Take Shorter Showers

Shower & Bath tips for using less water

Are some showerheads better than others?

• You bet! Look for a showerhead that uses no more than 1.5 gallons per minute. Using a flow restrictor to reduce the flow to an older showerhead may not provide as good of a shower as using a showerhead designed to use less water. To find out how much water your shower uses, either time how long it takes to fill a bucket to a known volume or see how much water flows during a set amount of time.

Which uses less water, a shower or bath?

• It depends on how long a shower you take and how deep you fill the tub. Here is a test: Next time you take a shower, close the tub drain. When you are done, make a note of how deep the water is. You can take a bath with no more than this amount of water and use no more than your shower.

How long should I be staying in the shower?

• Six minutes should be plenty! A six-minute shower with a 2.5 gallon per minute showerhead uses just over 13 gallons of water. If you shower for ten minutes, you use closer to 25 gallons. If you have an older inefficient showerhead, you may be using more than 50 gallons for a ten-minute shower. If you are a customer of the Corvallis Water System, you can receive a free 1.5 gpm showerhead; contact Public Works at 541-766-6916 for more information.