Settling The Shower Vs. Bath Debate: Which Uses More Water?

Whether you're trying to save money by getting a less expensive water bill or are striving to lower your environmental impact, you may be wondering if a bath or a shower uses less water. Unfortunately, the answer to this question isn't completely cut and dry, as it really depends on a number of factors that impact your total water usage. For example, if you take extra-long showers, it's possible for a bath to use less water. On the other hand, if you're the type of person who takes two-minute showers, a bath will likely use far more water. 

Your shower time isn't the only factor to consider when it comes to the shower-versus-bath debate. Other important factors are how large your bathtub is, how high you fill it when you bathe, and how efficient your showerhead is. Once you've answered those questions, you can calculate if a shower or a bath will use more water in your bathroom.

To get started, consider how much water flows from your showerhead per minute. If you're not sure, know that the average newer showerhead has a flow of about 2.5 gallons per minute. However, older shower heads can have a flow of 5 to 10 gallons per minute, which is far less efficient. Water flow is definitely something you should consider when picking out a new showerhead, and there are higher-efficiency showerheads you can install in your home to save water, like this Sparkpod Shower Head, which has a flow of 1.8 gallons per minute. 

Once you've figured out how many gallons of water per minute flow from your showerhead, multiply that number by how long your showers are. On average, Americans shower for about 15 minutes. When that's multiplied by 2.5 gallons per minute, the average shower in the United States uses 37.5 gallons of water. On the other hand, a standard bathtub holds about 50 to 70 gallons of water. However, because you don't need to fill the tub completely up, the average bath uses 35 to 50 gallons of water.

When considering the averages, it seems that taking a bath uses more water than a shower. This is especially true if you have a high-efficiency showerhead and take showers shorter than 15 minutes. If you take extremely long showers, or have an inefficient showerhead, it's possible that taking a bath will use less water — especially if you have a smaller bathtub or you don't fill it very much when you do take a bath. However, on average, a shower is going to be the more efficient choice when it comes to conserving water in your home.