I Took an 4 Minute Shower

How to conserve water at home

How was it: It was ok. Time went by fast, and I definitely would have stayed in the shower longer if the timer didn't go off. But I'm clean.

How I came across this: I recently was visiting Australia, where there has been a substantial drought. The topic of conserving water appeared in the news daily. One of the hotels I stayed in even had a shower timer. People were encouraged to limit shower time to 4 minutes.

Some facts: Searching around the internet seemed to develop an approximate average shower time of 7 to 8 minutes. Based on my own experience, I would say that is about accurate. My typical shower is usually less than this 7-8 minute average, however, my wife (with more hair and shaving needs) will take a little longer.

How to do it: You could buy a shower timer to have in the shower with you. You can also set a normal kitchen timer outside the shower to beep when you hit your 4 minute limit. Once you spend a few days practicing a four minute shower, it should become easy to do without a timer. Don't forget to include the time when you turn the water on (before you enter the shower).

Why: To save water and energy used to make the hot water. You also save energy at the treatment plant, that will now have to treat less of your shower water.

Why is this important: Water has to come from somewhere. Depending on where you live, it could be groundwater, river water, lake water, or ocean water. This means that using water is in some way altering a vital ecosystem. In addition, most of us assume that water will always be there. People in Australia have learned that this is not always the case. Conserving water now, can possibly leave us more water for the future. Also, people in many parts of the world don't even have clean available water to drink.

The numbers: Consensus around the internet indicates that a shower typically uses about 2.5 gallons of water per minute, with some older shower head models using 5 to 8 gallons of water per minute. If my average time in the shower was 6 minutes and I took a 4 minute shower, I saved 2 minutes or about 5 gallons of water.

Multiplied: If 100,000 people did the same, then 500,000 gallons of water is saved. That is enough water for those same 100,000 people to drink for 10 days. All from one day of a shorter shower.


More reads:

Some other good tips for reducing water usage

A cool calculator showing dollar cost of showering

Short shower tips