Years ago, I had the last cheap
apartment in Portland. When I went to take a shower, there was never enough hot
water to wash my hair; the hot water heater was too small to handle the full on
showerhead. After a week of cold rinses, I went to Fred Meyers and purchased a
sturdy reduced flow showerhead for ten bucks. Voila! Hot water. That was twenty five years ago. The
showerhead is in our greenhouse tub right now, still in use.
Using less water in a shower
serves two functions for reducing greenhouse gases. Much of our water comes
from the Willamette River and needs to be cleaned before it enters the system.
Then, it is dumped back into the river, after being cleaned once more and cooled.
This takes energy. Heating water at home also takes energy, even if you have a
very efficient hot water heater. Using
less water is an obvious way to shrink your footprint. The second benefit is that it will save money.
We timed our showers—Mark takes
about nine minutes, I am in and out at
twelve (I have more hair). If we want to reduce our overall shower time, we
have two options: Jump in and out
quickly while using the shut off valve on the showerhead or take fewer
showers. Two a week allows me to enjoy
the process, so that’s my plan.
Options:
Replace your showerhead.
Don’t flush!
Take shorter or less frequent
showers.
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