Showers or baths? And how long do you take?

[vivalostwages]

I prefer a shower most of the time. It's quick, and I have to wash my hair at least every other day anyhow. I don't take very long, just long enough to lather up, get the shampoo and conditioner into the hair, wash, and then rinse it all off.

I will take a bath on occasion if I have the time, or my muscles or sore, or I just want to relax. Still, I don't seem to stay in it for very long--maybe fifteen or twenty minutes at most. I get cold and sometimes a bit uncomfortable.

A friend of mine drives me nuts when we travel together. If we have to share a room, she takes forfreakingever in the shower and even longer in the bath. When I asked her why it takes so long, she said, "I have to scrub all 2000 parts."

Do you prefer a shower or bath, like them both equally, or...? How long do you spend? Are you conscious of the amount of water you're using? (This last bit does not concern my pal in the least.)

[silenus]

Shower every morning. Shave face and head in shower. Wife doesn't get up for another hour or so, so I am generous with the hot water.

[athelas]

Shower just before bed. Maybe 10 minutes.

[don't ask]

Shower every morning. Haven't timed it but I'd guess maybe 2 or 3 minutes. Once it's running I stick my head under, lather up the shampoo, rinse it off and then do the same with the rest of my body using liquid soap. Just lather up, rinse off. Once in a while I like to linger under the running water but usually I am in and out as quickly as I can manage.

[Antigen]

I'm a night showerer, and I take about 15 minutes on average. Washing hair, shaving legs, and such.

On nights when I need to decompress after work, though, I'll be in a bubble tub with my rubber ducky and a book. And I'll stay in there till my toes are all wrinkly and the water gets too cold. Heck, sometimes I'll even drain a little to add more hot water, just because I'm not ready to get out yet. Water conservation be damned - I need my down time.

[Large Marge]

Shower, every morning, about 10 minutes.

I like a bath after a gruelling day, which isn't very often.

[Lissla Lissar]

Bath every day, ten minutes, tops, wash hair every other day. My hair's waist-length, and gets brittle if I was it too often. Likewise, if I soap all over in the winter the skin cracks all over my body. I don't like that, so I don't soap all over.

[Lissa]

I always shower, unless I have access to a garden-sized tub. Even though I'm a small person, normal-sized bathtubs never allow for a truly relaxing position for a good long soak.

My showers are ususally only about ten minutes long-- I don't usually linger. Wash hair, wash body, thoughoughy rinse both, and then I'm out.

[Rubystreak]

I shower every weekday morning, first thing. It takes about 15 minutes. If it's the weekend, I might putter around for a while before showering, but I always bathe if I'm leaving the house and wash my hair.

I like to take baths but I don't do it very often, maybe once a month. If I do it, I tend to stay in the tub for at least an hour. It's very relaxing.

[Cockatiel]

I denifitely prefer showers over baths. Showers usually last 15-20 minutes. Ahhh...so soothing.

The only time I ever take a bath is when my muscles are sore, and I can't stand staying in that long because I get so hot. My hair gets really knotted, and I never feel very clean when I get out of the bath. That's just me.

[Poysyn]

I am SUCH a bath person. I love them.

Despite this I always think I am taking such a long soak, it's usually 20 minutes. I think once I tried to take a really long time, I lasted 30 minutes, and that was with shaving (all areas) and shampooing with conditioning and a facial mask.

But I still love them.


AHHHH.

My dream is to have a huge deep tub with it's own hot water heater.

I bathe once every two days, sometimes three. Our house has the worst hot water heater and if everyone washes on the same day we run the dishwasher I don't have enough hot water to cover my toes.

However, after the gym it's a shower, so when I was working out regularly (and when my back and neck are all better and I can go back) I shower every day.

[bouv]

Always a shower, always ten minutes.

[DMark]

I have a patent on the new SHOWERBATH.

When I have time, I like to sit, cross-legged, directly under the showerhead and let the bathtub fill up. Once the tub has reached about half full, the drain is unplugged, I stand and finish with a hot one minute shower. Best of both worlds. Takes about 10 minutes or so.

On cold days (there ain't a lot in Las Vegas) when I have lots of time, a hot bath and a crossword puzzle is pure luxury. That can last for a good hour.

[mrald]

Shower only most of the time 20 minutes are so. More if I am shaving and such.

I am icky about SITTING on the bathtub.. even my own freshly bleached. The thought of putting my butt right on the bottom makes me shiver.

[Quartz]

Bath. I'm too tall for the shower. If it's the morning, it'll be a quickie 5 minutes or so; in the evening, I'll lay there, soak, and relax for an hour or so, more if I fall asleep.

[AngelicGemma]

I'm a shower person. I take about 15 to 25 minutes depending on if I'm shaving my legs too.

[FlyingRamenMonster]

I don't take baths. I get bored after maybe 5 minutes and spend the rest of my bath feeling guilty about all the water I'm wasting.

Shower, every day to every 3 days, 15 minutes.

[kapitagune]

There's a nice big (huge, even) shower area where my bath used to be. I'm never looking back

I'd say 15 minutes or so, right after I wake up, every morning. When I go to the gym in the evening, I do a (quick 5-minute) shower there as well. I don't usually shower at home in the evening.

[MrJackboots]

Usually: Shower, about 15 minutes. I don't understand people who take hours in the shower. The whole point of the shower is speed and efficiency. My first girlfriend had hair long enough for her to to sit on it, and she took 45 minutes if she was washing it. Drying took forever, but we'd be chatting online, she'd idle for a shower, and be back at the computer in under 50.

When I have time and a tub I trust: Shower, Bath, Shower-rinse. You shower to get yourself clean, bathe to relax, and then hose off the bathwater. I can read entire small novels in the tub. I'll go in around 9:00-9:30 and come out shortly after midnight. I'll drink about a quart of fluid to replace the sweat-loss. When I soak, I mean it.

In either case: really freakin' hot. That water's still warm when I crawl out of it.

[Shakes]

On COLD winter mornings I spend about 15 mins in the shower.

that's 5mins to actually wash my body.

The remainig 10mins to psyche myself out to stick my naked buns out in the cold air.

BRRRRR!! I hate that shit!!

[Khadaji]

If I'm washing, I like to shower. A bath is for soaking and relaxing. My bathtub isn't built for that so I have a hottub for relaxing.

[ParentalAdvisory]

Until all the hot water has been drained from the hot water heater.

[LouisB]

Originally Posted by ParentalAdvisory

Until all the hot water has been drained from the hot water heater.

Absolutely. I invariable waken with a fairly bad headache; standing under pounding hot water helps to aleviate it. When I say hot water, I mean HOT water till there ain't none left for no one else.

[ErinPuff]

Shower every morning, 15-20 minutes (most of which is spent washing my hair). I live in a house with four other women and only one bathroom, so I can't take as long as I'd like.

[dwc1970]

On work mornings I spend less than 5 minutes in the shower. I get in, get my hair wet, shampoo the hair, apply soap to the rest of my body, then rinse it all off and step out. Next I shave, brush my teeth, get dressed and get on my way. I don't like to waste time in the morning. I can't shave in the shower since I like to see what I am doing, and needing glasses, I wouldn't be able to see what I am doing even if I had a shower mirror. On days off I take things at a more relaxed pace and I may spend upwards of ten minutes in the shower, especially if it's a cold morning and I want to enjoy the warmth a little longer.

I experimented with showing the night before, but even by morning I still feel like I need to shower again anyway, and besides, my hair doesn't look too good and no amount of brushing or combing can make it manageable if I don't wet it down and let it dry before going to work.

[LawMonkey]

Certainly a shower person, with occasional hot baths to relax (very occasional; I'm 6'1" or so, and the normal tub just doesn't cut it).

When I lived in an apartment with no a/c, though, I'd frequently run a cold bath and use it as my own personal 'swimming pool' to stay cool--hop in and chill with a good book for an hour or two.

[Dervorin]

Showers for me; normally about 10 minutes; 15 if I'm really dirty and have to soap and shampoo twice. I do occassionally have longer showers on cold winter mornings, or when I'm really tired after sports, just to relax and stand under the hot water and let my mind wander...

I can't square baths with my conscience; it's not so much the waste of water as the waste of energy that horrifies me; hot tubs are another thing though, since the guilt is shared.

[Helen's Eidolon]

I actually have two answers, really. I used to have long hair, and a few months ago I cut it really short, and also bought a TV. Before, I would wash my hair and take a shower about 2 times per week. I'd take a 20-45 min bath every night and read, before I fell asleep.

Now, I have to wash my hair every morning or it looks dumb. I rarely take more that 5 min in the shower, though. I've been watching TV before bed rather than taking a bath lately, but I'm still taking 2-3 per week. I LOVE my bath. It's my passtime and also a method of stress-release. At one point in my life, I was taking 2-3 baths per day, because I was so stressed.

[Marlitharn]

5 minutes if I'm only washing my body, 15 if it's a hair washing night, and 20-25 if I'm shaving things, too. Much longer than that and I'm running out of hot water.

Sometimes if I have a bad headache or cramps or sore muscles I'll fill the tub up with the hottest water I can stand and camp out with a book until the water gets cold. By then the water heater has recovered enough to allow me to do a quick rinse under the shower before I get out. I'll often use the opportunity to do a deep conditioning treatment on my hair, too. Yeah, I'm all about multi-tasking.

[Kiros]

Shower, generally twice a day, ten minutes in the morning (mostly to wake up, or it'd be much shorter) and under five in the evening (after lifting at the gym, basketball, outdoor run, whatever athletic was on tap for the day).

I would love to do a scalding hot bath and read for an hour in the evening instead, but that's not really an option right now, unfortunately. Some day

[Lionne]

I take a shower every morning. If I wash my hair, I'm in there until the hot water runs out (which isn't very long because I have a small heater ). If I'm just soaping and rinsing, maybe 5 minutes.
I take baths when I'm cold, which used to be near every day in New England, but now I live in Florida! Think of the water I'm saving!

When I shower at the gym (unlimited hot water!) I take my sweeeet time. The low water pressure adds to this because I have long, thick hair that takes forever to rinse.

[Avarie537]

Shower every morning. I take less than 20 minutes to shower and finish my morning hygiene routine: in the shower, wash face, shampoo hair, put conditioner on hair, wash important/stinky bits (armpits, feet, crotch), rinse hair & body and then out. Afterwards, dry thoroughly and put hair in towel turban, put on robe, use toner, Q-tip ears, put on extra face stuff, put on deodorant, put on moisturizer, pull down hair, comb out.

If I need to shave armpits, that goes before the conditioner is rinsed out. If I need to shave my legs, then I do all of the shower routine, skip drying but put my hair in the towel turban, and put 4-6 inches of water in the tub and sit to shave. I never got the knack of shaving standing up, and now that I'm 36 weeks pregnant, it's even harder. Plus, I'm ridiculously near-sighted (though not as bad as some other Dopers) and have to look really close plus run my hands over my legs to find the missed spots.

Right now, baths are (sadly) pointless. I just don't fit comfortably at all. I think I need to convince my in-laws to turn their hot tub down to about 99 degrees so I can soak in it instead.

[Elendil's Heir]

Shower every morning, usually no more than eight minutes or so. I might go years between taking baths, but when I do, I like it and tend to linger until the water gets too cold.

[Godfrey Daniels]

Originally Posted by Rubystreak

I shower every weekday morning, first thing. It takes about 15 minutes. If it's the weekend, I might putter around for a while before showering, but I always bathe if I'm leaving the house and wash my hair.

I like to take baths but I don't do it very often, maybe once a month. If I do it, I tend to stay in the tub for at least an hour. It's very relaxing.

This is me exactly, with the exception that I almost never take baths. My g/f showers in about 7 minutes, and thinks I take way too long. I like to relax a little, I guess. I hate hurrying, with anything.

[swampbear]

Shower every morning for about 10 minutes. I rinse, soap, rinse. I have a whirlpool bath tub that's big enough to lie in, so sometimes at night I love to have a nice hot soak in the tub, turning on the jets and sipping on a glass of wine. AHHHHHH!!! I also have a hot tub which is wunnerful for relaxing with the squeeze. The squeeze, me and a bottle of bubbly... that's what hot tubs were made for.

[butler1850]

I shower every day, except perhaps on a lazy Saturday or Sunday. Normal AM shower is less than 5 minutes. I was raised in a house with a lousy septic system, so we learned to be as fast as possible in the shower, I never got yelled at for taking too long, neither did my Father. Mom & Sister were constant sources for yelling by my father. I also never get any grief at hunting camp, as I'm in and out faster than most folks can realize I've even visited the shower (not like some OTHERS in the crew... nothing worse than having to wait 30 minutes for a GUY to get ready to head into the woods at 4:30... don't they know the SUN is about to COME UP!!! HURRY UP ALREADY!)

I also like a good bath. If I'm taking one, expect that the tub will be occupied for at least 30 minutes, and often 45min or 1 hour. It's a great place to be left alone to read.

[yellowval]

Definitely showers. I need one every morning to properly wake up. On the weekends it's usually afternoon by the time I get around to showering, unless I'm going somewhere. Showers for me take somewhere in the 5-10 minute range. If I'm in the mood for a bath, we sit in the hot tub. Bath tubs are too small to really get comfortable in, I think. Though that could be because I was spoiled as a kid with a huge claw-foot tub to soak in. No other tub compares.

[Nava]

Right now I _have_ to take showers. My (company-provided, can't whine) apartment doesn't come with a tub.

Usually I take a shower, but I love the occasional bath. Scalding hot, with what my brother calls "women stinky stuffs". He says that women like flowery and fruity shampoos, while men basically want one that lasts until the next shower.

I can be in and out of the bathroom in under 5'; under 10' if I shave my legs completely. The brother who doesn't like stinkystuffs takes about 20'. I've never dared ask what the hell is he doing.

[psychobunny]

Shower at night for 45 minutes, longer if I shave. I don't understand how people shower in 10. It takes me 10 minutes to get the shampoo out of my hair, 10-15 to comb through the tangles while the conditioner is on, and another 10 to rinse out the conditioner, and my hair is only shoulder length. I think my water pressure may not be so great. OTOH, I have a 75 gallon water tank so I never run out of hot water.

(I really don't know what it is about my hair. Once a hairdresser insisted that since it's so fine he wouldn't use conditioner. I timed him; he spent 45 minutes trying to comb through it after the shampoo, even with spray on detangler. )

[Skald the Rhymer]

Count me in the shower group, unless I have time to luxuriate in the bath. I'd like that, but I generally prefer to spend that time sleeping.

As for how long I take--I find that it's 20 minutes, plus-minus about 2, every morning, unless I specifically decide to rush. Somehow I find that annoying.

[New Girl]

My last boyfriend took incredibly long showers, but he took a break in the middle and left the water running while he did "other things." Don't ask how I know this.

As for myself, I take a shower every morning and it always takes at least 30 minutes, when I'm in a hurry. I have very long hair and take time to scrub my face and body thoroughly. Every Saturday I spend about an hour in the bath shaving my legs and relaxing.

[Least Original User Name Ever]

Sounds like you women are the source of all the water-wasting around heah.

I'm a shower guy. I get in, I get out. I shave face and dong and shampoo and soap and rinse and I'm out in maybe 10 minutes.
Getting OUT is the hard part. So nice and warm...and outside the shower it's so cold...and there's class out there.

Of course, the converse is true, too. If you make the mistake of hopping in the shower when it's WAY too hot, that's not good. It's raining magma on you and you make a sound like a dying pterodactyl and your schwang tries to retreat inside your body to escape hot liquid death*. Yeah. Not very fun.


[SIZE=*band name![/size]

[Phantom Dennis]

My bathroom's got a wall-timer that controls the overhead heat lamp, so I can measure the length of my showers with reasonable accuracy. I seem to average around 7 minutes. If I shave, it rounds to an even 10. I don't shave in the shower unless I'm pressed for time.

Why the hell am I posting this? Does anyone care? Do I care?

Oh well. *click*

[raz]

My mother used to constantly complain that I took super-long showers and used up all the hot water. I started timing myself. My showers usually last 12-15 minutes, very rarely over 20. What the heck? Is that long for a shower? It seems pretty reasonable to me especially when that includes shaving my legs/armpits/other stuff. And I rarely ever take baths. I've probably taken five baths in the past three years. I just hate waiting for the bathtub to fill up, then you have to wash yourself all akwardly, and if you wash your hair then you have to sit in soap-covered water. Just seems like a hassle to me.

If I'm at the boyfriend's house, showers take way longer. His water kind of just dribbles out of the faucet and I always feel like I still have conditioner left in my hair.