My husband and I are trying to figure out whether our total water usage when each showers individually would add up to the same amount as when we team up. So far as I know, we do not have access to a water meter to measure.
To calculate water usage, close the drain. After each of you showers separately, measure water depth at the drain. Drain water. Shower together and measure water depth at the same spot near the drain. You now have a winner providing there was no hanky panky during the co-ed showering.
You could also switch to a shower head that has a trickle lever. Saves significant water while you lather up and keeps the temperature balance the same for when you turn it back on.
I’m thinking otherwise, with the two of you maneuvering around, it’s not going to be much savings, if any.
Unless you have a special faucet, water typically comes out of the shower at a set rate. Why not just measure how long it takes each of you separately, combine those times, and compare that to the total time of a shared shower?
You do mot need a water meter. Once you set the flow, it remains constant, and a simple timer will be just as accurate as a water meter. Just count how many minutes the water is running.
Of course, you’d need to average it across a week or more: one test morning won’t give you “typical” behavior. And it would only take a couple showers that turned into extended, couple-time showers to change the average significantly.
ETA: Mind you, there might then be an offset if you can start washing the sheets less . . .
IME two separate showers are faster than one shared shower. I can throw my elbows wherever I want without possibly hitting anyone and I don’t get splashed with soap after I rinse off. I also prefer colder showers and thus don’t waste as much energy putting heated water down the drain.
“Babe, we have to shower together for a month”
“why?”
“For Science!”
IME, taking a tandem shower with a lady friend tends to make the shower take a while longer… extracurricular activities seem to pop up. Although it is more fun…
I’ve been told that cruise ships have recommended that people shower together in order to minimize water usage. Probably makes a good pickup line.
Of course sharing a bath is much more economical. Two of you get washed in less water than one would use.
The physical size of the shower itself probably makes a difference here. There are big enough showers where I could honestly see 2 (or more???) people showering at the same time and being able to get done in less time (and using less water) than it would take individually. If a shower is small, it’s going to be crowded, people aren’t going to both be able to be washing themselves at the same time, and it might end up just taking a long time.
It would also really help if you had one of those dual shower heads where one is on a flexible pipe and can be detached and held in your hand. At my last house, we affixed one of those types of shower heads (so really there were 2), and my boyfriend and I often showered together and they lasted no longer than a single individual shower (except when the hanky panky happened, oops!).
Concur, although I suppose if there’s room to switch places easily, one person could be lathering up while the other is rinsing off, and vice versa.
The best way to save water in the shower is to get in, get wet, turn the shower off, then lather up, then turn it back on to rinse off.
Cruise ship shower stalls barely fit one person. I’m sure that was just one of the cruise director’s hilarious lines they use when making announcements.
With enough people, you don’t need any water at all!
My wife and I shower together as often as we can. The hanky panky is great, but another advantage is that we come out of the shower cleaner.
Do you really think you can wash your back effectively by yourself? Oh, you use one of those long handle brushes? Sure. Your back doesn’t sweat like the rest of your body. Right. Or you just blast your back with water and call it “clean”. I don’t care how long your arms are, you can’t reach your back and really clean it effectively.
Now with another person in the shower, having a clean back is almost effortless.
Save even more by inviting the elderly couple next door to include themselves in your group shower.
Many old folks feel ignored and neglected in our modern world.
Ha! That’s probably true. The person who told me this is particularly humorless and would have missed the joke.
When I shower myself: get wet, lather hair, lather body, rinse hair, rinse body, get out. >5 minutes
When he showers himself: Get wet, lather body, rinse, drain water tank by standing under the hot water for 30+ minutes. >5 minutes but about 35 in reality.
10 -40 minutes total.
When we shower together: I get wet then move to the back of the shower. He gets in and gets wet while I lather my hair. I wash him. Then I rinse my hair while he washes me. I rinse my body and get out. He rinses his body and then stands under the hot water for 30 minutes. >5 minutes but about 35 in reality because he just HAS to stand there and enjoy the steam.
I rarely condition my hair and he has no hair so this makes things go faster.
When hanky panky happens all bets are off.
I gotta say my front gets pretty clean with another person too, and with very little effort on my part.