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Shorter Showers-Time to rethink our shower

Written by: Florencia Ramirez

Article Overview: The average shower in the U.S. is 8 minutes long using 36 gallons of water per shower. The average person takes 6 showers a week at eight minutes totaling 11,232 gallons of water per year. This translates to roughly 3 trillion gallons of water used for showering in the U.S. per year-- or enough water to fill up Lake Erie twice.

Shorter Showers-Time to rethink our shower

Many of us are guilty of indulging in that long shower. We use the shower to wake-up in the morning, or to relax after a long day. Some of us brush our teeth in the shower, shave, sing, contemplate...But it is time that we rethink how we use the shower. The average shower in the U.S. is 8 minutes long using 36 gallons of water per shower. The average person takes 6 showers a week at eight minutes totaling 11,232 gallons of water per year. This translates to roughly 3 trillion gallons of water used for showering in the U.S. per year-- or enough water to fill up Lake Erie twice.


So you compost, recycle, bring your reusable bags to the grocery store, carry around your SIGG bottle...but you still take those long showers. Consider this next time you leave the water running. 5.3 billion people- 2/3 of the world's population- will suffer from water shortages by 2025. Is it all connected- absolutely!


So if you feel inspired to reduce your shower (even by one minute to start) because all our small actions make big actions collectively. These are the steps to take a three minute shower:



1. I am sure that I have all the things I need; shampoo, conditioner, soap, towel. Now I do not find myself running to the downstairs bathroom or searching through the bathroom cabinet for the bar of soap with the water running.


2. I undress so I am ready to jump in the moment the water is warm.


3. I place my collapsible water bucket under the running water to collect the water as it warms up. The Ripple Products bucket is great because it does not take a lot of space and it is lightweight but any bucket would work.


4. I turn the water on.


5. As soon as the water heats up I step into the shower put my star shower timer on for 3 minutes.


6. The sequence of showering matters when your goal is to be efficient. For me because I condition my hair, I shampoo first.


7. Next I condition my hair as it is leave in conditioner. At this point I have about a minute and a half left on the clock.


8. While my hair is being conditioned I lather my body.


9. Than I rinse my hair and body.


After the shower I feel clean, refreshed, and glad to know that in my small way I am contributing to more drinkable water for the earth's population.


To learn more about water conservation, the shorter shower program for hotels, universities and at home and/or where you can find a shower timer please visit the Azul website at www.azulconservationproducts.com.

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Re: What would you like to see be invented? - I'd like to see an automated bathtub or shower. The alarm clock alone isn't motivation enough to get me out of bed in time. If I know I already have a warm shower running for me to simply prance into out of bed, I'd be more apt to waking up and enjoying my mornings. Anyone want to agree with me? LOL
SEEKING PRIVATE OR ANGEL INVESTOR - We are the inventors of a very affordable, easy to install, dual headed shower product named Superb Shower, that we envision will replace the traditional shower, and become the shower of the 21st century. Superb Shower showers a bather from the front and back simultaneously, creating a warm, soothing feeling all over the body. Superb Shower eliminated the need to turn several times during the course of a shower to stay warm and get rinsed off. In addition to transforming an ordinary shower into a luxurious showering experience for one, it offers great versatility. It is a therapeutic shower for those with sore muscles, and a very safe shower for the elderly. Superb Shower is also a convenient, time saving shower for two children or two adults. It is also extremely advantageous for the handicapped, who can now sit in their shower chair and hold a hand-held-shower-head for the front part of their body as they are being showered from behind. To achieve this versatility without our product would necessitate thousands of dollars in renovation costs and be extremely disruptive to the entire household. We received our first patent (5,564,139) on October 15, 1996 for our dual headed shower product originally named Super Shower, Reg. & TM # 1,776,397 on June 15, 1993. The plastic was extruded to our specification, and all units were hand assembled in three sizes (and custom when necessary), and came in two colors, white and almond. We came up with the idea of making our product in kit form. Our new and improved shower product is now patent-pending. We have a great working prototype and we are ready to have our product injection molded. We also have our own design for shower heads. Superb Shower will retail for between $100 to $140, depending on the finish. We have a very strong desire to have our product manufactured in the U.S.A., and we want to be able to employ the handicapped and senior citizens. We hold the belief that innovation is not just to be different, but innovation is also to render improvement. Our new dual headed shower product is a tremendous improvement over the single shower head and all other shower heads of today that only shower a bather on one side of the body. Our research into current market trends reveals that consumers today demand a lot from their shower besides just getting clean, and they are always looking for ways to enhance their shower. Our product meets these needs and desires, and there is no other product like ours currently being sold. During the past several years, we have put over $125,000 of our own money to fund the development and sales of our product. Here is where we need help. We are unable to move our business forward at this point because of lack of funds. We are seeking a Grant, Private Investor, Angel Investor or Venture Capital who would be interested in investing $425,000.00 You can contact us at ems50@comcast.net
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