The calculator on this site showed me something that I wasn't expecting. Even though I take relatively modest showers, at an average of about 5 minutes, my time showering makes up *53%* of my CO2 output for home energy. If you take a 10-minute shower ever day, you put 55 pounds of CO2 into the air *every week*.

If you want to lower your carbon output, I propose:
• Turning off the water while you lather up.
• Taking slightly colder showers
• Taking _only_ the time necessary to wash/rinse your body

This may seem unnecessarily spartan, and it may be a tough move to make. However, if you try and change, it will really help your utility bills, the environment, and your siblings who need to go to the bathroom.

I completley agree, I have now reduced my amount of time showering and turn off while applying shampoo and soap.

Taking colder showers and taking much shorter showers would definitely reduce my carbon footprint. I used to take really long showers up to 25 minutes but recently ive realized how wrong that is and now I not only take cold showers butmy showers last about 9 minutes.

I totally agree with the things you could do to save energy and water when taking showers. We use a lot of unnecessary energy (fossil fuels) and a lot of water we could use for other things. I think I will personally try to take quick, and cold showers to reduce the amount of resources I use to just take one shower. I had a large footprint because of showering a lot too so I think I will turn off the water when I'm applying shampoo and will only turn on the water to rinse off the shampoo and the soap off my body.

I agree with you and I will definitely will start to think about taking shorter and slightly colder showers. Also now that I think about it, I sometimes let the water run even though I am not using it as much. I have read about techniques of learning how to take shorter showers and I might put a timer in order to time myself.

I agree with you, and this is specially concerning to me since I take even longer showers than you do, approximately 20 minutes if I wash my hair that day, and 8 if I don´t. I will try to reduce this time, not only to lower the costs of water monthly in my household, but also to reduce the level of CO2 released into the environment.

It is very shocking to see how just 10 minutes can affect the carbon footprint to such a big level. I didn't know that taking colder showers help reduce the carbon output. I suggest putting a timer on your phone with the specific time so you know that when the timer goes off you have to get out of the shower.

I agree with all of you. I live in Guatemala and I believe that I spend a lot of time in the shower. I usually spend 15-20 minutes but I believe I could shower in less time and use cold water. This way I will reduce my carbon footprint and help my environment.

I can completely relate to this post. I always use hot water and I take 10 minute showers. If I could slice that time in half and use cold water, I believe my carbon footprint would be significantly reduced. A few inquiries I have are:
Would a water-saving shower nozzle have the same conservation effects? Does this reduce the same amount of water as your tactics?
Also, while I agree with these water-saving methods, key parts in conservation are turning off the water while you brush your teeth, and using a more efficient toilet. Conservation is a great and easy way to save our planet.

I completely agree and relate with you.  I take moderate showers, but I did not know that it produces so much carbon dioxide.  It is amazing how a couple of minutes can dramatically increase our carbon footprint.  By the way, very nice tips, and I will definitely take them into account when I shower.  They really do help your utility bills and the environment from the waste we create in such little time.  Showering might be a pleasure at the end of the day, but we do need to watch how long we take in there.

I like in Guatemala and I totally agree to your statements because it is very true that when we shower we never take into consideration the damage we are creating on the environment. To conserve it is a very easy task, just by turning off the shower while you aren't using the water and try to reduce the average amount of time you spend overall. Not only are we wasting water but we are consuming a lot of energy to warm up the water, because I believe most of us shower on warm or hot water.

I totally agree with you.  It wasn’t until recorded my carbon footprint that I realized how much water I use while taking my showers. It is estimated that showers account for more that 1.2 trillion gallons of water per year. I can certainly reduce the amount of water I use by taking shorter and more efficient showers-only turning on the water when I need it. Using a low-flow shower head would reduce the amount of water waste as you can save 15 gallons of water in just a 10-minute shower! In addition to showering, I believe there are other ways to efficiently use water. According to National Geographic, about 14% of your indoor use of water is lost to leaks. By repairing these leaks, you can greatly reduce your water usage and carbon footprint.  Another way to save water is by using the dishwasher efficiently.  Cleaning the excess food from kitchenware and then putting them in the dishwasher without washing them first. Furthermore, a timed sprinkler system that is also only used when rain is not available will save water too.  The use of aerators on all faucets can also h elp reduce water consumption as well.
SOURCES:
http://www.theenergycollective.com/vbugnion/264916
http://environment.nationalgeographic.c … tion-tips/