Green or Nothing

There’s nothing quite like being pummelled by hot relaxing succulent droplets of water to get you going in the morning, or indeed to help you unwind at night. A shower is quite simply one of those little daily necessities that we just can’t imagine doing without. But then considering that the world’s supply of fresh clean water is one of the most under threat natural resources on the planet, it’s probably not such a good idea to be so indulgent.

The problem I always find is that when I’m just starting to get into that showering ‘relaxed zone’, as the tension leaves my body, a little eco bell of guilt starts to ring in my head, “hmm maybe I shouldn’t be enjoying this quite so much”.

So that got me thinking, what can I do to make my shower time greener? The most obvious answer is to cut back on how much water I use…

Showers use around 12% of the water used in the household. By being water efficient in the shower you can save money not only on your water bill, but on your energy bill too, whilst protecting the environment – Waterwise and the Energy Savings Trust.

Here are some ideas to help you (and me) to cut down on how much water we use in the shower and allow us to enjoy it just a little more.

Shower timers

The Ethical Superstore is selling funky little shower timers from EcoSavers® to help you monitor how long you’re spending in the shower. They come in 3 cute designs; Frog, Water Drop, and Duck, and have an integrated suction cup to allow you to easily stick it where it’s most accessible. They’re also really easy to use; simply set the time you wish your shower to last using the minutes and seconds buttons on the front (I was a bit concerned when I read the spec for this, apparently you can set the time for anything from 1 second to 99 minutes 59 seconds…). As you begin to shower, press the start button, after the set time has passed the timer will beep as a signal to stop showering.

If you have a shower/bathroom hog in your household this could help.

Buy from EthicalSuperstore.com £4.95	Buy from EthicalSuperstore.com £4.95	Buy from EthicalSuperstore.com £4.95

The problem is, how long should you set the timer for? The next little gadget helps us with that one.

If everyone used a shower timer, we would save enough water to supply one million homes every day – Waterwise and the Energy Savings Trust.

Shower Drop Meter

Again from the Ethical Superstore comes the ECO Showerdrop Shower Meter which helps you to keep track of just how much water you’re using, or now saving, when you take a shower. All you have to do is measure how long it takes your shower to dispense a litre of water, then the meter will tell you when, during your indulgent shower (which you’ll be able to fully concentrate on), you’ve used up the recommended amount of 35 litres.

Buy from EthicalSuperstore.com £12.95

The ECO Shower Drop Shower Meter is Certified as an award winning water saver by Waterwise, the independent UK NGO.

Low flow shower heads

After you realise just how quickly the water is pouring over your body and down into the plug below you’ll then quickly turn your attention to how to extend how long you can spend in the shower. The simple solution is to install a low flow shower head which can range in price from just £19.99 to over £500.

If you’ve got a shower head and hose that is detachable then I’d recommend having a look at Flow Point’s Water Saving Hand Held Shower Head. Again this is available from the EthicalSuperstore.com, and features 3 different spray settings; full, massage, and aeration.

If you’re looking for something more stylish but can’t really justify spending over £500 on the latest chic shower set then why not check out eBay. I did a quick search on their site for ‘eco shower’ and found over 30 products listed, including the iconic Hansgrohe Raindance (pictured above). Now that is true eco shower indulgence.

View eBay.co.uk ‘Eco Shower’ products

If you use only 35 litres of water per shower, a family of four could save over £180 on water and energy bills per year. As well as this, you would save over 40,000 litres of water and two thirds of a tonne of carbon. – Waterwise and the Energy Savings Trust

If you have any more green showering tips or have tried out any of the products mentioned above (or other) then leave a comment below.