My city is in the middle of the worst drought in recorded history. My showers are typically under 2 minutes and I have to shower with a bucket to catch otherwise wasted water to use to flush the toilet. I also shut the water down when I am wet enough so I can scrub myself without having unneeded water flowing then start it back up to rinse.

Plus, water is damn expensive!

Who here really has the time to stand, think and waste in the shower?

  • Caveman@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    To absolutely minimise the water usage you could do a more old school “shower” by just putting some water in a bucket with a sponge.

    1. Put some water on your body with a quick sponge rinse.
    2. Apply soap.
    3. Use sponge to rinse off soap.

    Then later use the bucket as toilet refill.

  • SPRUNT@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    So, when you take a shower, all you think is “scrub, scrub, scrub, scrub, rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse”?

    When I shower, it’s all pretty automatic and muscle memory kinds of actions. My mind wanders all over the place, usually while listening to music /podcasts /audio books, but rarely do I think about the actual act of bathing.

    • Gnugit@aussie.zoneOP
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      4 months ago

      Thoughts taken:

      Is the water running into the bucket when heating?

      Is the water warming yet so I can get my head under comfortably and wet it to get shampoo in?

      Quick, get the shampoo rub it in before I need to add cold so I don’t get burnt.

      Water is perfect now, that’s nice. Turn and rub it in.

      Is it warm enough in the bathroom so I can afford to turn off water and lather myself?

      Ok, now i’m lathered, let’s get those hard to reach places.

      Turn on the water. Try to aim for taps to be at the same position so I don’t get burnt. (I have temperature variation from solar hot water)

      Rinse, quick, let’s rinse. Dont fall over the bucket Gnugit!

      Turn off taps now and quick, dry your hands so you can reply to Sprunt on lemmy.

      Oh, the shower timer only says ~1/4 of 4 minutes this time, that was efficient.

      Hmm, maybe I can finally make a post to c/showerthoughts…

  • drivepiler@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    I’m blessed in this regard by living in the rainiest city in Europe. It has it’s downsides, but hey… free water.

  • thorbot@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    I’m the problem. I take 30 min+ showers. It’s my best place to cry and think about my life.

  • Unlearned9545@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    My city is nestled between a rain forrest and lots of natural springs. If we put our water through the normal cleaning process it would come out dirtier then it went it. We also have a few damned lakes we are having to release water from because we got so much damned rain this past winter.

    We have a flat rate we pay for water, sewage, recycling, and garbage pickup and are only charged more if we use a certain amount of water. Mostly just people who water their yard or have a personal pool have to pay the higher fee.

    • Possibly linux@lemmy.zip
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      4 months ago

      It is very expensive in dry places with less water. Where I live there it is a tiered system where the more water you use the more expensive it becomes. Right now we aren’t in a drought so the tiers are quite large but when it starts becoming dry then the tier shrinks and water prices go up. They are put laws in place that only allow you to water your lawn during specific times. The city also runs programs to get people to plant native grasses that will do well with low amounts of water.

    • Gnugit@aussie.zoneOP
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      4 months ago

      We have a solar water heater so the heating is next to free.

      $55aud/month currently for the water we use.

      • TwanHE@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Were getting one soon as well and adding an electric boiler to work with our solar panels.

        Water is only €1.13/1000L here so showering costs about 1 cent a minute water wise.

        • Gnugit@aussie.zoneOP
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          4 months ago

          We have the electric booster and it’s used most days throughout winter but we get pretty cold and cloudy here. We also have solar panels to supplement the power and that helps a lot.

  • Allero@lemmy.today
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    4 months ago

    Depends on the definition of “wasting”

    There’s always a way to spend less water, even less than you currently do.

    But normally spending more water translates to comfort, as well as better washing.

    • flying_sheep@lemmy.ml
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      4 months ago

      It’s how dishwashers work: more cycles = more rinsing, then later rinse it all off.

      You could do a quick pre-wash, then a long cycling of water, and lastly a rinse with clean water.

      • Gnugit@aussie.zoneOP
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        4 months ago

        There are the centuries old rock structures that extract moisture from the air via condensation though. Maybe they have some of those?

        Modern by the universe timescale standards.

      • abbadon420@lemm.ee
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        5 months ago

        Yes they do. At least they’re working on it, like more and bigger basins, less waste and spilage, better throughput, etc.

        • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
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          5 months ago

          And then you get a drought that lasts longer than your infrastructure is able to handle and you’re still fucked

          • abbadon420@lemm.ee
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            4 months ago

            There has always been a margin for failure, but the margins need to change with climate change and that is something they’re working on all the time. At least where i live.

          • Possibly linux@lemmy.zip
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            4 months ago

            True but with planning you can make it work. Instead of not watering at all you can water 2 days a week.

      • Possibly linux@lemmy.zip
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        4 months ago

        It can help significantly. Having a big reservoir that can hold water during dry years and then collect water during wet years is really good. It is expensive and requires land and infrastructure but it can make it possible to not need water restrictions during dry times.

  • lurch (he/him)@sh.itjust.works
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    5 months ago

    depends on region. my region has enough water. still, most people try to not waste it. water has to be treated before it goes back into nature and people understand it helps to minimize this process.

    but it’s more about the routine anyway. you get used to the movements you make in the shower, so the brain starts to trail off. doesn’t mean you just stop moving and think. that usually only happens when you’re traumatized or so.

      • deo@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        4 months ago

        Sometimes i’ll do this in the winter. We try to minimize heat/AC energy usage, and i get cold easily, so once i’m in the nice warm shower it takes a minute to work up the courage to make the mad dash to get my clothes back on lol

    • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      Yeah that’s like saying the gas in your car comes from a hole in the ground.

      Resource extraction is never free.

      • DannyBoy@sh.itjust.works
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        4 months ago

        It would cost around $0.0025 to pump enough water for a shower. It’s not free but it’s a negligible cost.

        • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          The cost is that you deplete the aquifer. Generally speaking, water pumped out of the ground doesn’t replenish (except on geologic time scales). That’s what I meant by the fossil fuel comparison. It’s not like taking water from a stream or a lake replenished by snowmelt. Once that aquifer is dry, it’s dry, and the land becomes dead.

    • Gnugit@aussie.zoneOP
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      4 months ago

      In my city the water comes from underground too. The problem arises when there is no rain and cleared land produces more runoff than absorbtion.

      Coupled with heavy use by people ground water levels are reduced. This not only affects us but trees and plants that rely on these water levels will die off.

      However, as the other commenter mentioned, normal citizen use and its affect on this is negligible. It’s when you have industrial water extraction that is the real problem.

    • Gnugit@aussie.zoneOP
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      4 months ago

      We just had our dishwasher connected to our rainwater tank so maybe I could justify a few minutes for c/showerthoughts now.