Well then, my dear reader, here we are with yet another thought-provoking question. If you are now driving an all-electric car, installed solar panels on your roof, and trying to figure out what else you can do to save the planet, what else can you do? Well then, does showering together with your significant other really save water? If so, then it’s genius!
To most people, this might seem like a parody or a joke, but to others, it’s a genuine question. In places like California where water shortage is a constant problem, this might be a legitimate question. But does showering together really save water?
Well, let’s talk about it.
How much water is used per shower?
To figure this all out, let’s first get actual numbers and statistics.
According to research done by the Water Research Foundation, the average American showers an average of 7.8 minutes. Within that time, they use approximately 15.8 gallons of water. If two people shower individually, we simply double that and end up with 31.6 gallons.
That’s great and all, but is that enough to warrant showering together to save water?
How much does water cost per gallon?
Now that we know how much water we can see when we shower, let’s now take a look at how much water actually costs.
Now, we all know that water costs different depending on your location. It’s not one fixed rate for the entire country. With that be taken into consideration, we will use the average cost per gallon of water in the United States.
On average, price of water in the United States is about $1.50 for 1,000 gallons. That means that 1 gallon of water costs about $0.0015. That means, one gallon of water cost less than a penny.
If we go back to the average 7.8 minutes of a shower using 15.8 gallons, showering together will save you about $0.03. Well then, do we have our answer?
Showering together saves very little
At face value, it almost seems like a no-brainer to save together just to save some water. But if we look at the numbers, you save very little to no money by showering together.
All hope is not lost though. The more I look into it, the more I realize that there are advantages and disadvantages for showering together.
If we put aside the idea of saving money, here are some other things to consider.
Advantages of showering together
If we put aside the idea of saving money, here are some other advantages to consider when it comes to showering together.
1. Intimate time together
Okay, this one is a bit of an obvious one but one worth mentioning nonetheless. Showering together creates time of intimacy outside of the regular day to day.
Picture yourself with your significant other, slow music in the background, and maybe a candle or two. You can definitely use this time to catch up on the day end create a bit of intimacy. You barely save any money doing this, but you do spend enough time together. Priceless I suppose 🙂
2. Help each other shower
If you don’t have a shower brush to reach your upper back, guess what? Now that you have a shower partner, they can help you scrub the hard-to-reach spots 🙂
“But field” you might be asking, “is that really an advantage worth mentioning?” My answer to that is, yes! I can attest to this myself. Super handy!
Disdvantages of showering together
Now that we have cleared the air and listed a couple of advantages of showering together, it’s time to analyze the disadvantages of this tactic.
1. Logistical nightmare
Unless you have a huge shower with double shower heads, showering together actually becomes quite the headache.
If you have the standard average size of a shower, you know how cramped you can quickly get if you add one more person in there. Sure, it creates intimacy because you have no choice but to be super close, but if you actually will just want to take a shower, it’s turns not fun pretty quickly 🙂
2. Having a new baby?
Wait, how does taking showers together end up in having a baby? Well, I think the answer to this is pretty obvious.
All that intimate alone time can end up with more intermittent a long time after. Guess what? Babies cost way more than $0.03 😀
So before you hop in the shower with your significant other, make sure you set aside a budget just in case a baby happens. HA!
Final thoughts
All jokes aside, if you really want to save water with your showers, then consider taking cold or showers or just shorter showers.
The more hot water you use, the more electricity needed to heat up more of that water. You can just offer to do this, and probably save more than just a couple of gallons of water that don’t really cost much.
Now I want to hear from you. Have you tried this tactic yet? If so, how did it work out for you? Let me know in the comments below.
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This is very informative. We all know the importance of financial planning but we really don’t apply it our lives This tells us to differentiate between the need and necessity of life. Thanks for gearing up.
Its the little things that count and add up in our lives! Glad you found it helpful 🙂