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Turning off the shower while I am soaping is now second-nature to me, like turning off the water while brushing teeth. I highly recommend it.

by dhimes 9y ago

glenneroo 9y ago
Going even further, I switched early last year to not using soap at all (except for extreme dirt which warm water couldn't remove) and my showers are done in 1-3 minutes (depending if I wash my hair or not). My girlfriend also says I smell better (and not like various soaps). Also related, a chemical engineer from MIT started a company[0] back in 2013 purporting that showering kills our healthy bacteria. Supposedly he hasn't showered in 13 years, although their latest product recommends "rinsing in the shower for 3 minutes" followed by spraying their product on your body. [0]http://aobiome.com http://aobiome.com
- goda90 9y ago
  How much do you exercise? I've heard that athletes often don't need to wear deodorant, because they sweat so much during practice that there isn't a build of of odor causing bacteria.
  - com2kid 9y ago
    > I've heard that athletes often don't need to wear deodorant, because they sweat so much during practice that there isn't a build of of odor causing bacteria. As someone who spends ~3 hours a day doing vigorous exercise, there is no way this is true. I smell awful afterwards.
    - goda90 9y ago
      But how do you smell after you shower it off? It could also be that people who exercise a lot might be less likely to sweat outside of exercise time.
      - com2kid 9y ago
        > It could also be that people who exercise a lot might be less likely to sweat outside of exercise time. Nope, I sweat pretty profusely throughout the day. Antiperspirant keeps me a part of civilization. FWIW I'm at a healthy weight and in good shape, just genetics.
  - glenneroo 9y ago
    Usually 2-4 times per week, but mostly just weekends. Definitely not athlete material (anymore at least). When I'm properly sweaty it generally isn't pleasant, especially when it dries. I should have also noted that I haven't used deodorant in at least 10 years. Maybe I just got lucky and won the genetic lottery in regards to smelly bacteria.
knodi123 9y ago
I wish this was feasible, but in our house the water takes 5 minutes to get to the shower from the water heater, and if you turn it off for more than a minute, you'll get wild temperature fluctuations over the next 5 minutes while it re-achieves a stable mix. I think this is just one more reason to install an on-demand water heater rather than have a giant monolith in your garage.
- goda90 9y ago
  Alternatively you could take lukewarm or cold showers. In the very least you save energy, and many claim it is invigorating, better for your skin, burns calories for those trying to lose weight, helps adapt you to cold weather, etc. Not a fun experience the first few times though.
  - knodi123 9y ago
    cold is agony. I have no interest in "adapting", and broaching the idea to my wife is a complete non-starter. And lukewarm is exactly the same problem; 5 minutes to get that temperature, and some minutes to get it back if you leave the water off. I am looking for a solution, not for someone to try convincing my entire family that we should prefer the problem. :-P On-demand water heaters, or electric pre-pumps, or a needle valve with continuous return, are the three viable solutions, period.
- dhimes 9y ago
  I wonder if there is a way to better insulate the pipes so they don't lose their heat so much. That's pretty unusual. Five minutes is a long time for water to run down a pipe- you must be running 75ft or so of pipe- so insulation is the other answer (the first being the on-demand water heater in the shower- I used one once and had no problem with it, and it may be more efficient anyway).
regularfry 9y ago
This doesn't work with electric showers. The element retains heat and the water trapped in it gets extremely hot, so you get scalded when you turn it back on. Ask me how I know, go on...
- maxerickson 9y ago
  In the context of this discussion, retrofitting a heater with a better thermostat would probably be more practical than retrofitting a saltwater shower.

Turning off the shower while I am soaping is now second-nature to me, like turning off the water while brushing teeth. I highly recommend it.

by dhimes 9y ago

Turning off the shower while I am soaping is now second-nature to me, like turning off the water while brushing teeth. I highly recommend it.

glenneroo 9y ago

Going even further, I switched early last year to not using soap at all (except for extreme dirt which warm water couldn't remove) and my showers are done in 1-3 minutes (depending if I wash my hair or not). My girlfriend also says I smell better (and not like various soaps). Also related, a chemical engineer from MIT started a company[0] back in 2013 purporting that showering kills our healthy bacteria. Supposedly he hasn't showered in 13 years, although their latest product recommends "rinsing in the shower for 3 minutes" followed by spraying their product on your body. [0]http://aobiome.com http://aobiome.com

goda90 9y ago
How much do you exercise? I've heard that athletes often don't need to wear deodorant, because they sweat so much during practice that there isn't a build of of odor causing bacteria.
- com2kid 9y ago
  > I've heard that athletes often don't need to wear deodorant, because they sweat so much during practice that there isn't a build of of odor causing bacteria. As someone who spends ~3 hours a day doing vigorous exercise, there is no way this is true. I smell awful afterwards.
  - goda90 9y ago
    But how do you smell after you shower it off? It could also be that people who exercise a lot might be less likely to sweat outside of exercise time.
    - com2kid 9y ago
      > It could also be that people who exercise a lot might be less likely to sweat outside of exercise time. Nope, I sweat pretty profusely throughout the day. Antiperspirant keeps me a part of civilization. FWIW I'm at a healthy weight and in good shape, just genetics.
- glenneroo 9y ago
  Usually 2-4 times per week, but mostly just weekends. Definitely not athlete material (anymore at least). When I'm properly sweaty it generally isn't pleasant, especially when it dries. I should have also noted that I haven't used deodorant in at least 10 years. Maybe I just got lucky and won the genetic lottery in regards to smelly bacteria.

knodi123 9y ago

I wish this was feasible, but in our house the water takes 5 minutes to get to the shower from the water heater, and if you turn it off for more than a minute, you'll get wild temperature fluctuations over the next 5 minutes while it re-achieves a stable mix. I think this is just one more reason to install an on-demand water heater rather than have a giant monolith in your garage.

goda90 9y ago
Alternatively you could take lukewarm or cold showers. In the very least you save energy, and many claim it is invigorating, better for your skin, burns calories for those trying to lose weight, helps adapt you to cold weather, etc. Not a fun experience the first few times though.
- knodi123 9y ago
  cold is agony. I have no interest in "adapting", and broaching the idea to my wife is a complete non-starter. And lukewarm is exactly the same problem; 5 minutes to get that temperature, and some minutes to get it back if you leave the water off. I am looking for a solution, not for someone to try convincing my entire family that we should prefer the problem. :-P On-demand water heaters, or electric pre-pumps, or a needle valve with continuous return, are the three viable solutions, period.
dhimes 9y ago
I wonder if there is a way to better insulate the pipes so they don't lose their heat so much. That's pretty unusual. Five minutes is a long time for water to run down a pipe- you must be running 75ft or so of pipe- so insulation is the other answer (the first being the on-demand water heater in the shower- I used one once and had no problem with it, and it may be more efficient anyway).

regularfry 9y ago

This doesn't work with electric showers. The element retains heat and the water trapped in it gets extremely hot, so you get scalded when you turn it back on. Ask me how I know, go on...

maxerickson 9y ago
In the context of this discussion, retrofitting a heater with a better thermostat would probably be more practical than retrofitting a saltwater shower.