by Kevin Mcinturff

Created on: September 10, 2008   Last Updated: September 17, 2008

Water is a scare resource which is borne out by the fact that each time we open our water bill it gets more expensive. Now, it is more important than ever to save water at every opportunity not just for the sake of the environment, but also for the sake of our wallets.

One big area that we can all save water is during the morning shower. With just a few minor changes, it is possible to save thousands of gallons of water and hundreds of dollars each year.

As a rule of thumb it is never good to let water run while soaping up. The best method of saving water here is to get wet, turn off the water, soap up and then rinse off. It may not seem like it, but those few minutes each day can thousands of gallons each year. For example suppose that you are using a shower head with an average flow of 2 gallons per minute. At 5 minutes, this saves 10 gallons a day, 300 gallons a month or 3,600 gallons a year. And that is just for one person. For a family of four, that translates into over 14,400 gallons of water!

We are all creatures of habit. For many of us, it is very tempting just to let the hot water run because it feels good on tense or aching muscles. A good alternative would be to purchase an electric back massager which runs around $100 and would pay for itself after a couple of months.

Another method of saving water is by using a shower head which will not flow until the water reaches a temperature of 95 F (35 C). This can save a tremendous amount of water by not having it run while you wait for it to warm up. These shower heads may be purchased on green websites for around $40.

The ultimate method of conserving water might be a system developed by a student attending the Royal College of Art in London. Based on the Dyson vacuum cleaner, this shower uses filters and hydro cones to recycle water on a continuous basis. This could realize a 90% savings on water usage. Although it was never brought to market, such a product shows the wave of the future in water conservation.

In the end, every little bit helps. If we all would just some make small adjustments, together we can make a huge impact on the environment and save some money in the process.

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