It’s an amazing thing to consider, but a ten-minute shower uses up to 70 gallons of water, especially if it’s a power shower. In fact, after toilets and washing machines, showers are often the biggest water users in your home. The energy used to heat the water accounts for a large part of your energy bills as well. A shower may not seem to use that much water, as it runs away down the plughole, but the average shower time is eight minutes, and many people take two or even three showers a day. That is an awful lot of water to be heating and then pouring down the drain.
Could you use less?
It would be a really great idea to try. Water is a precious resource, and we should be thinking about how we can use it responsibly and without waste. One way we can reduce our water consumption is by reducing the amount of time we spend in the shower. Three minutes seems a very short time to get clean, but it’s actually possible: here are some ideas that you can try.
How to cut down on your shower time
- You can buy a shower timer to keep track of the time you spend in the shower, but why not time yourself in the shower by playing a song instead? If you step into the shower as the opening bars begin, and step out as the final notes die away, you will be cutting your shower time down considerably. As long as you choose the right song, of course. And don’t get carried away by those bathroom acoustics which make your voice sound so good.
- Switch the shower off as you shampoo or condition your hair. Many modern showers have an on/off switch, so use it. You don’t actually need the water running as you massage product into your hair or body. Apparently, they used to call this a “navy shower”: switch the water on to wet your body and hair, switch the water off to lather in soap and shampoo and switch the water back on again to rinse yourself off.
- You can also change your shower head to a more eco-friendly model – one which users less water per minute. This means less hot water being used, which is an additional benefit as it will reduce your energy bill as well as your water consumption.
- Sometimes you have to run your shower for a while to get the water properly hot. Instead of simply letting it run down the drain, catch the cool water in a bucket and use to water your plants. That way, your three-minute shower begins when you step under the warm water and not while you’re waiting for the water to warm up.
- Alternatively, you could invest in an efficient modern shower pump such as those stocked by Pump Sales Direct. That way, you won’t have to wait so long for the water to run at the right temperature, and your shower time will reduce accordingly.
Cutting your shower time down to three minutes is good for the environment and good for your energy bills. And you’ll save up to twelve hours a year, which you could use in so many other ways!
