The average American takes an 8-minute shower, and uses 17 gallons of fresh water in the process. And the average American showers every single day – sometimes more than once. That’s a lot of fresh water – and money – going down the drain.
Danze Victorian Shower Head - Only 1.5 GPM!
What can you do to save water in the shower?
::Install low-flow showerheads. These easy-to-install devices save about 2 gallons of water per minute. To put that into perspective, a family of four would save about 20,000 gallons per year (NDRC). (Think of the savings on your water bill!)
::Turn off the shower when you lather up and shave. Do the math. If it takes you at least a minute to shave and at least a minute to lather up, that’s approximately 5 gallons of water saved!
::Shower with your honey. That’s two showers for the price of one. If you’re an average American, that means 17 gallons saved.
::Keep a bucket in the bathroom and put it under the faucet when you’re waiting for the water to get hot. Use it to water your lawn/garden.
::Take shorter showers. Some of us (okay, me) really love, love, love long, hot showers. But limit those long showers to weekly – or better yet, montly – luxuries. Learn to take “Jennifer Aniston showers.” Aniston says, “I take a three-minute shower… Every two minutes in the shower uses as much water as a person in Africa uses for everything in their life for a whole day!” Set a timer when you take a shower – you may be surprised by how much you dawdle!
::If you have trouble shortening the length of your shower, simply shower less often. Most of us do not need to shower every single day, especially in winter. I only shower once every other day and have had this routine for nearly two years – even in the summer. Remember – it’s the best thing you can do for your hair! And you’ll be saving about 51 gallons of water per week.
Just for kicks, here’s a clip from Seinfeld – one of my favorite episodes. Obviously, Kramer doesn’t use a low-flow shower head! But you’ll get a laugh out it.
