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There is nothing I love more that getting in the shower in the morning, turning on the hot water and watching the shower billow with steam. However, in our dry climate I get mixed results. Sometimes it billows, most of the time it doesn't. I've attempted to analyze the conditions present when it did billow and try to recreate them the next time. But the outcomes are always different.
For example, if I take a shower 30-60 minutes after my wife, I notice the shower is still humid but has cooled down. This generally results in billowing steam but not always. Sometimes on a cold morning I get billowing steam, but other times I don't.
So my question is this, what are the atmospheric variables I should be aware of in my shower and what are the ideal conditions I can try to create in order to enjoy billowing steam every morning?
Thank you,
Jared H. Kaysville, UT
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This has to be one of the most unsual questions we've gotten in awhile in the weather center! A lot of people really love a hot and steamy shower, some say it's good for their skin and others claim it helps them breathe better.
As you noticed, the shower has more steam going on when it's already humid or someone else has used it before you. We must look at what creates the steam in the first place. When you boil a pot of water, you can see steam. You are able to see the steam (water vapor) because the evaporating water from the pot of water, that's cooling the water vapor that's already in the air to its dewpoint, so you see condensation as steam.
The same happens in the shower. There's water vapor around us all the time even though you don't see it. When we run the warm shower, we start to see steam because the water vapor that's already in the air is cooling off.
You'll want to have a colder morning to get a 'steamier' experience. Actually steam isn't even the right word for what happens when you shower, it's actually just suspended water droplets but most people call it steam and that's fine for what we're discussing.
Having a colder morning will help lower the saturation vapor pressure in your bathroom. This means that the air already in the bathroom (remember the invisible water vapor that's present at all times) will condense more readily. You could try opening the bathroom window when it's cold out for a while, then shut it when you want to take your shower, see how that works.
Answered by KSL Meteorologist Dina Freedman.
