An Ode to the Shower

Consider this a love letter to one of the greatest innovations in modern hygiene: the shower. Its roots can be traced back to ancient peoples using waterfalls to clean themselves, and then the Greeks taking it one step further with more modern plumbing. Today, a shower is a daily ritual (for almost everyone, we hope) and its luxuries cannot be overlooked.  The unique acoustic environment is also perfect for belting out Journey and/or Katy Perry.

We have talked about showering in hard water before, and unless you like the feeling of magnesium on your skin, soft water can make all the difference. But that is not the gospel we are trying to preach today. No, today we are talking about the only thing better than a shower: the hot shower.

The hot shower is one of those simple pleasures you do not fully appreciate until it is taken away at a weekend at a lake house where Dad claims, “This is how the pioneers washed themselves.” But for that water to get to that dulcet temperature, it takes an efficient water heater so you get consistent performance without costing an arm, a leg and a loofah.

In fact, a recent study and recent blog post reports:

Hard water can lead to as much as a 24% loss of efficiency in water heaters. Each 5 grains per gallon of water hardness causes a 4% loss in efficiency and 4% increase in cost for gas storage tank water heaters when using 50 gallons of hot water per day.

When it comes to electric water heaters, 30 pounds of scale deposits can accumulate if the heater operates on hard water. As a Facebook conversation pointed out, “That’s like a small dog!” Woof.

Next time you hop into the shower, take a minute to think about the water. If it takes a few cups of coffee to get hot, hard water may be robbing you of the wondrous steamy stream. Lather, rinse, repeat.