Author Topic: Cold showers  (Read 4567 times)

Rue551

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Cold showers
« on: September 16, 2015, 05:23:24 AM »
Water heating is a major part of the average family's heating bill (up to one third I believe).

Cut this off at the knees by crushing your shower time, or do like I do - take cold showers whenever possible.

Most people (OK, all people) in our culture of pampering cringe at the very prospect of a cold shower, but Mustachianism requires throwing out convenience and comfort and dialling up the badassity for big big savings. Cold showers test your Mustachian mettle like no other Gauntlet Throw Down you can think of.

The following is a quick review of my findings after a year of cold showers.

Cold showers are best (and are pretty much mandatory) when the outside temperature is over 40C (100F). Don't even touch that hot tap :o)

In the 30's, go for it cowboy. Ahhh.

In the 20's - use your discretion. After a run or workout and you're still buzzing - do it.

When the temperature outside is less than 20C (70F) the experience is unpleasant. We're entering bad-ass zone. It's definitely a case of harden up, princess.

Less than 10C (50F) - don't do pure cold water, you're endangering your health. Painful, traumatic, and not worth it :o)

Tips:

On a hot day, there is normally about 10 seconds of warm water in the pipe before the cold stuff hits, use this to get under the shower spray and start to soap up.

Don't inch under, that's just torture - Take a series of deep breaths (this helps) then, angle your head under the shower spray so the water hits your hair first, then pivot to do your back, then turn front on. Easy :o)

The hard bit is getting under, after about ten seconds your skin adjusts and it's not nearly so bad.

This is not a thread for pretenders, who's ready to banish their steamy sanctuary for an icy firehose?

Step up hardcore Mustache folks and share your cold shower experiences.

aceyou

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Re: Cold showers
« Reply #1 on: September 16, 2015, 07:41:50 AM »
I've been showering cold exclusively for over a year now. Don't even give it a second thought any more.
If at the gym I do however enjoy the few seconds of warmth before the cold kicks in. xD

Nice!!!

MandalayVA

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Re: Cold showers
« Reply #2 on: September 16, 2015, 07:56:26 AM »
Here in Richmond we get our water from the James River, which is fairly shallow and therefore gets VERY warm in the brutal summers, so in summer I turn on the cold tap and I'm STILL getting a pretty warm shower.  But it's refreshing, like jumping into a swimming pool.

Gone Fishing

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Re: Cold showers
« Reply #3 on: September 16, 2015, 08:24:07 AM »
I've got some work to do here!

HOT showers have been one of my last holdouts.  After FIRE I plan on going to one every other day (maybe I will try lukewarm?) and building a very basic outdoor solar shower for use in the summer. 
« Last Edit: September 16, 2015, 08:26:17 AM by So Close »

Mntngoat

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Re: Cold showers
« Reply #4 on: September 16, 2015, 08:30:16 AM »
my gas bill for  last month was $8.42  for my wife and i in a 1400 SF home.  I'll continue to take hot showers.

ML

Fishindude

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Re: Cold showers
« Reply #5 on: September 16, 2015, 08:33:37 AM »
I grew up with a bunch of brothers.
Dad's line was .... If you're in there more than about five minutes you're playing with it.
We took, and I still do take quick showers.  I'm not going to forgo hot water, it's one of life's simple pleasures.

Bob W

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Re: Cold showers
« Reply #6 on: September 16, 2015, 09:32:15 AM »
Most people over shower --- every other day is fine for most folks most of the time.

Use a Navy protocol --  turn shower on and wet up for about 1 minute (cold or warm).  Soap up and lather up good. (only head, face hands, feet, underarms and privates rarely or never the rest of your skin)

Let suds do their work for several minutes while you sing your favorite song.

Rinse as quickly as possible (hot or cold).  You should be using about 2.5 minutes of water or 4 gallons with a low flow head. 


Flcik water off using hand.  towel dry.  hang towel.  wash towel every 10-20 uses.

Set hot water heater setting to setting that allows you to turn fully to hot and be comfortable.

Inexpensive 110 in line point of use heaters can be used and the hot water heater could be retired if you are hardcore. 

Your lifetime savings could be in the 100s of thousands!

Rue551

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Re: Cold showers
« Reply #7 on: September 16, 2015, 03:18:54 PM »
Thanks for all the replies.

Climate is a major determinant I think - no one *wants* to take a cold shower when the air temperature is already cold.

Cold showers in a hot climate provide so many benefits - they're refreshing, reduce the need to run air conditioners to cool your home, and the tendency to over shower is removed, saving water.

Another benefit - everything else in your day suddenly seems easy if you can step under a cold spray. It sets up your day with a fearless mindset and sharpens your resolve.

Heated water for showers is only a very recent historical development, and I doubt many people around the world even have access to a hot shower, and they would think nothing of taking a cold shower to get clean.

There may be health benefits too - cold showers are very stimulating for the blood flow and help to flush out toxins.

Your mirror doesn't steam up either :o)

If you need any more convincing, the ancient Spartans thought it unmanly to use hot water for showers. That should be reason enough alone.

What Mntngoat says is true, the cost reduction really isn't massive, unless of course you are only using your hot water heater to provide water for your showers. Completely deactivating your hot water system could actually save you some real money if you could commit to it, even for a few months over the warmest part of the year.

FliXFantatier, not sure I understand - if you're showering at the gym, why not just take a hot shower, the hot water is already paid for through your membership fees so the money saving aspect is nullified.

Bob W - nice - I like the Navy approach, nice compromise if you cannot bring yourself to step under a cold spray. Keep your hot showers ultra short, be mindful, and focus on the task at hand.



MonkeyJenga

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Re: Cold showers
« Reply #8 on: September 16, 2015, 03:48:46 PM »
If you need any more convincing, the ancient Spartans thought it unmanly to use hot water for showers. That should be reason enough alone.

And what's in it for the women?

I started taking cold showers this summer, and it doesn't even save me money. My landlord pays for heat/water. I wanted to try it to up my badass quotient. I can already see it being tougher as the temperatures drop, though.

m8547

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Re: Cold showers
« Reply #9 on: September 16, 2015, 10:22:06 PM »
Most people over shower --- every other day is fine for most folks most of the time.

Use a Navy protocol --  turn shower on and wet up for about 1 minute (cold or warm).  Soap up and lather up good. (only head, face hands, feet, underarms and privates rarely or never the rest of your skin)

Let suds do their work for several minutes while you sing your favorite song.

Rinse as quickly as possible (hot or cold).  You should be using about 2.5 minutes of water or 4 gallons with a low flow head. 


Flcik water off using hand.  towel dry.  hang towel.  wash towel every 10-20 uses.

Set hot water heater setting to setting that allows you to turn fully to hot and be comfortable.

Inexpensive 110 in line point of use heaters can be used and the hot water heater could be retired if you are hardcore. 

Your lifetime savings could be in the 100s of thousands!

I came here to suggest this. Just to be clear, you turn the water off after wetting your body, so you lather with shampoo and soap with the water off. I think I need to find gentler soap because letting it sit on my skin for even that long irritates it.

In the winter I use an electric space heater in my bathroom. By making it more comfortable to get out of the shower I can take shorter, cooler showers. I don't think I save anything that way, but the heater only costs a couple dollars a month to run (about 10 minutes a day, 1.5kW, $0.20/kWh), but it makes me more comfortable in the winter. I otherwise keep the house slightly colder than comfortable.

patrickza

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Re: Cold showers
« Reply #10 on: September 17, 2015, 12:17:55 AM »
I'm afraid I'm too much of a softy to do the cold showers. The only time I did was when I was in Eritrea, where there was only a single on off type tap. It was cold, but with the outside temperature at 40 deg c plus the water was probably warmer than I'd like!

I'm just wondering why you don't switch to a solar geyser. They're a big thing here, the government even puts them on the low cost housing projects. The vacuum tube version can get the water to near boiling even on a somewhat cloudy day.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Cold showers
« Reply #11 on: September 17, 2015, 06:06:42 AM »
There is cold water and then there is COLD water.  When I was in an apartment in Ottawa the cold water was not all that cold (i.e. not cold enough to be nice to drink).  Here I am on a well, and my water is COLD.  Hot water is one of technology's gifts.  I will save the cold wash for my laundry.

LD_TAndK

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Re: Cold showers
« Reply #12 on: October 04, 2021, 07:13:59 AM »
I've been enjoying cold navy showers since the beginning of summer. The water ends up running about 30 seconds with a 1.5 GPM shower head. On hot days I barely felt any discomfort, it cooled me off nicely to stop sweating, and it didn't add as much heat and humidity to the house. We'll see how long I last into the fall...

I find it's easiest to get in if you don't hesitate and don't think about it at all. Just stoically disrobe, walk in, stand under the shower head, turn on the water, don't let your brain consider the situation haha.

Supposedly the average american showers for 8 minutes at ~2 GPM. A gallon of water takes about .2 kWh to heat. That's a lot!