Unpopular opinion: I checked my water meter reading this morning and found out I use 22 gallons a day just showering

Honestly, I was floored. My water bill app had this breakdown from last month and apparently my 10 minute showers are like 22 gallons. Who knew showers were that thirsty? Has anyone else checked their meter and gotten a shock like that?

4 comments

4 Comments

johnson.faith26d ago

Wait, a 10 minute shower using 22 gallons? That math seems a little off unless you've got one of those old school showerheads that's basically a firehose. Most standard showerheads put out about 2.5 gallons per minute, so 10 minutes should be closer to 25 gallons actually. If your meter says 22, either your showerhead is slightly below average or you're not accounting for the water that runs while you're waiting for it to warm up.

river32026d ago

Hey @johnson.faith, isn't that actually the opposite though? A standard 2.5 GPM head would use 25 gallons in 10 minutes like you said, but 22 gallons would actually be less than average, not more. So if the meter says 22, that head is already running at about 2.2 GPM which is pretty normal for a newer low-flow model. The old firehose style you're talking about would be pushing 3-4 GPM easy, hitting 30-40 gallons in that same shower. I think people forget those pre-1992 showerheads were basically unregulated and could waste way more. Your point about warmup time is solid though, that's the real sneaky water waster nobody accounts for.

williamb2926d ago

Oh man, the warmup water thing is such a hidden waste! I actually tested this at my place and found a super simple fix. If your hot water heater is far from your bathroom like mine is, just stick a five gallon bucket in the shower while it warms up. That water is perfectly fine for flushing toilets or watering plants, and it adds up fast. I measured mine at almost 1.5 gallons wasted every morning just waiting for the pipes to clear. Once I started saving it, my water bill dropped way more than I expected.

the_mary26d ago

Yeah that warmup water is the real killer nobody talks about. I timed mine once and it was almost 2 minutes just getting hot enough to step in, adds up way faster than you'd expect.