust.works 4 points 3 months ago

They make shower heads with a stop too, if you were so inclined.

[-] Summzashi@lemmy.one 26 points 3 months ago

I live under the sea level. We as a nation control the water. It is our bitch. I can do with water whatever the fuck I please. We won that war a long time ago. Water listens to ME.

Not only do I leave it running, I belittle it in the process.

[-] FooBarrington@lemmy.world 8 points 3 months ago

You'll get your swim-uppance soon enough!

[-] pedz@lemmy.ca 22 points 3 months ago

Yes I let it run. Because honestly, I don't care. People will try make you feel guilty over using water while continuing to make excuses to drive everywhere and why they really need an electric car to "save the planet". Oh and please recycle while the city that collects the recycling sends it to the dump because this industry is not profitable. And use less water because giant tech companies are going to need it in order to cool and power some more AI servers.

I never owned a car and have driven only once in 40 years. But I know that whatever I do individually to reduce the amount of pollution in the air, it is absolutely useless and pointless. The army or the police will annihilate a lifetime of individual efforts in one day, or even a few hours. I could get a car right now and 90% of people would probably tell me I did the right thing, as a car is sooo useful. No problem as long as it's electric!

So uuh, I let the water run when I feel like it.

[-] victorz@lemmy.world 9 points 3 months ago

I mean yeah, but also if everyone thought like you we'd definitely not make a difference, so there's two sides. It's the classic "one vote won't matter" argument.

But I hear you. I do the same. I shower for 10 minutes every 2-3 days (I don't get sweaty easily or smell, and live in a semi-dry climate), and when I shower I don't use a very high temperature either. So yeah. The water hits me as I soap up, too, so it's not like it's falling directly from head to drain either.

Imma treat ma self.

[-] pedz@lemmy.ca 9 points 3 months ago

I do try to be aware of my water supply. If I'm in a place where water is limited by default, like having a well, or when in a Caribbean country, I'll be careful as I know others will depend on that source in the very near future. But I live in Canada and from my immediate point of view, the St-Lawrence and the Great Lakes are not going to be dry soon. The only scarcity here is the energy required to pump the water (also provided by water), and its treatment.

And I do understand that our little collective efforts do add up. However, the issues are systemic. Only in a single region of my province (a region!), around 18 corporations and businesses are using more than 75 000 litres a day. We know just because they have to report it past that point. It adds up to billions of litres in a year. For a single region. The provincial government here also allows corporations to just pump the ground water for about $35 CAD by million of litres.

So again, I know that I could make a difference, if we all really tried. But because of the system, and since the pandemic, I've lost faith in our societies. I don't think most people care. While all hiding in our places a few years ago, while the production slowed down, people have seen the changes in nature, the air clean up... and they said fuck it we just want to go back to how it was before.

Just seeing multiple police cars running their engines 24/7 to stalk and bully some oh so dangerous anti-genocide students made me see that any effort to reduce air pollution on my part will be nullified by the system in general. It doesn't matter if I have car or not, if I recycle plastic while it's produced in the first place, or if I try to save a few litres of water while Nestlé... sigh.

Sorry but.. yeah.

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[-] h_ramus@lemm.ee 17 points 3 months ago

No. Takes two seconds to open or close the tap. However, I do sometimes spend time daydreaming under running water so I guess it evens out!

[-] jet@hackertalks.com 14 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I also keep a razor in the shower, and shave in the hot water...... wild card!

But after seeing !wetshaving@sub.wetshaving.social posts for awhile, I got a double sided safety razor... and it's really improved the experience.

[-] Cheradenine@sh.itjust.works 7 points 3 months ago

Nothing shaves closer, it's inexpensive, and often no plastic packaging.

[-] user224@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 3 months ago

What did it make better? I just use cheap disposable razors.

[-] jet@hackertalks.com 9 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

The safety razor is cheap over the long run.

I have an adjustable safety razor, so I can dial in the sharpness i need; So far I'm still on my first blade after 2 months, I find I only need one pass to get a clean shave. When I'm done shaving, its really easy to get the hair off the blades (rinse it off) which I think helps alot with longevity of the blade. Plus everything is tidier since I dont have bags of disposables everywhere.

With disposable razors I found I had to go multiple times, and sometimes use two different razors - not to mention the trash build up. Where I live shaving isn't so common, so getting a consistent supply of disposable razors was a bit of a logistical issue. (i'd always be swapping out what I was using based on what I could find)

I did some research on YouTube before I bought it, and I thought this is too much work, cuz everybody has their detailed meditative process they do. Oh you pre-soak the skin, okay now you get the soap, now you lather up the soap, now you apply it multiple times, now you take the razor with a fresh blade, and go one direction. Now go the other direction. Now go perpendicular to both of those. Then after the shave clean all of the soap, now apply an aftershave lotion, take the blade out of the razor.... And I should have ignored all of that, because it's fine just to use it like a disposable razor in the shower. No fuss. The people who like the process can really enjoy the process, but I now realize it's totally unnecessary

[-] jet@hackertalks.com 5 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Things I have learned since switching:

Razors rust because they lose their oil coating with use. If you want them to last longer, clean them and apply more oil/keep them dry - (if your lazy just dunk it in a cup of mineral oil when not in use)
- If you can't be bothered, at least get ALL the hair and junk off the razor so there isn't a catchment for water on the blade itself.
Running a razor backwards across your arm (don't cut yourself) is a nifty way to strop it and keep the edge clean
Skin in the shower needs no soap/lotion/lather
With adjustable razors close it down all the way for the "safest" cut, then go up slowly if you need a more aggressive angle (4 / 10 works fine for me)
Just buy the handle/razor, don't go all out on the accessories.

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[-] AA5B@lemmy.world 14 points 3 months ago

Yes, I admit I take excessively long showers with the water running the whole time. It makes me feel sane again, able to face the day. More importantly, I live where water is plentiful, so I’ll focus on reducing my carbon footprint in other ways

[-] otherbarry@lemmy.zip 12 points 3 months ago

I turn the water off.

Growing up we used to live in a house with what I swear was the smallest boiler ever so the hot water would only last for maybe 1-2 showers before needing some time to get hot again. So leaving the water running meant no hot water midway through the shower, or forcing the next person to wait to take a shower.

It's a habit that stuck with me ever since, I've found that I don't really need the water running the whole time anyway.

[-] JoeKrogan@lemmy.world 11 points 3 months ago

Yes

[-] Empricorn@feddit.nl 11 points 3 months ago

No. It would take more time and water to run it to get the temperature in the pipes warm again than to just quickly soap and rinse.

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[-] HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 10 points 3 months ago

Yes, but I don't live in a water stressed area.

[-] Presi300@lemmy.world 9 points 3 months ago

You mean there are people who don't spend 30 minutes in the shower contemplating their life choices?

[-] pancakes@sh.itjust.works 9 points 3 months ago

I turn it off, mostly because my shower is small and i need to completely cover my body in soap before washing it off and if the water is running it'll wash away the soap when i don't want it to.

Also my shower knob stays at the correct temp so I don't need to mess around to get the same temp.

[-] thorbot@lemmy.world 8 points 3 months ago

I still do, but I used to, too.

[-] djsaskdja@reddthat.com 8 points 3 months ago

It never occurred to me that there was any other way to do it.

[-] shinigamiookamiryuu@lemm.ee 8 points 3 months ago

No because then the water becomes hot.

[-] Ransack@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 3 months ago

Only with you there bby

[-] Toes@ani.social 8 points 3 months ago

I easily spend an hour in the shower.

Sometimes if I'm really exhausted or sleepy, I'll plug up the shower and imagine myself meditating in a waterfall.

[-] sentient_loom@sh.itjust.works 7 points 3 months ago

How do you soap up without water? You just scrape dry soap all over your body?

[-] hardaysknight@lemmy.world 10 points 3 months ago

You get your hands/wash cloth and body wet before you turn off the water to lather up

[-] Cheradenine@sh.itjust.works 5 points 3 months ago

Get wet, lather up, rinse off. A large part of Asia uses something that looks like a saucepan, made of plastic.

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[-] atx_aquarian@lemmy.world 6 points 3 months ago

Mine is easy enough to turn down the water to keep a smaller flow to maintain comfort and water temperature while soaping, so I do that.

[-] altima_neo@lemmy.zip 6 points 3 months ago

Yes, but only because it doesn't take very long to lather up. It's annoying to have to readjust the water valves to get the temperature right again after having it off for only a minute or two. I feel like I waste more water just letting the shower run on startup to get the cold water to flush out of the hot water pipes.

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[-] Crashumbc@lemmy.world 6 points 3 months ago

Meh, my showers are so short to begin with, I'm already doing my part.

[-] Schmerzbold@feddit.org 5 points 3 months ago

I also used to keep water running and stopped doing that a few months ago. Also reduced my showering time to ~10 minutes… could easily spend 20, sometimes 30 minutes under the shower before.

[-] RBWells@lemmy.world 4 points 3 months ago

I do. But if I am washing only my hair, face or hands, not literally taking a shower, that I turn off while not using it.

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this post was submitted on 16 Jul 2024

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