water-wise gadget: can you take a 5-minute shower?

I can. When I use my 5-minute shower timer.

I got this Shower Coach from my city, at an event related to water conservation. It’s great.

• I stuck it to the shower wall with the suction cup.
• I flip the sand timer when I start my shower.
• Keep an eye on the time as I shower. Even with my poor near-sighted vision, I can see the sand slipping down.
• Finish up in 5 minutes… or as close as I can get.

I’m more conscious of my showering time now, because I have a tool that’s easy to use.  Sure, sometimes I go over, but I’m also more likely to move things along because I know the gallons are running down the drain.

Every minute makes a difference.

My shower flows at 2 gallons per minute (gpm)*. If I shorten my shower by 1 minute every day, I save 730 gallons/year.  2 minutes = 1460 gallons/year saved. But what does 1460 gallons mean?

• About 32 full baths (@45 gallons per bath)
• Or 32 car washes at a professional car wash (@ 45 gallons per wash)

Or, 1.5 years worth of water for an average user in Mozambique.

Average water use ranges from 200–300 litres [52-78 gallons] a person a day in most countries in Europe to 575 [150 gallons] in the United States. Residents of Phoenix, Arizona, a desert city with some of the greenest lawns in the United States, use more than 1,000 litres [260 gallons] a day. By contrast, average use in countries such as Mozambique is less than 10 litres [2.6 gallons]. (Source: 2006 United Nations Human Development Report)

Next time you’re enjoying your shower, think about what a 1 or 2 minute difference can make. According to some studies, the average American’s shower takes 7-8 minutes, so getting to the five-minute mark isn’t such a stretch for most. (Except for teens who, as most parents of teens probably know, tend to take longer.)

Try a Shower Coach, or something like it (Shorter Shower Timer), or even a kitchen timer. And see if you can take a 5 minute shower.

* If you have a high-flow showerhead–over 2.5 gpm–you can make a huge impact without even having to shorten your showers. Just change your showerhead to a low-flow. You could go from a wasteful waterfall of 5 gpm to a more reasonable 2.5 gpm and have a lovely shower and reduce your shower water usage 50%.