Navy showers: turn water on, wet body, turn water off, soap up, turn water back on only to rinse off. A newspaper article was talking about showering like this, and how you can save an average of 12 gallons per shower doing this, but it is such an irregular and unusual thing... I mean, to be in the shower and not hear the water running, and to hear yourself lathering up.. it's just weird i'm sorry.

It's not just weird, it's uncomfortable, as the supply of steam quickly dissapates, leaving you wet and cold.

With such an extreme change in the alternative, it is not likely to catch on unless serious water shortages finally beat it into people's heads.

A less extreme alternative is sort of a half- way point between the 2 extremes: It is a device that hooks up as a shower head and faucet handle that replaces the 2 things that are missing in the navy shower:

1. The ambient noise of the shower, that is useful for hiding hygenic habits and the question "what are you doing in the bathroom?"

2. The steam mist that keeps you warm in the shower, maybe just as effectively as the shower itself.

The ambient noise shouldn't be hard, as I've heard my house's plumbing make some very weird and sometimes loud noises as the water runs through it. The steam shouldn't be too hard of a problem, as all you need is a mist of hotter water than what you set your regular shower to.

A small vibrating noise-making/whistling/ rattling device could use the water pressure to create a hopefully not annoying ambient noise. Hooking up some simple atomizers, or even spray bottle sprayers could do the mist/ spraying.

Technologically, it would not be difficult to achieve, and the net savings would be ultimately beneficial. You would save a little less than 12 gallons per shower, but with more people using it, it would be a definite water-saver, and a electricity saver as well, as less water has to be heated for showering.

Potential problems: the sound of water is really really really soothing, it will be hard to find a suitable replacement. Also, the atomizers/sprayers would either need regular replacing or filters used, adding more to costs and detering purchases.
-- twitch, Apr 22 2007

Quench Showers http://www.quenchshowers.com/
another water saving shower idea. Basically it recirculates the water (only after the initial dirty water has been flushed away). [xaviergisz, Apr 22 2007]

Personal shower trainer Personal_20Shower_20Trainer
"Showering for me can often be perplexing, and this makes me wonder that perhaps I'm just not doing it right." [imaginality, Apr 24 2007]

Fog Gun http://www.nous.org.uk/fog.html
Do away with the showerhead altogether [5th Earth, Apr 25 2007]

I like it. An atomizer head on the shower, with a toggle lever. Flip the toggle for the hissing of atomized water. Turn up the heat if it needs to be hotter. This could be a simple retrofit for an existing showerhead. Atomizer nozzles on copper water lines are commonplace in hot climates - the atomized water provides local cooling for zoo visitors etc.
-- bungston, Apr 22 2007


The problem I see is the toggle switch. Your hands are most likely going to be very soapy and that means getting soap all over the switch thus using more water to clean it off. I would suggest using a pressure sensitive floor mat that would change the shower setting when stepped on.
-- Sizematters, Apr 24 2007


Let's introduce another simple-to- create device to take care of the soapy hands problem:

A device that acts as a switch/valve, turning on and off water, but that also activates a small, mechanically timed sprayer that cleans the switch of the soapy mess. The switch can be a push button switch which is protected under a flexible sheet of rubber, or it can be a conventional, twist action valve.

The sprayer is activated whenever the switch is pressed or turned, and stays own for a few seconds, cleaning off the switch.

Concerning the Quench Showers of which a link was provided... I am trying to aim my system at not needing electricity to operate. I don't think that electricity and showers should go together.
-- twitch, Apr 24 2007


I misread the title of this at first. I wondered what on earth [twitch] might be thinking of (not that I knew it was [twitch] at that point, of course).
-- Cosh i Pi, Apr 24 2007


In my experience, Navy showers actually constitute 10% of the ship showering regularly for about half an hour each, and 90% of the crew for some reason deciding never to shower, even when you throw them in the stall, and zip tie the curtain shut.

I've run into this strange non-showering type elsewhere. I'm sure they would like a shower simulator... but finding a way to get them to actually lather up and rinse off would be much more desirable if you ask me.

Bad jokes about abusing this system will likely be endless. Then again, it's a simple idea with good intentions, and I like those.
-- ye_river_xiv, Apr 24 2007


Buckminster Fuller upgraded the mist nozzles, removed the main sprayer, and made what he called the "fog-gun" shower. Great for conserving water, actually cleaned, by most accounts rather unpleasant to use.
-- 5th Earth, Apr 25 2007


To create the ambient noise, you can still use water, but just the same small amount of water hitting a sounding board and then getting collected.
-- marklar, Apr 25 2007


I'd question whether 'the sound of water is really, really soothing' - not if you're taking your Navy Shower in a submarine... (I'm only assuming they have showers on submarines. Raises the question of where the water goes when it drains out of the shower? )
-- Mister Sketchly, Apr 25 2007


It is not only soothing to hear, to feel the hot water hitting you, is like getting a massage. That's hard to compete with.
-- twitch, Apr 25 2007


Could the water sound be supplied by a tape recording? Of course that would require the prerequisite invention of a combination shower head/CD player.
-- phundug, Apr 25 2007


No recording. My criteria for this idea was no electrical devices.
-- twitch, Apr 25 2007



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