# What's the temperature of my cold shower? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 11, 2015, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-temperature-of-my-cold-shower/734323 "2015-10-11T18:08:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![R3d\_Anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-temperature-of-my-cold-shower/734323/1 "2015-10-11T18:08:23Z")
I have my thermostat set at 120 degrees F. Recently, I’ve been trying out cold showers and what I do is turn the knob just to as cold as it can go, but where the pressure is not compromised, if you know what I mean. About how many degrees is that? Water not heated at all coming through the shower… Also, based on your answer for the temperature, is it safe for me to be taking a cold shower for 2-5 minutes, two times a day? ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-temperature-of-my-cold-shower/734323/2 "2015-10-11T18:38:27Z")
It’s going to very wildly depending on where you live. My water comes right out of the ground in the Colorado mountains. I know it’s a LOT colder than say Houston or Miami. Also, some showers are set so that it can’t get too hot. Not sure (and doubt) that that applies to the cold side. ---
**Author:** ![R3d\_Anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-temperature-of-my-cold-shower/734323/3 "2015-10-11T18:52:23Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > It’s going to very wildly depending on where you live. My water comes right out of the ground in the Colorado mountains. I know it’s a LOT colder than say Houston or Miami. > > Also, some showers are set so that it can’t get too hot. Not sure (and doubt) that that applies to the cold side. Is there a way I can find out? I am in Connecticut. ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-temperature-of-my-cold-shower/734323/4 "2015-10-11T19:08:33Z")
> [@R3d\_Anonymous](#): > > Is there a way I can find out? There’s this thing called a thermometer that you may have heard of. Just pour water from the showerhead in a bucket and toss one in, you should be able to get a reading well before it gets heated up by the room temperature. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-temperature-of-my-cold-shower/734323/5 "2015-10-11T20:59:15Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > It’s going to very wildly depending on where you live. My water comes right out of the ground in the Colorado mountains. I know it’s a LOT colder than say Houston or Miami. Yeah…I’m near Miami, and my “cold” water is only marginally cold. I notice the difference when I travel to points north. Also for the OP - from your description, it sounds like you have a shower control that handles on/off and temperature in one motion. That isn’t universal, so the coldest without impacting the pressure isn’t going to be universal either. That being said, the suggestion to just get some water from it and stick a thermometer in is a good one. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-temperature-of-my-cold-shower/734323/6 "2015-10-12T00:01:16Z")
When you turn on your cold water, there will be only a couple of gallons in the pipes above ground (which will be room temperature), and then you start getting water that is in the underground mains leading to your house. In most climates, the temperature a few feet underground is likely to be around 60-some degrees F. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-temperature-of-my-cold-shower/734323/7 "2015-10-14T21:27:40Z")
Around there the cold temp varies a _lot_ based on time of year. Late summer you can take a shower with cold only. (Makes cooling down after working outside hard.) Late winter it gets fairly chilly. Use a thermometer. ---
**Author:** ![duncs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@duncs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duncs)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-temperature-of-my-cold-shower/734323/8 "2015-10-16T12:58:04Z")
In the UK a couple of months ago, the water coming directly from the cold tap was 75 degrees F. I know because I was trying to cool some homebrew that was just off the boil down to 68 and wondered why it wasn’t getting any colder. The water temp is normally about 60 degrees here