How long do YOU shower?

[jeromedawg]

I take showers that are no longer than 5-10 minutes at the longest. My wife maybe 10-15 max? The kids? Probably 5-10 mins max as we shower them together still to try to maximize. My BIL? Well, he's the king - his showers have got to be at least 20-30 mins and he's in the bathroom for at least another 20-30 before or after prepping (he's OCD about his appearance and hygiene I suppose you could say). I guess as a homeowner w/ guests you notice these things a little more. But we're also in CA aka drought-land (what's irritating is that he lives in San Francisco... his water consumption must be off the table - I guess the whole drought thing just goes over his head). Anyway, does anyone else think 20-30 minute showers are excessive, especially every time you shower? I also don't like taking baths, so there's that. Heck, I guess I just don't like being in the water for prolonged periods of time. Although, I have no problem snorkeling and diving for hours - at least that isn't wasteful. I guess this Flume device came in handy for something else besides leak detection hahahaha.

[Cassie]

I have never taken long showers. It takes me about 10 minutes. My ex took long showers but he had psiorosis and would soften and peel the scabs in the shower. I also live in drought land Nevada.

[Blue Skies]

My showers now are ~10 minutes.  My kids are longer, I don't really time them though.  When I was a teenager I recall getting yelled at for 30 minute showers.  I've never lived in a place where drought was a concern though.

[ixtap]

My husband spends nearly an hour between shaving and showering, but he doesn't do it every day and the showering part is done Navy style.

He also takes an hour to clean the bathroom, but he doesn't clean the shower, so I have just completely given up on trying to figure out what he is actually doing when he cleans anything. As long as he cleans, that is his time wasted.

[Kris]

I'd say 5-10. I honestly don't know what you'd do in there for longer than that.

Get your minds out of the gutter, people...

[RWD]

I definitely take showers that are longer than 20 minutes. Just get lost in thought, I guess (or in the winter I don't want to step out into the cold air). I've been getting better lately though, I might be averaging under 15 minutes now, though I don't usually keep track.

[GuitarStv]

Probably less than 5 minutes.  I'll often shower twice in a day though.

[sailinlight]

I've never timed it, but it's just shave the tiny amount of facial hair I grow in a day, shampoo a few times a week, face wash, body wash. That can't take more than five minutes. What else are you going to do in there, ponder the meaning of life?

[GuitarStv]

What else are you going to do in there, ponder the meaning of life?

That's what the pre-shower pooping time is for!

[Villanelle]

Less than 5 minutes if I'm not washing my hair (which I only do 1-2x/week) and probably 8-10 minutes with hair and/or leg-shaving. 

[GuitarStv]

Less than 5 minutes if I'm not washing my hair (which I only do 1-2x/week) and probably 8-10 minutes with hair and/or leg-shaving.

No need to shave with shower running!

I have a large plastic cup in the shower for this purpose.  Fill it once with warm water, douse one leg, fill again, apply shaving cream, shave leg (dipping into the cup).  Then rinse/repeat on the other leg.

It has got to be under 2 liters of water total, and not having the water running doesn't increase shave times.

[brandon1827]

5-7 minutes is probably the norm for me; although on occasion I will stand in there for 10-15 minutes if I've been working outside a lot and my back and shoulders are sore. My wife takes longer usually, but I understand women have lots more to do in there (washing all that hair, shaving legs, etc.). My son is 12 and will stand in there for 30 minutes easily. He listens to music and will sing a long...and his hair is just as long as my wife's so I understand it takes longer than me with my buzzed hair...but I think mostly he just likes to stand under the hot water

[habanero]

Just a few minutes. However, due to my daily routine almost all my showering is done at work.

[ATtiny85]

Always under five minutes, and always barely warm water. My goal is to be done before the water temp has actually stabilized. Shave at sink right after, that's about three minutes. If it's more than 12 minutes from the time I walk into our room until I am headed back downstairs I must have found something that needed adjusting or fixing.

My BIL takes a long time, which was quite annoying when we had a shared bath situation a couple years ago. Hey, on your own time do whatever, but when you are in the only bathroom in the cottage, you get in and get out. We asked him what in the hell took so long, and he said something like "oh, I just stand there and get a little lost in thought" or some such BS. I found it strange that someone could have such lack of situational awareness.

[iluvzbeach]

20-30 minutes, depending on whether I shave. I just love the warm water. It’s sort of like meditation for me. I can also take really long baths in the winter. Like 2-4 hours in the tub reading a book or watching TV on the iPad. I know, I’m bad.

[SunnyDays]

Easily 20 minutes, but I don't shower every day.  I have neck and shoulder pain a lot so the hot water is very relaxing.  Water is cheap here and no real drought, so I don't feel any guilt at all.

[BlueHouse]

I take a long time.  My hair is medium-long but very thick.  It takes a while just to get my hair completely wet.   I can fully submerge myself in a pool and come up with the middle of my hair dry.  So imagine trying to get shampoo out of that, and then conditioner.  I literally cannot get a comb thru my hair without conditioner, so I usually have to condition, get a comb thru, then rinse.

Then there's scrubbing the ankles and knees.  I had never washed my ankles until I was in junior high and was horrified to find out that they collected dirt, so I'm a bit OCD about scrubbing every inch of my body with a washcloth. 

[sonofsven]

I only shower sometimes in the evening when I'm especially dirty, after work, for maybe five minutes. Just enough to scrub and rinse. I take a bath daily, with epsom salts. I tend to languish a bit and have to force myself out. It's a Pisces thing.

[pasadenafr]

5-10 minutes, depending on whether I'm washing my hair or not (and whether it's long or not). Never was one to stand there looking at the tiles. I'm lucky that my hair is pretty much hassle free, even when it's long and requires a little conditioner and more time to rinse out.

Thankfully I almost never get the urge to take a bath, because those, on the other hand, can last a looooong ass time and I'll only get out when the hot water runs out.

[AccidentialMustache]

I definitely take showers that are longer than 20 minutes. Just get lost in thought, I guess (or in the winter I don't want to step out into the cold air). I've been getting better lately though, I might be averaging under 15 minutes now, though I don't usually keep track.

Showers are my weakness. I love a good long hot shower. My brain will solve problems it has been chewing on, or come up with creative solutions to problems I hadn't thought about before. Similar, in some ways, to sleeping on a problem. In neither case is this a "well I need to figure this out" or otherwise intentional. I'll just be in the shower and go, "oh, that's how I should do X."

Also, they're a great way to clean the snot out of your sinuses and with allergies and in the midwest that's a thing for 80% of the year.

Having found better deodorant, I at least don't need a shower every day anymore, so that mitigates it some I guess.

[middo]

At home, 5 to 10 minutes.  Probably closer to 5.  But we have end-of-journey facilities at work and that is normally 10-15 minutes of lovely warm water paid for by my employer.  So I enjoy this little perk and don't pay for the water or heating of it myself.

[theninthwall]

I spend five minutes cleaning and ten minutes winning imaginary arguments.

[ixtap]

At home, 5 to 10 minutes.  Probably closer to 5.  But we have end-of-journey facilities at work and that is normally 10-15 minutes of lovely warm water paid for by my employer.  So I enjoy this little perk and don't pay for the water or heating of it myself.

In California, we don't really have the luxury of "I am not paying for it" right now.

We are using more than usual this month, between washing anything and everything as we move and running a bath to soak the blinds. We will probably still be under the per person average, but it definitely weighs on me to be using more at this time.

[chemistk]

3-5 minutes, every other day typically. Sometimes I'll take ~10 minute showers and that feels like an absolute luxury.

My wife is closer to the 10 minute mark, same with the kids.

[Malossi792]

I spend five minutes cleaning and ten minutes winning imaginary arguments.

LOL, also, +1

[windytrail]

10-15 minutes.

In defense of your friend, San Francisco's per capita water use is among the lowest in the entire state. You folks in SoCal use much more water than we do.

[Gronnie]

This is a genuine question stemming from my ignorance -- can anyone explain how long showers is "wasting water"? Where does the water go after it goes down the drain? It's not like it ceases to exist.

edit: I realize that that water may have to be treated to be potable again, but it's not like it's "gone" or anything right? So how do arguments like drought make sense?

[chemistk]

This is a genuine question stemming from my ignorance -- can anyone explain how long showers is "wasting water"? Where does the water go after it goes down the drain? It's not like it ceases to exist.

edit: I realize that that water may have to be treated to be potable again, but it's not like it's "gone" or anything right? So how do arguments like drought make sense?

This isn't my area of expertise at all, but I don't believe (barring certain circumstances) that we reuse wastewater for potable purposes. Just about all wastewater from household/bathroom use dose make its way to a water treatment facility but those are often downstream of where the water is actually used. Water, at least in North America, eventually exits land through the various watersheds and out into the ocean. Most of the water we consider potable comes either from rivers that are fed by snowpack (as is the case in much of the southwest), or from underground aquifers. It takes quite a bit of time for wastewater to go from the ground to those core sources and then back up and out. In the case of areas that are fed by aquifers (essentially huge wells), that time might be shortened but with the CO river, the water that's used is off to the ocean.

This, of course, completely ignores evaporation and other sources of wastewater. We also get a small amount from desalination plants but those are trivial in output.

I imagine that sentiment comes from water scarcity in some areas, but in others it likely has much more to do with the cost. 

[Chris22]

Our water comes from Lake Michigan and water costs me $7.50 per thousand gallons. We used 10k gallons over the last billing cycle for a family of 4. The incremental cost of a long shower is pennies and we are not likely to run the Great Lakes dry anytime soon.


That said an average shower for me is probably 10 min, with the occasional 5-min rinse off after exercise or mowing the lawn etc.

[Chris Pascale]

Except on the occasions where I'm trying to activate heat shock proteins by being in water a little too hot, I get wet, turn off water, condition hair with shampoo at same time, then slather up. Rinse.

[RWD]

I definitely take showers that are longer than 20 minutes. Just get lost in thought, I guess (or in the winter I don't want to step out into the cold air). I've been getting better lately though, I might be averaging under 15 minutes now, though I don't usually keep track.

I timed my latest shower because I was curious. Without rushing but also avoiding spacing out too much it was just 6 minutes. I guess I don't shower for as long as I thought.

[Valley of Plenty]

Mine vary depending on how much of a hurry I'm in, but usually take about 15 minutes I think. I can be in and out clean in 5 minutes if I'm really in a hurry, but usually I'll spend several minutes just standing under the scalding hot water pretending I'm a lobster.

I find long hot showers to be extremely great ways to de-stress. Sure, I could take 5 minute lukewarm showers and maybe save myself $20 a month, but I find the value to be worth the investment. Besides, in true Mustachian fashion I typically only shower every other day, as opposed to daily like almost everyone I know.

[Loretta]

I enjoy showering and don’t consider it a chore!  My chiropractor recommends aiming the water flow on my neck/traps and it’s a good homeopathic way to avoid back pain pills.  I keep my hair short and seldom shave my legs. 

[RWD]

Sure, I could take 5 minute lukewarm showers and maybe save myself $20 a month, but I find the value to be worth the investment.

Our total water bill is only ~$30/month. I can't imagine saving $20 off that even if we both stopped showering entirely. With our rates it's about 2 cents per minute of showering. (edit: plus the cost to heat the water, I guess, so maybe double that)

[MayDay]

Less than 5 minutes. I wash, rinse, conditioner, rinse, done. Just doesn't take that long ....

[pasadenafr]

Sure, I could take 5 minute lukewarm showers and maybe save myself $20 a month, but I find the value to be worth the investment.

Our total water bill is only ~$30/month. I can't imagine saving $20 off that even if we both stopped showering entirely. With our rates it's about 2 cents per minute of showering. (edit: plus the cost to heat the water, I guess, so maybe double that)

Mine is about $195 for 2 months, including... $5.5 of actual consumption lol.

[Fomerly known as something]

So I checked tonight.  I’m staying in an east coast hotel.  Because I’m use to drought CA, my luxury long shower was 5 minutes.

[mm1970]

Less than 5 minutes.

I work out regularly, so I'd say I shower 4-5 days a week, and only wash my hair 3 times.

Saturday is the SHOWER DAY.  That's the 5 minute day.  I wash my hair and condition it, and lather up and rinse off.

At least 1-2 days I only rinse my hair (and I stand outside the shower with my head in the cold water until it warms up).

1-2 days a week I take Navy showers.  Start with the above (wet the hair down while the water is cold).  Then, get whole body wet.  Turn off water.  Lather up everything.

Turn water back on to rinse.  Done.

California drought you know.

[dignam]

If I'm hot from being outside or working out, usually 5 minutes or less, with sorta warm water.  Otherwise 5-10 minutes.  If I have muscle pain or a headache I'll stand there for a bit longer under hot water.

There is no water shortage where I live and benefits outweigh the maybe $20 we'd save by taking shorter, cold showers.

[LD_TAndK]

Through the summer I do cold navy showers. 15 second rinse, lather, then 15 second rinse. It's quite fun actually if you take it as a little personal challenge, I suggest everyone try it out! Cold showers release endorphins supposedly.

[markpst]

Less than 5 minutes. Quick rinse, turn the water back off, lather than turn it back on for the rinse. I shave my head which I'm sure means less time to rinse as well (not to save water, just not much hair up there). I work from home, so I'm home most of the time, I average about 26 gallons of water usage a day.

In the summer I don't touch the hot water tap.

[TartanTallulah]

10 minutes max. Our water is metered.

[GuitarStv]

10 minutes max. Our water is metered.

Are there places where water isn't metered???

[habanero]

Are there places where water isn't metered???

My water ain't metered so it does exist somewhere on the planet at least (I live in the capital city so not some remote outpost)

Due to little snow this winter, and the driest march + april in 100 years the city urged people to try and save water, like not watering the garden and such, but there was never a ban on anything. They have five levels (I think) for water rationing and we only got to stage 1 which involves some mild urging. Not heard a lot about it in a while so guess the situation is better now, rainfall has picked up a bit as well the last couple of months (we use surface water so its very visible when the reservoir is lowe than normal).

I play a flat fee for water + sewer + garbage disposal. The fee is calculated off the square footage of your home so its all a very rude measure.

But in general water ain't in short supply here, but from time to time there is a dry spell. The most serious rationing I've experienced is that you could only water your garden three days a week or sth like that. Enforcement wasn't strict but think most complied.

[ATtiny85]

10 minutes max. Our water is metered.

Are there places where water isn't metered???

Anyone with their own well is not metered directly. The water is not metered, but the energy used to get it to the shower likely is, though someone out there still manually pumps I am sure.

[PDXTabs]

Probably less than 5 minutes.

Me too. Long enough to wash my short hair and then use some body wash on a loofah. Not much extra unless I'm really tired and maybe it is the winter and cold.

[moof]

Typically mine are 5 or so minutes.  It matters little, as about 90% of our water bill is fixed charges for being connected at all, and a tiny fraction is for actual usage.  Being in Portland without any real water availability issues for now helps a lot.

[DeniseNJ]

Me, about 15 min.  Wash long hair, condition, brush it through, maybe shave my legs, wash body, wash face with a different cleanser and brush, rinse everything, etc.

My 22 yr old son, 45 min easy.  He has OCD and everything takes him three times as long as he has to do everything repeatedly. Yes, we pay for water.

But when I was a teenager it would take me easily 45 min or more in the shower and at least that long to get dressed.  Especially on the weekend with extra scrubs and deep conditioner and stuff I didn't have time for during the week. We didn't pay for water as we lived in an apt and heat and hot water is included. You only pay for electric.

[ATtiny85]

Just did a timed shower. Without rushing, it was two minutes in the stall and just under three minutes at the sink for shave, including drying and partial dressing.

Ten total minutes from the time I walked into the bedroom until I walked out.

I was surprised that was all the time I spent in the stream.

[TartanTallulah]

10 minutes max. Our water is metered.

Are there places where water isn't metered???

Yes. It's quite patchy in the UK. Our previous house didn't have a water meter and we paid a flat rate water tariff, which was to our benefit since we had a large family at home. My parents' house, built 28 years ago, doesn't have a water meter because it's in a country in which water rates are included in their council tax banding.