4 ms·

You’d be surprised how quickly you can get used to cold showers. I’ve been only cold showering for about 5 years now

silisili 5y ago
How cold is cold? When our gas went out in the summer, taking a 'cold' shower was bearable, some days even enjoyable. In the freezing winter? Tried it once, never again. I'm not even sure it would be safe to shower in water that cold for any long periods of time.
- mypalmike 5y ago
  I'm not personally advocating for this, but some argue for water conservation by taking a https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navy_shower https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navy_shower which involves only about 2 minutes of time in the water.
  - occz 5y ago
    >A Navy shower (also known as a "combat shower", "military shower", "sea shower", "staggered shower", or "G.I. bath") is a method of showering that allows for significant conservation of water and energy by turning off the flow of water in the middle portion of the shower while lathering. Hold up - do you mean to tell me that people do not turn off the water while lathering? I've showered this way all my life, is this not the norm?
    - cameronh90 5y ago
      Often with combi boilers, if you turn off the water it takes a solid 30s to a minute for the water to come up to temperature again, sometimes longer if you account for the water in the pipes and the thermostat reaching equilibrium. Obviously newer/better boilers come up to temperature quicker but you don't always have the luxury of choosing your boiler.
    - vages 5y ago
      I came up with this method a few years ago and have used it ever since. I’ve never looked back; I’m no less comfortable now than before, and I enjoy using less energy even though my hot water use is included in the rent. I’ve had little luck converting friends and family to it, though.
    - OJFord 5y ago
      Honestly in the time it'd take to turn it off and on I could basically finish 'lathering', I don't belabour it or find particular pleasure in prolonged showers. I can understand it for people that like a long shower, maybe.. except that surely it's the water they enjoy rather than just the process, so being there with it off wouldn't be any fun?
    - mns 5y ago
      I think it’s a cultural and technical thing. But still, it’s weird hearing that people leave the water on and this “navy” shower isn’t the norm. Perks of growing up in a communist country, with constant outages.
    - blindmute 5y ago
      Why would you ever do that in a developed country? You'd be saving like 3 cents per shower or less.
      - occz 5y ago
        It's not a question of economics, it's about not purposefully wasting resources. Perhaps you'll be surprised to hear that I also turn off the lights in rooms that I am not in, or that I don't keep cars running when I'm not using them to move around. Counter-question: why would you ever keep the water running when you're not utilizing the water?
        blindmute 5y ago
        Because when you turn the water off it's cold. I would rather pay 1.5 cents to remain warm while I lather. If the resource was actually scarce, it wouldn't cost so little to use it.
    - novok 5y ago
      The controls to get back to your proper temperature after a shutoff are unreliable. What you need is a shutoff valve on the shower head itself, so the temperature stays the same, which is not common on many showers unless they are using the navy shower head too. It's mostly a UI issue.
- olegious 5y ago
  After you do it if or a while, your definition of cold changes. First it was cold during the summer, now in the summer the water doesn't feel cold at all. For me to really feel cold water (after years of doing this), it has to be well before freezing outside and even then I can be standing under this water for minutes at a time.
wolverine876 5y ago
I love these ideas both just for the joy of tinkering (which many on HN will understand), to experiment with saving resources, and to actually save a little: In the summer I take cold and cool showers. It struck me that it's a bit insane to consume energy cooling my home, and then using hot water to heat myself up again. Just leave home a little warmer and the cool shower feels great - less AC, less water heating, and happier results. Also, I took a trip to a poorer country where people, lacking plumbing, bathed using buckets and a big cup. I tried it and it worked fine[0] - almost no drawback at all, just a different habit. I need far less water to shower than I imagined and if I can, turn the water on and off as I shower. Unfortunately, it requires a shower control that is one lever that retains its heat setting; resetting the temperature every time is too cumbersome. [0] To be clear, I am not at all implying that those people shouldn't have plumbing (they should) or that I was trying to experience poverty in any way (a ridiculous notion, considering where I came from and where I was returning to). I just saw that it worked fine and tried it.

How cold is cold? When our gas went out in the summer, taking a 'cold' shower was bearable, some days even enjoyable. In the freezing winter? Tried it once, never again. I'm not even sure it would be safe to shower in water that cold for any long periods of time.

mypalmike 5y ago
I'm not personally advocating for this, but some argue for water conservation by taking a https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navy_shower https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navy_shower which involves only about 2 minutes of time in the water.
- occz 5y ago
  >A Navy shower (also known as a "combat shower", "military shower", "sea shower", "staggered shower", or "G.I. bath") is a method of showering that allows for significant conservation of water and energy by turning off the flow of water in the middle portion of the shower while lathering. Hold up - do you mean to tell me that people do not turn off the water while lathering? I've showered this way all my life, is this not the norm?
  - cameronh90 5y ago
    Often with combi boilers, if you turn off the water it takes a solid 30s to a minute for the water to come up to temperature again, sometimes longer if you account for the water in the pipes and the thermostat reaching equilibrium. Obviously newer/better boilers come up to temperature quicker but you don't always have the luxury of choosing your boiler.
  - vages 5y ago
    I came up with this method a few years ago and have used it ever since. I’ve never looked back; I’m no less comfortable now than before, and I enjoy using less energy even though my hot water use is included in the rent. I’ve had little luck converting friends and family to it, though.
  - OJFord 5y ago
    Honestly in the time it'd take to turn it off and on I could basically finish 'lathering', I don't belabour it or find particular pleasure in prolonged showers. I can understand it for people that like a long shower, maybe.. except that surely it's the water they enjoy rather than just the process, so being there with it off wouldn't be any fun?
  - mns 5y ago
    I think it’s a cultural and technical thing. But still, it’s weird hearing that people leave the water on and this “navy” shower isn’t the norm. Perks of growing up in a communist country, with constant outages.
  - blindmute 5y ago
    Why would you ever do that in a developed country? You'd be saving like 3 cents per shower or less.
    - occz 5y ago
      It's not a question of economics, it's about not purposefully wasting resources. Perhaps you'll be surprised to hear that I also turn off the lights in rooms that I am not in, or that I don't keep cars running when I'm not using them to move around. Counter-question: why would you ever keep the water running when you're not utilizing the water?
      - blindmute 5y ago
        Because when you turn the water off it's cold. I would rather pay 1.5 cents to remain warm while I lather. If the resource was actually scarce, it wouldn't cost so little to use it.
  - novok 5y ago
    The controls to get back to your proper temperature after a shutoff are unreliable. What you need is a shutoff valve on the shower head itself, so the temperature stays the same, which is not common on many showers unless they are using the navy shower head too. It's mostly a UI issue.
olegious 5y ago
After you do it if or a while, your definition of cold changes. First it was cold during the summer, now in the summer the water doesn't feel cold at all. For me to really feel cold water (after years of doing this), it has to be well before freezing outside and even then I can be standing under this water for minutes at a time.

wolverine876 5y ago

I love these ideas both just for the joy of tinkering (which many on HN will understand), to experiment with saving resources, and to actually save a little: In the summer I take cold and cool showers. It struck me that it's a bit insane to consume energy cooling my home, and then using hot water to heat myself up again. Just leave home a little warmer and the cool shower feels great - less AC, less water heating, and happier results. Also, I took a trip to a poorer country where people, lacking plumbing, bathed using buckets and a big cup. I tried it and it worked fine[0] - almost no drawback at all, just a different habit. I need far less water to shower than I imagined and if I can, turn the water on and off as I shower. Unfortunately, it requires a shower control that is one lever that retains its heat setting; resetting the temperature every time is too cumbersome. [0] To be clear, I am not at all implying that those people shouldn't have plumbing (they should) or that I was trying to experience poverty in any way (a ridiculous notion, considering where I came from and where I was returning to). I just saw that it worked fine and tried it.