Greens in the Shower: Some Like It Cold
Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "do one thing every day that scares you." Until about a month ago, I felt—and I don’t think I’m alone here—that cold showers were pretty scary. I’ve since come to love the refreshing, energy-saving thrill of showering cold. Now, I know that you may never want to try this daring piece of everyday eco-activism. But in case you’re curious, here are the greatest thrills and chills of la douche froide.
The Thrills
- It’s refreshing. Think that iced lemonade is the last word in refreshment? Not even close. Cold showers arouse your senses like only a blast of icy, fresh water can.
- You’ll be saving energy. You may not know it, but your home water heater soaks up 14-25% of the money you spend on your energy bill. If you’re not ready to take the plunge into colder waters, you can still "flex your power" with gentler methods, like lowering the thermostat on your water heater to 48 C (120 F). Sip up more tips on the U.S. Dept. of Energy website.
- Chances are that if the water’s cold, your showers will be shorter. This will help you save water as well as energy. It can be hard to part with the steamy suds of a hot shower. Cold water = problem solved: you’re out in a flash and on your way to face and embrace the day.
- It will cool you down on a hot day or after some exercise. A cool, quick rinse-off feels great after a workout, or on a hot September day.
- It will cool you down after a hot date. Need we say more?
- It will prepare you for travel to places where hot water is simply not an option. If you’re not much of a traveler, then you can at least gain an appreciation for the daily feel of life in many places.
- It’s as close as you can get to the feeling of standing under a high mountain waterfall: wild and fresh (trust me). Call me crazy, but it just feels good.
The Chills
- It’s not for the faint of heart. Just like jumping into a cold lake or creek, for the first few seconds, cold showers can be much less than comfortable. I suggest using your preferred "Band-Aid method" to begin each shower: either start by slowly introducing your feet and legs to the water and move the showerhead gradually up, or take a breath and make a splash, wetting the back of your neck and your hair first and letting the water run down the rest of you from there. Once you adjust to the water, you can start enjoying the feeling of showering cold.
- Lowering the water intensity is one way to make the cold water more comfortable, since this lets the water warm slightly as it runs down your body.
- If you live in a cold climate, please consider the sanity of taking cold showers. I’d hate for you to catch a chill on account of saving energy and water.
- Even with a background in early morning swimming, nothing sounds more miserable than a cold shower when I first wake up. But that’s just me. Take your cold showers when you’re ready for a fresh blast of cool water.
- There are times when, no matter how sweet a cold shower might feel, I can’t help but to crank up the hot water. All good things in moderation, I say.
- You know that cold showers might not be for you if afterwards you look (or feel) like this:
References and Resources:
U.S. Dept. of Energy, Water Heating: http://www.energy.gov/waterheating.htm
Calculate how much water you use when you shower and what that costs in USD amounts: http://www.showersmartfaucet.com/imperial.html
Photo Sources:
‘Taking a Cold Shower’: http://www.flickr.com/photos/eenfotograaf/414085906/
‘Our Sammy. 2002-2004′: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jon_d_himes/248864279/
Tags: Activism, bathroom, Beauty, Climate Change, cold, cold+shower, Conservation, Culture, energy+conservation, Environment, Family, Frugal Living, Healthy Intimacy, Personal Care, Recreation, shower, showering+cold, water, water+conservation
September 4th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
In my area right now, cold showers just make sense. We’ve been having 100+ degree weather, so even first thing in the morning cold water is feeling better than warm.
Not so good in the winter, but at the moment this one’s easy.
September 4th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
Another, on the plus side of cold showering, is it boosts your immune system. Studies have shown that cold showers, or ending a hot shower with a one-minute burst of cold, stimulates white blood cell development.
September 4th, 2007 at 8:13 pm
I had a cold shower today, and if you’ll excuse my language, it was (obviously) bloody freezing. I had just played football/soccer and unusually it had been very warm. But every day? I’ll start with twice a week!
http://www.lifegoggles.com
The Entertaining Environment Blog
September 5th, 2007 at 3:47 am
I want to know where the figure on percentage of savings comes from. My hot water heater costs about $10 in electricity a year and about $6 a month in natural gas per month. So about $82.00 a year. I’ll be generous and round it up to an even $100 a year. In Winter months, our electricity bill is $100.00 a month with about $70.00 in natural gas or $170.00 a month. In the summer it is less than $180 month for electricity and about $20.00 a month for natural gas. For a total of $200.00 a month. Brings my total bills for this to about $2280 a year. This is taking into account 4 Winter and 8 Summer months that reflects the climate of the Mojave Desert, so I’ll admit it is a very rough estimation.
Little high but we’re working on getting it down. $100 for hot water is less than 5% of the total energy costs. We use hot water for bathing and washing dishes. Our clothes are washed in cold water only. I understand some people have electric hot water heaters but is the difference in cost that great between natural gas and electric heating?
Of course by this time next year, I’ll have our electric usage down at least 30% from where it is now so the proportionate amount would go up. Our bill is down from 50% last year in our old home where it cost us $700 a month to cool the house down to 90 degrees fahrenheit in the Summer.
I might take a cold shower on occasion but they usually leave me wanting to get back in bed, not refreshed. Though my average shower consists of less than 4 minutes of water flow. It seems to me that there are better ways to conserve energy. Low flow shower heads, insulated waterheaters, installing Soak and Soap Valves and many other means would help in this regard better. Especially if you want to get the general public involved in these energy saving methods.
September 5th, 2007 at 5:24 am
This is really interesting, Craig. If you have any sources for these studies handy, I’d love it if you could post them here. It would make for a great follow-up read.
Thanks!
September 5th, 2007 at 5:25 am
I can definitely relate to 100+ degree Sept. heat. Cold showers and ice cubes all the way!
September 5th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
I lived in Guyana’s tropical climate for a couple years and fell in love with the power of a cold/cool shower. I still take them now that I live back stateside again… though I limit the coldest water showers to summertime. I find that a cold shower in the late afternoon or early evening cools me down enough that I only have to use AC when it’s 95+ out. We’ve used our AC for only a few weeks this year and it was cold showers (ok, and an electric fan) that made it possible.
September 5th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
Hi Gavin. Here’s one easy-to-read link. A quick google for ‘cold shower immune system’ or ‘cold shower white blood cells’, or searching on ‘hydrotherapy’ will find plenty of info.
Stories are also told that soldiers during WWII that stripped of and ’showered’ by rubbing snow on themselves always felt warmer afterwards (rather than colder as you might expect). The cold, so long as it’s not prolonged for too long, stimulates circulation (the bodies reaction to try to warm up), which increases cell activity.
September 7th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
I love cold showers in the summer! They feel so wonderfully refreshing
and cool your body so quickly. I think one key to enjoying them is to
avoid keeping the AC running too high. Stepping out of a cold shower in
an 78-80 degree house is wonderful, a 65-70 can be uncomfortable.
Keeping the AC use down also helps save energy.
Another bonus cold water (even just a burst at the end) helps shine and
stregthen hair!
September 10th, 2007 at 10:56 pm
Ha! I’m sorry to laugh, but you’re right. Cold showers can be… well, cold!
One of my tricks in enjoying cold showers is to turn the water on to suds up and rinse off, but leave it running on only a trickle for the rest of the time — just enough to get the soap wet. This keeps me warmer, even in a cold shower, and saves water as well.
Cheers!