Cold Shower, No Shower

Last year, I fasted for most of the year from hot showers for an Exodus 90 fast. Let me tell you about the benefits of avoiding hot showers!

• I used a lot less water during my showers, and the water wasn’t heated, so I saved money on water and electricity. For comparison sake, let’s assume you normally take a 15 minute hot shower with a 1.5GPM showerhead, and the water costs $5.00 per 1000 gallons.  Let’s assume that it takes 0.13kwh per gallon to heat the water, and that electricity costs $0.08/kwh.  This 15-minute hot shower costs 11.25 cents in water, and 23.4 cents to heat that water, for a total cost of 34.65 cents. That’s $10.39 per month.  Switching to a cold shower, I have the water running 1 minute (15 seconds to get wet, then I soap up without water running, and 45 seconds to rinse).  This reduces the cost of each shower to less than a penny, for a monthly cost of $0.23, a savings of $10.16. This money can be better spent on charity!
• I spent a lot less time in the shower. This freed me up to spend more time in prayer. 12-13 minutes more!
• It toughened me up. Dealing with suffering is part of the Christian life.  Taking a cold shower is minor suffering compared to what many Christians are dealing with, and my cringing at the cold shower early on showed me how soft I had become.
• This one didn’t apply to me since we have a tankless water heater, but if you have a tank, you won’t as easily run out of hot water for dishes, laundry or other family members’ showers.
• Cold showers are healthier for you.  Some websites cite improvements to metabolism, testosterone, blood circulation, mood, breathing, and your immune system. (http://www.thehackedmind.com/7-reasons-to-take-cold-showers-and-1-that-really-matters/   http://www.artofmanliness.com/2014/07/21/the-health-benefits-of-cold-showers-video/)
• Occasionally on Saturdays, I wouldn’t feel the need to shower at all since I was just doing projects around the house.  This is less severe than taking a cold shower, and is in fact more in alignment with the rest of the world than taking cold showers every day.