Shower or Bath: A Water Conservation Dilemma

If I want to save water, should I install a shower or a bathtub? Should I bathe or splash some water on me for a minute or two? In some circles, this is an age-old question that often goes unanswered. People mostly concentrate on preference – some adore the concept of drawing a bath and meditating in hot water for an hour, while others find this to be excessive and wasteful – both in terms of water preservation and, indeed, time preservation. It is finally time to solve this water conservation dilemma.

A matter of stylistic preference?

Utility bills can get quite steep in New South Wales so every resident of Sydney will tell you that showering is definitely a way to go if you want to save water, plain and simple. However, this still doesn’t answer a question which should you choose to install. It may appear redundant to place a bulky bathtub in the middle of the bathroom if you don’t intend to use it in a traditional way, but people will often choose something for the style of it. In other words, it doesn’t matter where you shower as long as you preserve water.

Upgrading the showerheads

Since bathroom renovations occur quite often on a daily basis in sprawling urban areas such as Sydney, many eco-friendly Harbour City residents have decided to “upgrade” their showerheads with low-flow variants. Now, these new models may be expensive at first glance, but you should consider your future savings. No matter how much an eco-friendly product costs upfront, it will save you money cumulatively down the road and practically pay itself off.

Maintenance means a lot

Take good care of your bathroom elements to ensure not a single drop is wasted. Even the slightest leakage can lead to astounding water waste, so as soon as you detect the issue, contact the professionals immediately to ameliorate the issue. It should be quite easy to find a reliable emergency plumber in Sydney. Of course, not everything hinges on the efforts of the plumber – you should also use appropriate cleaners to maintain showerhead tips and keep both the bathing area and the exposed pipes clear of that dreadfully damaging buildup of limescale.

Bath as treats?

The average 10-minute shower will require approximately 75 to 85 liters of water (bear in mind that this is not universal information and the numbers vary depending on what part of the globe you are inspecting). In comparison, an average bath will require between 150 and 180 liters of water. One thing most people forget when they contemplate bathing is that they will need to shower anyways right after they’ve had their share of hedonism in the tub. If you didn’t, you’d simply still be covered in soap and skin that has peeled off.

Now, an occasional bath – for example, four times a year – may not make a significant dent in your budget or water conservation effort, especially if you shower every day. However, you should still be wary of this if your county is known for drought problems – and in the case of Australia, including Sydney, this doesn’t even merit a discussion.

It’s a bigger problem

If you time your showers and avoid taking baths – even though you have installed the bathtub for aesthetic reasons – you should be in the clear. However, your bathing habits are not the only water wasters in your household. There is a bigger problem that also includes toilets and washing machines, so as soon as each of these elements show wear and tear, consider replacing them with the latest eco-friendly models which are not even as expensive as they used to be.

No matter what sort of bathing rituals you partake in, you are probably wasting more water than you could possibly imagine. For this reason, you should take all the necessary precautions to conserve clean, potable water and make necessary tweaks to your bathroom appliances. As an individual, you won’t alter the course of global water-conservation efforts, but you should do everything in your power to make your part in it count. Imagine yourself to be just a grain of sand and think about how each grain of sand is necessary to make a dessert. If we want to avoid turning our planet into a desert, we should be ready to do something as modest as changing our bathing habits.