Water Usage

[Wilpar76]

Let me preface this question by saying that while I am not a "tree hugger," I try to be environmentally conscious.

I noticed that I use a hell of a lot of water when I shave. I rinse my face with several hot compresses in between passes. While actually shaving, I keep the faucet, albeit at slightly above a trickle, running so I can rinse may razor's harvest. When I am finished, I rinse a couple of more times with hot compresses to get any extra soap/shaving cream/pre-shave oil (depending on the shave set-up). Then I hit my face with three or four ice cold compresses to shock the pores and put the weepers to bed.

When it is all said and done, the water will have usually been running for 25-30+ minutes. That is also after I finish a 5 to 7 minute shower to get the routine started.

Back before I started DE shaving, I would occasionally shave the way my father taught me. After wetting his face and applying the foam, he would fill the wash basin with warm/hot water. In between each pass, he would shake the razor out in the water. For whatever reason, I have never been a big fan of this cause by the end of the shave, it doesn't look like something I want to put back on my face, even though it came from my face.

I will stop now because I am rambling. In short, has any one developed a shave routine with a more economical use of water?

[gregs656]

I normally half fill the basin, use that hot water for my towel to begin with, rinse my razor in it and run the tap for a quick rinse between passes. I do a cold water rinse after my shave, so I probably only use 3/4 or 2/3s of a sink of water.

Wasn't brought up to let the tap run for anything really, so I don't.

[studman46]

I let my shaving bowl sit in a sink of hot water along with my brush while I shower. Leave face wet after shower, take out bowl and brush, mix lather, shave, using water in sink to rinse razor and face between passes. Empty sink and give face finishing rinse with warm water, then cold water to close pores. Rinse out lather bowl, brush and razor in warm water. Don't use much water at all.

[bokaba]

I usually just keep the sink full of hot water and swish my razor through it after passes.

[cfriend]

Fill sink half way with hot water, submerge bowl and brush
pull bowl and brush from sink, dump water from bowl into sink
Kyle's prep with hot towel, lather, hot towel, re-lather
Rinse razor in sitting water during first pass
Turn on hot water, pull drain, rinse face with running water
Plug drain, re-lather, turn off water.
Rinse razor in sitting water during second pass
Turn on hot water, pull drain, rinse face with running water
etc etc etc


Continued ad nauseum. During this whole thing I leave my lather bowl submerged as deep as possible in the sink so it stays as warm as possible. This way, I keep my lather warm, I use clean water to rinse my face, and I keep my total water consumption to about one sinkful, maybe one and a half after taking the cold rinse into account.

[netsurfr]

I usually just keep the sink full of hot water and swish my razor through it after passes.

+1 when I am using DE razor. I use a wet towel when shaving with a straight to wipe the whiskers and soap off of the blade.

[Saltchuck]

I too rinse my razor in the sink as I shave. When I think I'm finished, I do the first "rinse" with water from the sink, which includes residual lather. In the process I can feel any spots I may have missed and clean them up. the residual lather in the water is usually enough that I don't need to reach for my brush. Then I drain the bowl and do a hot water rinse from the faucet, followed by a cold water rinse, followed by after shave. Works for me.

[Shug]

I usually just keep the sink full of hot water and swish my razor through it after passes.

+1
simple and effective, plus I guess I was saving the water all along while I was doing this

[WyGuy]

I normally leave the hot water on for the entire shave, usually about 7-10 minutes. I know it's a bit wasteful but as I see it I don't really have another option...the communal sinks in my dorm aren't all that clean so I rather not fill the sink.

[thirdeye]

I place my bowl in the sink, run the hot water until my bowl is just about under, maybe a gallon of water. Place my brush in the bowl to soak. Add about a table spoon of water to my soap. After shower, I dump my bowl, squeeze my brush, build lather with whats left on the soap. I may add a few drops from the sink. Do first pass, quick splash from the ink as a rinse and repeat second and third pass. Drain sink, rinse razor, bowl, brush and face (running hot water) maybe another gallon. Do my cold water rinse, maybe a cup or to...Done...Not a whole lot of water used.

[_JP_]

For a dorm leaving the water running is the only real option unless you want to sanitize the sink first.

For myself, the only times that water is running during the whole shaving process is when I'm filling the sink and rinsing things off afterward (including my face).

[Wilpar76]

Thanks for the suggestions.

[Dalejr]

I'm not sure if the way I do it is wasteful or not. I run the tap until it's hot, wet my towel for my face I then put a tiny amount in my bowl for lather and add tiny amounts as needed while I lather up. When the razor is full of soap and wiskers I give it a quick rinse under the tap each time. After each full pass I turn the tap on for about a minute to clear off the remaining wiskers. When I'm done I run the tap for a few minutes to splash my face with cold water and to clean up the bowel, razor and brush...

[macabrem]

I'm fairly sure I use less water now that I wet shave versus when I shaved with canned gel.

Previously, I would shave with a Mach 3 in the shower with some gel - utilizing a hand held mirror and keeping the shower running the whole time while I shaved. I would keep the shower running for an additional 5 minutes, at least, for my shave.

Now, I shave after my shower, prepare the brush and soap with minimal water for my lather - then I turn the faucet on and off for quick rinses of my blade after both sides of the DE have done a pass.

[davecmu]

I let my shaving bowl sit in a sink of hot water along with my brush while I shower. Leave face wet after shower, take out bowl and brush, mix lather, shave, using water in sink to rinse razor and face between passes. Empty sink and give face finishing rinse with warm water, then cold water to close pores. Rinse out lather bowl, brush and razor in warm water. Don't use much water at all.

This is my DE routine. My straight routine uses even less water:

- 1/2 sec. of hot water from tap on top of soap
- Shower, then leave face wet
- Fill bowl and place brush in bowl in sink
- Make lather with brush water and water from top of soap
- Tap on only to rinse blade, then off - about 10 times total for 1/2 sec
- Hot water to wash face and rinse brush (30 seconds)
- Cold water to close pores and rinse bowl (30 seconds)

You're talking a rough total of about 1:15 of running water, or approximately 0.625 gallons from a water-saver faucet. This is just a little more than a pitcher of Kool-Aid, or the approximate amount you should drink each day (2 liters).

[kingfisher]

Even at a dorm sink, you don't have to leave the water running the entire time.

Rinse razor. Turn water off.

Make several short strokes on face, turn razor over, make several more.

Turn water on and rinse off both sides of razor. Turn water off.

Make strokes using one side, then the other, as before. Don't rinse until both sides of the razor need rinsing. When they both need rinsing, turn the water on just long enough to rinse the razor and then turn it off again.

[Tigger23505]

I guess I'm a water miser.

I run the water long enough to get hot, then fill the sink and my lather bowl. I set the brush to soak in the bowl, and take my shower. From force of habits encouraged over 20 years with the Navy, I usually push the water miser valve between wetdown, lather and rinse cycles.

Once out of the shower, I dump the bowl, shake out the brush, and lather. While shaving I rinse the razor in the filled sink. Relathering as needed to complete my usual 3 pass shave.

Then after the last pass I rinse off the razor, wash out the bowl. Pull the plug and drain the sink. I rinse the brush in cold water, and hang it to dry. I then wet a wash cloth and wipe the remnants of the lather off my face with the cloth.

[OldSaw]

I usually just keep the sink full of hot water and swish my razor through it after passes.

Works for me and I get water included in my rent. However, if I do a warm towel before my final pass, I drain and refill so I am not picking up all the stubble with the towel.

[Nitrocloud]

In North Carolina you place a towel outside at night in August, come morning, you wring the warm towel out into your basin. :w00t:

I just fill a few inches into the basin, enough to swish the razor in, lather, shave WTG, slick face with basin water, lather, shave ATG, pull plug. Wet washcloth with cold water, wipe, rinse, wring, wipe, rinse and place my instruments back in their respective locations, bay rum and get on with my day.

[PipesandGOP]

I run the water for a minute or so because it takes that long for hot water to make it upstairs in my house. I then fill the sink up about halfway to soak my brush, not because I'm "environmentally concious", but because I'm impatient. I then run hot water onto a towel which I lay on my face for a few minutes, about the length of the average song. After that I drain the water from the sink, fill it back up with steaming hot water, and splash my face several times, plugging the sink at about half full since any more water and my bowl is floating. With creams I take a dab of cream and the water from my brush to make lather in the bowl or directly on my face; soaps being almost exclusively face lathered using the water from my brush with a dab or two of water being on the soap itself. I splash with the hot water from the sink after each pass, wtg, xtg, atg, and relather each time. I also use the water sitting in the sink to rinse the razor whenever it's full of cream and whiskers. Finally I turn the tap on with hot water and splash until all lather is gone (never cutting the sink off between splashes... living on the edge I know lol), then switch it over to cold and splash a few more times.

My shave is one thing I refuse to let being "environmentally conscious" affect as long as I have any say over it. No need to be wasteful, but damnit I'm sick of every time I cut on the news seeing something about being "green".

[no_pants_cat]

I'm another of the "fill the sink" group. I only need about 2-3 inches of hot water to shave properly...

[t-time]

I use my sink full of water for rinsing my face inbetween passes, a bowl full of water for dipping my razor to remove lather and hair, and a lather bowl that floats in the hot water in the sink for warm lather. I only fill each of them once, and once I am done I use a little cold water to close the pores along with an alum bar...... not much water used at all...

[Tigger23505]

a bowl full of water for dipping my razor to remove lather and hairDoh! Never even thought of a rinse bowl! That is brilliant!

Guess I've been having a Daffy Duck moment again.

[Luc]

I usually just keep the sink full of hot water and swish my razor through it after passes.

+1

And I am now able to do 3-4 minutes showers

[Not4you]

I normally half fill the basin, use that hot water for my towel to begin with, rinse my razor in it and run the tap for a quick rinse between passes. I do a cold water rinse after my shave, so I probably only use 3/4 or 2/3s of a sink of water.

Wasn't brought up to let the tap run for anything really, so I don't.

Exactly what I do, but lately I have been loving the cold water rinse so have been indulging with extra splashes! :blushing: