By Alliance Communications Coordinator Amy Durr
What if your shower could feel just as good while using half the water and cutting your energy bill with one simple act? And how would it feel if you used seven other sustainability tips to save even more water and money?
Many shifts to sustainability are simple swaps, while some require new ways of thinking and acting. The biggest of these calls for us to rethink one of the most basic things most of us do every day. Conceptually it’s not hard, but practically it does ask us to modify a daily ritual from an American average of an 8-minute shower to 4 minutes.
Cutting your shower time to four minutes will save nearly 680 lbs of carbon emissions per year, up to 10 gallons of water per shower, and around $200 on your annual utility bills. As you can see, the benefits are surprising and immense, and you can go all the way to becoming a true Showering Superhero to get even more bang for your buck.
Me and My Shower
To be honest, ask me to shorten my shower and, um, I may pretend to not hear you. I certainly wouldn’t be the one cheering. As a mother, showering is my “me time,” and I’m not handing that off to just anyone, Treehugger. The hot water on my cranky neck, the bubble of mental oblivion. You can pry the lavender soap out of my warm, clean hands.
However, as someone committed to sustainability I needed to confront some inconvenient truths. Here’s what I found. And I was surprised I could still keep my lavender soap and feel better about the planet and my electric bills.
What You May Not Know About Water and Energy
Water matters, and will continue to. And, perhaps surprisingly:
All household water requires significant energy
Did you know that almost always the biggest energy use in a city is water pumping? Treating, heating, and pumping water consumes almost 13% of the nation’s annual total energy use, equivalent to the annual energy usage of about 40 million Americans, a study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters showed. That makes water one of the largest energy consumers in the US.
Furthermore, that energy use contributes to climate change and our showers both cost us a lot of money and waste a lot of water. So here I am, the long-shower lover, trying to figure out how to do better without losing my mind.
My 8 Ways to Water Happiness and Becoming a Showering Superhero
Here’s what I’ve learned (and what I’m actually willing to try):
- Reduce Time: Shorten showers to 4 minutes to significantly cut down on water consumption, saving 10-25 gallons per typical shower.
- Employ Low-Flow Showerheads: Replace old fixtures with models that use less than 2.5 gallons per minute, like the EPA labelled WaterSense Showerheads, which can save 2,700 gallons annually. Also called aerators, if every home in the country switched to a WaterSense showerheads, the US could save more than $2.9 billion and 260 billion gallons of water per year, plus an additional $2.5 billion that would go toward heating the water, according to the EPA.
- Use the “Two-Cycle” Method: Wet down, turn off the water to soap/shampoo, then turn it back on for a quick final rinse. “Navy or boat showers” use only about 3 gallons of water per shower, compared to an average 16 to 60 gallons.
- Lower Temperatures: Skin is the body’s largest organ and its first line of defense against pathogens, so it’s important to keep it clean and healthy — but not too clean, according to dermatologists. Studies point to the microbiome as an integral bacteria-fighting protective barrier, and what is the microbiome if not a medley of bacteria, fungi and viruses?
Bathing too much — or with the wrong products or in the wrong temperatures — can disrupt the microbiome, strip the skin of its natural oils, and leave it exposed to bad bacteria, according to TreeHugger. - Fix Leaks: The average family can waste 180 gallons per week, or 9,400 gallons of water annually, from household leaks. That’s equivalent to the amount of water needed to wash more than 300 loads of laundry.
- Collect Excess Water: Use a bucket to collect shower water while it heats up, then use it to water plants or for cleaning. A 2-minute wait with a typical showerhead wastes about 5 gallons, saving over 1,800 gallons per person per year.
- Change to Heat Pump, Solar, or Tankless Water Heaters: Heat pump water heaters use up to 70% less electricity, often resulting in up to $600/year in savings. Solar water heaters reduce water heating energy bills by 50-80% and are typically the most efficient option overall, but depend on sunlight availability and often require a backup system. Tankless water heaters provide 24-34% energy savings for homes using 41 gallons or less of hot water daily.
- Insulate Pipes: This simple DIY project reduces heat loss by 25%–45%, allowing water to stay 2°F–4°F hotter, which helps reduce energy consumption.
Bonus: Level up and save even more water and energy by shaving outside the shower, not washing your hair every day or cutting down the number of showers you take. You may be surprised, but those actions can be more impactful than many eco-friendly products, according to @wirecutter.