There are few greater pleasures in life than soaking in a steamy bath at the end of an exhausting day - unless you combine it with chocolate, a mystery novel and then crawling into clean sheets! Still, I wondered if this was a luxury that I was going to have to forego in my quest to cut expenses. I went onto the web to find out how much energy was required to heat a gallon of water, then dug out my natural gas bill. Once I did all the mathematical conversions, I brought my 4 gallon pasta pot into the tub with me to determine just how much hot water I required which was twenty-four gallons.
Since I do not have metered water, my only expense for a hot bath is the cost to heat the water and I don't use any bath products other than a bar of ivory soap. Much to my shock and everlasting gratitude, soaking my weary bones is a mere 7 cent expenditure! Hard to find a better value for $0.07!
To get the best use of this hot water, I leave it in the tub until morning, allowing it to humidify the dry winter air as well as add additional heat to the upstairs. I don't have toddlers or pets who might stumble into it, so it isn't a safety concern.
Granted, I am aware that all the water that comes out of my tap has had to be treated in a water treatment plant, and one should be mindful of the pressures one puts on the community water supply. So as much as I would like to have a hot soak every winter night, I won't. Still, I am grateful that when I choose to, I won't break the bank!
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