Why? Water’s a finite resource. We can’t squander it.

SHOCK FACT
:

**In June of this year, the Indian city of Chennai, home to seven million people ran out of water entirely.**

But how does having a long shower affect climate change?

It boils down to the same thing. If we waste water, we waste the energy it takes to treat and pump it to us (and for us to heat it at home). That’s needless CO2.

Off goes a complex domino loop. In its simplest form: the CO2 emissions cause global warming. Global warming causes weather pattern shifts. These in turn, alter the amount, distribution, timing, quality and availability of fresh water - droughts and floods in particular. That affects lives, crops, food chains, ecosystems…and that affects ALL of us. Plus only a tiny, tiny portion of water on earth is drinkable and we can’t afford to waste it. Even if it’s pouring with rain outside.

See why we have to turn the tap off?

Ok got it. So how do I take action?

Time your current shower. If it’s 3 minutes you’re there. If it’s 5 minutes you’re pretty sharp. Any longer and you’re…very damp. Next time, set a timer or choose a favourite tune to do the timing for you. Aim for 3 or max 4 mins. The clock starts ticking when you turn the tap, not when it’s hot enough for you to get in! When the timer goes off or the tune stops, so do you.

Here’s our playlist!

But will it cost me more money?

Nope. You’ll save a lot. An average shower lasts 7.5 minutes (!). Cutting just a minute off that time would save UK households £215m on energy bills each year. Now lets multiply that by 4.

We came in at…

Aimee: 6.5 minutes. Ouch. To be fair, I wash my hair every day, so that skews it upwards. Now it’s Coldplay’s Every tear drop is a waterfall for me. 4 minutes. Done.

Sonia: 5.5 minutes. I found this so hard as I LOVE showers. I tried to cheat by playing a long Jimi Hendrix one. But I hate guitar solos, so I got out early. 3 mins. Done and Dried.

“Every minute in the shower uses 17 litres of water. That’s a lot of splash.”