By The Way...

Friday, March 9, 2007
11:02:00 AM EST
Hearing Kill the Messenger -- John Wesley Harding
Folks who live in Queensland, Australia has better get versed in the fine art of taking a quick shower:

A SMALL, plastic egg timer is the latest weapon in the fight to keep southeast Queensland from running dry. The Queensland Water Commission today announced level five water restrictions that will target in-home water use.

The commission says shower timers hold the key to making huge savings in the home. The timers will be distributed widely as part of an education campaign encouraging people to spend just four minutes per day in the shower – down from the average seven-minute wash – to save 36 litres, per person, a day.

Some folks are apparently actually concerned that this will lead to a general rise of stinkiness in Queensland, but I think that's fairly silly -- you need about 30 seconds to wet down your body, a minute to soap up, and another 30 seconds to rinse. That leave you two full minutes to stand there listlessly under the shower head and try to convince yourself your job is worth going to. More than enough time!

Where I live we're not exactly hurting for water (which is a good thing because I like a half-hour shower; that's where I think about story lines for my novels), but I grew up in Southern California, and in the 70s and 80s, water conservation was a pretty big deal there, and I think the water strictures they're putting into place in Queensland are akin to what we had in California at the time. At the very least, I remember some pretty quick showers back in the day.

Think you could shower in four minutes or under?


Written by johnmscalzi Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this

This entry has 5 comments: (Add your own)

• #5 Comment from mavarin 
  3/14/07 9:32 PM | Permalink

  Heck, I've done it in two!  They're worried here that even the mighty Colorado Rivier is going to run dry from overuse in another few decades.
• #4 Comment from monponsett 
  3/9/07 10:43 PM | Permalink

  "you need about 30 seconds to wet down your body, a minute to soap up, and another 30 seconds to rinse. That leave you two full minutes to stand there listlessly under the shower head and try to convince yourself your job is worth going to. More than enough time!"
  
  ... remember,,, the guy who wrote this is bald.
• #3 Comment from alfrompgh 
  3/9/07 4:58 PM | Permalink

  I have an RV with a shower. I usually go the campground showers, but sometimes I take a shower in the camper. There the solution is to adjust the water temperature, get wet and then turn off the water at the shower head. When you have soaped up, then you can turn the water back on and the temperature is still set for rinsing. I can shower and be done way before my six gallon hot water tank has run out.
• #2 Comment from lurkynat 
  3/9/07 2:49 PM | Permalink

  ..looks around.....ummm....
  ? two minutes John?.....?
  nat
• #1 Comment from nzforme 
  3/9/07 12:17 PM | Permalink

  I remember the quickie showers during Southern Cal water conservation.  I also remember the, er, instructions re: saving water by not flushing your toilet as frequently as normal people flush.  "If it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down."  Man, I'm glad THAT's over.