Shower Awareness
I love showering. Unfortunately for me I absentmindedly rushed through my shower yesterday after practice because I was in a hurry to prep for our haunted house. That being said I took one of the longest showers in history due to the copious amounts of white liquid make-up and fake blood covering my limbs that I needed to scrub off. So sayonara to long steamy showers.
After taking a closer look at this habit of mine I came to several conclusions:
1) I shower every morning (no matter what) because it helps me wake up.
2) I shower after every practice because who wants to walk around with the scent of chlorine that coincidentally makes your skin somewhat resembling the skin of an iguana.
3) I lose track of time consistently whenever I’m in the shower (shower = time warp? Patent pending)
4) I plan ahead for long showers.
5) Did I mention I love water?
Each of these observations are huge contributors to my not-so-terrible-but-for-the-environment habit (there are absolutely worse habits to have). The one interesting and insightful conclusion was my realization that I planned ahead for my shower. I am so dedicated to my habit that I always leave extra time for those few extra moments in the shower. That being said maybe I should take those spare and add them to my alarm clock. Snoozing for Shower Time. Sounds like a great program and a great reward I may be able to give myself for my lack of in water time. Increased stress is also a main contributor to my luxurious lengthy showers since I use it as time to unwind and relax before or after a long day/practice.
Due to apparent need for long showers I wanted to consider carbon-footprint sensitive options that would allow for my long showers but not heavily weigh on my carbon footprint. I stumbled across an article that discussed domestic solar water heating systems as a means to provide the necessary temperature water for homes. It was discovered that if these solar thermal energy units were to be at all efficient in comparison to auxiliary water heating systems, solar households must avoid the use of existing auxiliary water heating systems during the warmest parts of the day so that the households carbon footprint is reduced (Hill 2011). While this may not seem to directly affect my mission, it suggests that other greener version of water heating capabilities have not progressed enough to be entirely more efficient or “worth it” in households. Many people see long showers as a release or simple pleasure and they may not want to give that up. Creating a better solution that gives our society greener water heating and is efficient is something that science and technology need to seriously develop. Who wouldn’t want to feel good and greener about their shower?
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