Safe to shower during a thunderstorm?

[fredtoast]

Growing up my mom told me it was not safe to take a shower during a thunderstorm because somehow the lightening could run in through the water.

Anyone else ever hear this?

Any idea where that claim originated?

[*Synric*]

It's true. Copper piping has been used for years for plumbing and it's one of the best conductors of electricity. If you use copper I suggest grounding your plumbing.

[jfkbengals]

(08-12-2020, 05:31 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Growing up my mom told me it was not safe to take a shower during a thunderstorm because somehow the lightening could run in through the water.

Anyone else ever hear this?

Any idea where that claim originated?

Prior to indoor plumbing, I'm sure it was life saving information!

[*bfine32*]

(08-12-2020, 05:31 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Growing up my mom told me it was not safe to take a shower during a thunderstorm because somehow the lightening could run in through the water.

Anyone else ever hear this?

Any idea where that claim originated?

Nope, your mom never told me it was unsafe to shower. 

[HarleyDog]

(08-12-2020, 05:31 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Growing up my mom told me it was not safe to take a shower during a thunderstorm because somehow the lightening could run in through the water.

Anyone else ever hear this?

Any idea where that claim originated?

Guessing your mom laid a lot of pipe in her day, or at least was knowledgeable cause she’s right. Although I’ve never heard of anyone getting fried by lightning in the shower? There’s a reason that story is out. I think today, with the use of a lot of pvc, it has faded. 

[HarleyDog]

Something I found online:

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/josh-shaffer/article90325407.html

Quote:[color=var(--tc)]Was Mom’s advice about avoiding lightning correct? Well, some of it was – Shaffer[/color]

[color=var(--tc)]
By Josh Shaffer


[/color]


RALEIGH
One of the oldest pieces of folk wisdom holds that lightning never strikes the same spot twice, a falsehood demonstrated by the Empire State Building – hit more than 20 times each year – and by former U.S. Park Ranger Roy Sullivan, who in 71 years took a bolt to the noggin seven times.

Tips to avoid being struck by lightning are as common as hiccup remedies or cures for warts, and often just as useless.
This year, bolts have killed 14 people nationwide – the latest a North Carolina motorcyclist who had stopped to put on rain gear Saturday near Mount Mitchell. 


In this season of continual thunderstorms – another of which is expected Tuesday evening – we offer a little lightning myth-busting, with apologies to the Discovery Channel duo.
Some of these tips are true. Others, not so much.
GO UNDER A TREE

Terrible idea. 
Hiding under trees is the second-highest cause of lightning-related death, according to the National Weather Service. Get thee indoors.

GET DOWN ON THE GROUND
Also foolish.
Lying down might actually increase your chance of touching a deadly ground current. Run – don’t walk – to the nearest building.
[color=var(--tc)]#READLOCAL


STAY OFF THE PHONE
This one’s true, at least for landlines. 
A powerful bolt of electricity will follow any kind of wiring, and a phone on a cord can lead lightning straight to your ear. MythBusters Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage confirmed this by rigging a dummy made of ballistics gel with a telephone and zapping his homemade house with 300,000 volts. The blast blew out the dummy’s heart monitor. Dead dummy.
But a mobile phone? Zeus and his thunderbolts can’t touch you. Chat away.


UNPLUG YOUR ELECTRONICS
Do it.
Nicolle Morock, who writes a [color=var(--lc)]meteorology blog for The N&O called Clear Weather[/color](nando.com/clearweather), told me that most surge protectors aren’t built to withstand a bolt of lightning. A strike at a family member’s house last week proved this. “It came through a cable line outside,” she said. “It fried the TV, the cable router and some of the smaller appliances.”

STAY OUT OF THE BATHTUB
This one’s iffy.
The conventional wisdom on avoiding tubs, showers and sinks inside is slightly outdated, Morock told me, because so many houses these days have PVC pipes rather than metal plumbing that can carry electricity. So if you’re reading a book in the tub of a newer house with plastic pipes and a bolt hits the ground next door, you’re probably OK.

RUBBER WILL SAVE YOU
Not so.
A car is one of the safest spots in a thunderstorm, as long as it’s a hardtop with the windows closed. But the security isn’t because of the tires. Morock explained that a car’s metal roof has a smooth surface that will keep lightning moving down to the ground. Tires don’t really act as a ground. So don’t go splashing around in your sneakers thinking you’ll be safe.
There are several other tips to keep in mind:
 You will not be shocked by touching a person struck by lightning. 
 Headphones do not attract bolts.
 Wearing silk will not protect you in an electrical storm.
 And lastly, if you’re on a golf course, offer some sacrifice to the Greek gods. Zeus hates golfers.

[/color]

[*Synric*]

(08-12-2020, 08:50 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: Guessing your mom laid a lot of pipe in her day, or at least was knowledgeable cause she’s right. Although I’ve never heard of anyone getting fried by lightning in the shower? There’s a reason that story is out. I think today, with the use of a lot of pvc, it has faded. 

I have seen it arc in old houses in the sinks but never seen or heard of anyone actually getting electrocuted.

[*rfaulk34*]

(08-12-2020, 09:11 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: Something I found online:

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/josh-shaffer/article90325407.html

Newer houses with PVC are ok, but...there are plenty of older houses out there (like mine) with plenty of copper pipes. This is from the CDC;

14. Is it safe to take a shower or bath during a lightning storm?

No. Lightning can travel through plumbing. It is best to avoid all water during a lightning storm. Do not shower, bathe, wash dishes, or wash your hands.

Of course, they're going to say that just so there's no confusion about what pipes you have. 

[*jason*]

Hell nah it ain't safe... And you better get off that telephone too.

The Lord's doing his work...

[NATI BENGALS]

I quit taking showers because you never know when lightening will strike

[jfkbengals]

(08-16-2020, 11:54 PM)jason Wrote: Hell nah it ain't safe... And you better get off that telephone too.

The Lord's doing his work...

We had a phone blow off the wall when I was a kid because of a lightning strike, and as an adult I had 8 DirecTV boxes fry as well as the input ports of the TVs they were connected to because of the phone line being struck.


Back to the shower thing.  We have copper pipes, and a SEVERE storm blew through yesterday while I was in the shower.  You will all be happy to hear that I am not ghost posting (ghosting?), as I survived the endevour...

[jfkbengals]

(08-17-2020, 11:37 PM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: I quit taking showers because you never know when lightening will strike

So that's what that smell is...

[Wes Mantooth]

(08-18-2020, 07:20 PM)jfkbengals Wrote: We had a phone blow off the wall when I was a kid because of a lightning strike, and as an adult I had 8 DirecTV boxes fry as well as the input ports of the TVs they were connected to because of the phone line being struck.

This is how I imagine your life now:

[grampahol]

Uhmm...water is quite a conductor of electrical current although not nearly as good as copper so don't even assume PVC will automatically save your ass. Don't believe it? Go stand in a puddle of water and stick a bare wire connected to 220 house current in your mouth. If that doesn't make a believer out of you then it probably killed you anyway.