Shower together to save water
Save water by teaming up during shower time, that is the message from the World Wildlife Fund and AXE, who are encouraging Canadians couples to drop trou and lather up together in celebration of Earth Day today.
Now, that does sound like a tremendously fun idea, no?
Certainly you can't beat two naked bodies scrubbing up in a confined space under stream of hot water. Yes! You can get clean, green and dirty all at the same time.
But lying at the heart of this steamy buddy system is the goal of conserving water, which is also exceptionally good news for the earth.
"Water conservation is a serious issue, and one that needs more attention here in Canada," says Tony Maas, director of the Freshwater Program at WWF-Canada.
"Shower-pooling (is a) creative way to reach and educate young Canadians about how much water we each use on a daily basis and to consider ways to reduce their water footprint."
According to research by WWF and AXE, just 35% of Canucks have tried showering together, with the green-minded activity being the most popular among those living in Atlantic Canada, where they average 2. 5 shared showers a week.
Over at my house, hooking up for a joint shower holds great promise.
See, in the apartment shared with my boyfriend, we typically get about 10 minutes of warm water before the taps start running cold. Buddying up seems like the perfect solution for ensuring neither one of us get stuck with a blast of bone-chilling water.
So, early one morning before work, I request my boyfriend's presence in the shower, a move that's almost entirely regrettable the instant he steps in.
There are indeed some logistics to consider before sharing your shower space with another person.
For example, only one person can be under the shower head at one time, which leaves the other one naked and shivering off to the side while waiting their turn.
I try navigating the small space to give my legs a quick shave, but a gal needs a little leg room to get this kind of job done.
After cutting myself twice, the razor gets tossed to the side. Riddled with goose bumps, I irritably wait to rinse off.
Now it certainly doesn't help that I haven't had my morning coffee yet, so when he comments about the hot-water tap being cranked too high (blatantly suggesting I am to blame for the frequent shortage), I start fantasizing about grabbing the can of shaving cream and blasting him with a solid stream of the white, frothy goop.
Thankfully, I don't do this because suddenly, I feel something hard pressing up against me.
Alright ... Things are looking up!
Oh, wait ... never mind, it's just his boney elbow.
Wet and wild? Well, not exactly.
Some ideas - like pigging out out at the greasy Chinese food buffet, acting out certain sexual fantasies and draining your savings account for a pair of ridiculously overpriced designer pumps - simply work better in theory than practice.
Indeed, when you're grumpy, hungry, caffeine-free and pinched for time, it can easily turn in to a perfunctory act, much like washing the dishes or brushing your teeth.
But even though teaming up for such close-quarter intimacy won't always be teeming with delicious eroticism, at least it helps to conserve water ... and really, it is all about helping the the environment, right? I thought so.
Who's the cleanest of them all? Men ages 19-21 shower most often, averaging seven showers a week
Quebec residents are the least likely to warm up to the idea of shower pooling, with just 26% in favour of the water-saving concept
The average 19-24 year-old showers for 11 minutes daily, using up to 220 litres of water each time. At a rate of seven showers a week, this amounts to 1,540 litres of water per person
So, you're happily shower pooling, but what else can you do to conserve water?
While not as sexy as getting soapy with your beloved, consider these smart steps for reducing your household water use:
- Choose a low-flow shower head to reduce water use
- By investing in a low-flow toilet you'll not only save water, but money too
- Consider switching to a high-efficiency washing machine to reduce use
- When brushing teeth, shaving or washing your face, don't leave water running