How to Green Your Shower

While we spend only a fraction of our time bathing, our shower touches several areas of environmental issues. It is easy to green your shower and doing so not only helps the environment but can save you money and also benefit your health.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Tea tree oil
• White vinegar
• Baking soda
• Lemon
• Spray bottle

Green Your Shower Routine

1. Turn your water heater temperature down to at least 120 degrees. This saves fuel and money and also prevents scalding accidents.

2. Install an efficient, water saving showerhead. A decent showerhead will not compromise your water pressure or the quality of your shower but will conserve water.

3. Use an eco-friendly shampoo, conditioner and body soap. Choose brands that are free of Sodium Laurl/laureth Sulfate, Paraben, phthalate petroleum and that are not tested on animals. These ingredients do not only pollute the soil and water supply but they are potentially carcinogenic. Don’t be fooled by natural or organic labels; be sure to read the ingredients.

4. Time the length of your usual shower and aim to reduce it by one minute. This may not seem like a lot, but a one minute reduction saves approximately 2 ½ gallons of water. If you take one green shower a day you will save 17 1/2 gallons of water a week. Just think of how much water, fuel and consequently money that you’ll save in a lifetime but shortening your shower by one minute!

5. If you use disposable razors, use them up and then get a reusable electric one. You may also be interested in getting a blade sharpener which extends the life of the blades. This will keep billions of razors out of landfills and reduce the environmental cost of disposable razor production.

6. Shave before you take your shower to conserve water. Just use a small bowl of water to clean the razor and you will be able to rinse off after you get in the shower. This small step is a big way to reduce the length of your bathing routine.

How to Clean for a Green Shower

7. To clean mold and mildew, mix a few drops of tea tree oil and hot water in a spray bottle. Let the solution sit for a while and then scrub off.

8. To get rid of soap scum and as a general green shower cleaner, dilute one cup of white vinegar in two cups of hot water in a spray bottle. Spray the shower and then either scrub or simply rinse off depending on the severity of the grime.

9. For tougher jobs, cut a lemon in half and sprinkle it with baking soda. Use the comb as a scrubber and then rinse.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have purchased a brand of hair conditioner that you don’t like use it for shaving instead of throwing it away. It works great as a shaving gel and a moisturizer.