Is there a rationale from science to avoid taking a shower during a thunderstorm?
In: Chemistry
The risk is lightning can strike the ground outside of your house, get picked up by the water mains, and enter your home’s plumbing system and water supply. If you’re in the path of that water supply then you become part of the electricity’s goal to spread out and you could get zapped.
This is less common with the rise in plex/plastic plumbing, but the water mains that enter your home are still metal and the water itself can still be fairly conductive depending on how mineral heavy the water is so there’s still a risk.
Also note that by this point in the path and with your skins high resistance the odds of this zap outright killing you are kind of low, but it could cause some burns, nerve damage, or if you’re standing it could make you spaz and smack your head into something harder.
So just be safe and delay showers when a storm is passing by.
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