Step out of the water, lather up hands, scrub, then back into the water to rinse. Face, then hair, the upper body then lower body - with a good spray of the undercarriage (shower heads are supposed to be removeable, not stuck to the wall).
It’s a pet hate of mine that people often miss the step of rinsing when cleaning. The whole point is that the soap picks up the muck, then rinsing it removes it. This is a particular problem with dishes, where people leave (sometimes very dirty) dishwater on the plate to drip dry, with much of the residue remaining. My dishes fucking sparkle, and that’s because I rinse them clean.
In contrast, with showers I think some people lather up in the water, which dilutes and rinses the soap away before it even cleans anything.
What kind of damned animal doesn’t rinse their dishes after washing them with soap?! I refuse to accept there are people out there doing this and if there are: I am not mad, I am just deeply disappointed in you.
I think it’s maybe a UK think, with a view to saving energy. Fill up a big washing up bowl in the sink, put soap in that, wipe it with a cloth then put it straight on the rack. Meanwhile I just run the hot tap excessively (turned down to a low flow) and scrub with one of those sponges on a stick with soap dispensing through the handle.
My parents were British and they used to have two washing bowls. Pile the dirty dishes into one and fill with warm water and dish soap. Clean water in the second bowl for rinsing. After a while the second bowl builds up residual soap so it needs to be emptied and refilled. I figure I use the same amount of water rinsing under a running faucet. But the soak thing is a great tip - leaving dishes in water to soak makes cleaning them so much easier.
My dishes fucking sparkle, and that’s because I rinse them clean.
This is how I can tell you live in an area that doesn’t have hard water. Water spots all over my dishes, even though I rinse them… sometimes because I rinse them.
I do actually live in an area with hard water, and don’t have a water softener. Even then, I think the heat of the water I use maybe helps - there’s only ever a tiny little bit of water left to drip out. I’m not very energy effecient with it, I run the hot tap very hot to rinse.
For the 5-10 seconds it takes to lather up? Not really worth it, especially if the water temperature will fluctuate. Also, there’s something to be said for the hot steaminess that showers create.
I’m all for saving energy when it’s not being used, but I’m using that hot water. I might not need it, but I enjoy it.
If you only spend 5-10 seconds I’d argue you might as well stop showering because that is not enough time to be effective.
(edit) To not be too argumentative and rude I’d wager you probably spend more time than 10 seconds. :) Your other points do have merit too, heck who am I to judge your showering habits.
