With drought, conserving water at home is a practical step we can take. Something we all do is use water to clean up. But what uses more water – a shower or a bath? Typically, a bath will use more water than a shower. Of course, if you are in the shower for an hour or so, the shower will use more water.

The “Take Care of Texas” blog says that showers account for 17% of household water uses. Most shower heads flow at a rate of 2.5 gallons of water per minute. This means in a ten-minute shower, you’ll use around 25 gallons of water. Try taking a five-minute shower instead of a ten-minute shower, and you’ll save 12.5 gallons of water. I know it does not sound like much, but it adds up.

A bath generally takes about 50 gallons of water. You may think baths are eco-friendly because the water is not constantly running, but it takes a lot of water to fill up a bath. The good news for water-aware people is that you do not have to cut out your baths completely. Just fill up the bath halfway.  Instead of letting water run down the drain, try plugging the drain and let your hot water until your tub is the right temperature.

All in all, I think that to save water, your best bet is to take a 5-minute shower.