Conclusion: CONFIRMED.
Truth: Showers typically save more water and energy than baths—if you don’t linger too long.
A five-minute shower uses about 10 to 25 gallons of H2O (use a low-flow showerhead to save big and cut water use in half). A full bath, according to a handy guide from the Environmental Protection Agency, uses about 70 gallons of water—as much as seven times more.
The energy drain from bathing, of course, is due to heating the water. Water heaters are some of the biggest energy hogs in the home, accounting for about 25 percent of household energy consumption. Anything you can do to reduce hot water use will make your home greener and your bills lower.
A caveat: not all showers are created equal. If you’re showering for 20 minutes every day, the savings go down the drain. Every two minutes in the shower can use hundreds of extra gallons a month.
And not all baths are un-green, especially if you’ve got a small tub. To make any bath more eco-friendly, just reduce the water level an inch or two.
So stay out of, well, hot water, and use less whenever possible. Every bit of conserving helps the planet, drop by drop.
*This eco-myth was submitted by Laelle M.Thanks, Laelle!
Have a friend who swears turning off the light when you leave a room actually wastes energy? Does your uncle tell you Hummers are more eco-friendly than hybrids? Whatever the eco myth, we'll help you get to the bottom of it. Submit your myth to SustainLane Greenbusters here!
Terri L. says:
We take our showers under 10 minutes at my house. We plug the tub. Use only eco friendly soaps since I have a thyroid problem and many products exacerbate inflammation, plus hubby has skin sensitivity issues. We collect the grey water from the tub and put it in a 50 gallon rain barrel/receptacle and use this water for the garden.
I do ABHOR my city mandated low flow toilets, however. They don't flush it all down!
BuildSmart A. says:
What about taking baths, then using the bathwater to clean the laundry?
In my house, wash machine is in the bathroom. But, I have to bucket the water from the tub to the machine. This bucketing process often times will prevent me from reusing the water.
What cost effective/time efficient way is out there to transport the water to the machine?
Terri L. says:
Ah, yes... the time/money caveat. This is my biggest issue with a lot of these "green" solutions. Many are expensive and right now, many people do not have the financial resources to implement things like solar heating, grey water capture systems, etc. And it's not like the banks are lending either... Ed Bagely once told me to take out a second on my home, or refinance in order to pay for solar electricity... WTF? That was during the housing boom. I'm really glad I didn't take that advice. I'd be in foreclosure now...
Adam W. says:
BuildSmart,
I don't know if I would be using bathwater to clean my clothes. Grey water is extremely useful, but I would probably stick to using it to flush toilets and water plants.