If your morning shower helps you get energized for the day or a nighttime shower helps you relax before bed ... we’re working for you with ways to shower smarter for the planet, your skin, and your water bill.
For Robyn Brown and her family, showers are a vital part of their daily routine.
Consumer Reports said that the average family uses up to nearly 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,” Paul Hope with Consumer Reports said.
CR said if you’re up for an easy do-it-yourself project, install a water-saving showerhead. Look for the EPA’s WaterSense label which limits your shower’s output to no more than 2 gallons a minute.
It can help save 2,700 gallons of water per year, and it also reduces demands on water heaters, which also saves energy — if you have an electric water heater, that can add up to enough savings to power a house for 11 days.
Worried that the water-saving flow won’t get the job done?
“In many cases you really may not be able to tell the difference. To qualify for the WaterSense label, a showerhead has to have certain spray patterns and feel, and meet criteria that is at least as good if not better than other showerheads in the market,” Hope said.
CR said hot showers might be good for your mind but warm water is better for dry skin, eczema, dermatitis, and psoriasis.