The other day we received a shipment of 5-minute shower timers here at The Groundwater Foundation. From everything that I’ve read the average shower falls into the 5-7 minute range. The encouragement is to cut that time down to 3-5 minutes instead to help save water in the long run. Most of us don’t really need to take a shower longer than 5 minutes -- it’s just become part of our nature.
So with that in mind, I took a couple of them home and put them up in our showers. My daughter was the first one to use it while she was running her bath water. She announced afterwards that the tub was filled right when the hour-glass type timer ended – so 5 minutes.
My son was the next one to use it. I heard the shower kick on from downstairs and then heard it turn off. I knew that his shower was faster than normal, but if the timer made him change his speed then great! When I went upstairs to check the time, he had easily beaten it. He’s competitive like that!
My wife was the next one to be put to the test. She admittedly said that it ran out of time. She thought it was probably in the 6-7 minute range.
Finally it came down to me. Oh the pressure! I tried to follow my normal routine but I think I also noticed that I was going a little faster than normal. I easily beat the timer too. I’ve used it a number of times since then and have never came close to using up all of the sand.
How about you? A five-minute shower can use between 25-50 gallons so reducing the time you are in the shower by even a few seconds can make it more sustainable for everyone. Try timing your family’s showers and see if each person can shorten their time in the shower. Let us know how it works for you!
Read more...
Posts
