Do you take a shower in the morning to get energized or maybe at night to relax? Either way, Consumer Reports has tips to help you shower smarter for the planet, your skin, and your water bill.
Did you know that the average family uses up to almost 40 gallons of water a day while showering, accounting for nearly 17 percent of residential indoor water use?
You can save a lot of water and energy just by limiting your shower time to about 5 minutes.
If you’re up for an easy DIY project, install a water-saving showerhead. You should look for one with the EPA’s WaterSense label, which limits a shower’s output to no more than 2 gallons a minute.
It can help save 2,700 gallons of water per year and reduces the demand on your water heater, which also saves energy. If you have an electric water heater, that can add up to enough savings to power your house for 11 days.
If you’re worried that the water-saving flow won’t get the job done, in many cases you really might not be able to tell the difference. To qualify for the WaterSense label, a showerhead has to have certain spray patterns and meet other criteria that are at least as good—if not better than—the standards for other showerheads in the market.
Hot showers might be good for your mind but warm water is better for dry skin, eczema, dermatitis, and psoriasis. And after your shower, don’t forget to apply a cream moisturizer.
If you want to save even more water—and instead of just idly waiting for the water to warm up—you can use it to wash your face or brush your teeth. Consumer Reports has more easy water-saving tips that we’ve put on our station’s website.