While watching Hulu, as I am wont to do, I found myself on the receiving end of a PSA wherein Christopher Meloni berates me for leaving the water on while I brush my teeth. Putting aside the fact that I don't do this, he states that leaving the water on wastes "8 gallons" every time you brush.
This did not sound right to me.
If I were a normal person, I would have simply shaken my head and moved on. I am, however, an obsessive nerd, so I grabbed my measuring cup and stopwatch and headed to the bathroom.
Step 1: At the water flow rate which seemed reasonable for teeth-brushing, I measured 4 cups of water in 29.1 seconds. This translates to 1 gallon every 116.4 seconds. Thus, wasting 8 gallons would take 931.2 seconds, or 15.52 minutes. This is sliiightly longer than the 120 seconds recommended for brushing.
Step 2: Leaving the water on at full blast, the 4 cup measure filled in 9.1 seconds. Calculations suggest 8 gallons in 291.2 seconds, still more than twice the recommended brush length. That's at a water flow rate that could nearly chip enamel.
FINAL MESSAGE: Yes, saving water is Good Times. However. Please don't make up numbers. It just makes you sound dumb, and me sound increasingly unhinged. The End.
You are a marvelous human.
ReplyDeleteI second what Matt says, although I have to agree that you are an obsessive nerd. Oh, engineers.
ReplyDeleteBon! I loves yous!
ReplyDelete