Shower water usage

[GMYoung]

Can anyone tell me what the average gallons of water are used per shower?p

[John in Santa Cruz]

how long is a string?


I use very little water. I fill the sink with hot water, then use a facecloth to give myself a spongebath, then a quick spray head to tow to rinse, and am done, I probably only use 2-3 gallons. I use minimal soap unless I'm really dirty/stinky.

my wife could fill the too-small grey water tank on our Casita 16 in a single shower.

[gordon2]

My string is longer than yours.
Let me answer this way.. I think the minimal to get clean in a shower (and not a sponge bath) is 2.5 to 3 gallons. I base that on the 2.5 gallon solar shower I use. If I am careful with it I can get pretty clean. What this means to me is don't plan on showering in the Scamp unless you have water spigot at your site.


Of course at home I'm sure I use 15-20 gallons maybe more. One web site says:

A standard showerhead uses 2.5 gallons a minute, or 25 gallons for 10 minutes.

[cvanzan]

Originally Posted by gordon2

My string is longer than yours.
Let me answer this way.. I think the minimal to get clean in a shower (and not a sponge bath) is 2.5 to 3 gallons. I base that on the 2.5 gallon solar shower I use. If I am careful with it I can get pretty clean. What this means to me is don't plan on showering in the Scamp unless you have water spigot at your site.
[/I]

2.5 gallons for a quick, efficient shower. To determine this I measured the amount of grey water exhausted.

[redbarron55]

A Navy shower does not take much.
Wet down, soap up, rinse

[Steve L.]

Originally Posted by redbarron55

A Navy shower does not take much.
Wet down, soap up, rinse

For those not familiar with the term Navy Shower I would describe it as:
Wet down, water off, soap up, water on, rinse
Or at least that's how I do it.

But I was in the army....so I could be all wet....so to speak.

Though I think the Australian navy wet's up and soap's down...

[gordon2]

Speaking of being all wet.. a "Wet-Ones" shower, of course, requires NO water.

(But please.. stay down wind of me if you use this method)

[Alex Adams]

Just let your four-legged friends give you a tongue bath. No water used!

[John in Santa Cruz]

then you smell like dog breath, oh joy!

[ZachO]

Yeah, it's a bit like asking how long propane lasts. It depends.

I also take navy showers in my camper, but it's still the #1 highest consumption of water. It uses up my fresh water fast and fills my grey water tank fast.

There are probably pretty accurate ways to test this, like buying a length of correctly sized water line with the right threaded attachment, hook up to the water pump, put the other end in a 5 gallon jug full of water. Take a shower in the camper and see how much you use.

Might sound like a lot of work but I don't think so. I have a short length of hose exactly like this in my camper already to suck antifreeze into the system without having to pour it in the fresh water tank. In fact it's probably long enough to do this test. I may do it sometime this summer...

[Steve L.]

Another way to measure:
https://www.1000bulbs.com/product/11...rything%20Else

$15 isn't too gruesome although not as cheap as a 5 gallon bucket. Do we need to know within a 1/10th of a gallon? I think not.

I found one of these locally but I can't remember where. (Ace Hardware has one for $2 more.)

I have marked my freshwater tank in 5 gallon intervals, visible through the outside rear hatch door. (Poured in 5 gal, marked it, poured in 5 gal, marked it, etc.) I could pencil in a before and after shower measurement on the tank wall and ratio for an estimate.

Or, you could take a water meter measurement at home, take a shower, Navy or otherwise and repeat the measurement. I'd take the before measurement after I got warm water at the shower to cancel out the longer "warm up' time of house plumbing.

Or, Wiki estimates about 3 gallons for a Navy shower.

Interesting thought experiment...Lots of ways to go. Although nothing the OP couldn't have done for himself.

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Steve L.

Another way to measure:
https://www.1000bulbs.com/product/11...rything%20Else
....

Free method:
Level the camper and fill water heater. Put a piece of tape at the water level on your fresh water tank, shower, measure the distance from the tape to the new water level. Divide that measurement from the total height of the tank. Multiple the result by the capacity of the tank. That will get you pretty close.

[NW Cat Owner]

Estimating for a shower would be really hard for me to figure out. I know I can go 3 days comfortably without water or sewer hook ups and still take a shower each day. My hair is above shoulder length. I have a complete water shut off valve on the shower head (some will trickle water out; mine doesn't).


I also use the water to flush the toilet, wash my hands and wash dishes. I will wipe off most of what I can before washing them and I'm quite conservative in how much water I use for washing. I detest paper plates, so I don't go that route.


The 28 gallon grey tank in the Escape will fill up after 3 days. I can push it to 4 showers, but I definitely need to dump the tank afterwards.


I have used some of those waterless soap/shampoo items but much prefer to wash my hair. Now if you're bald, you'll use less water than I would.

[ZachO]

That water meter is the way to go!

I know other trailers are different, but my fresh water tank is very hard to access or even see.

I thought about testing in the home shower but the flow rate has got to be totally different from the camper water pump and shower head.

I run my shower into a water bottle until it gets warm, then shut it off. Water bottle gets poured back into the fresh water tank and the water doesn't get turned back on till I'm in the shower ready to go. This saves me about a quarter of a gallon per shower. Doesn't sound like much, but makes a huge difference in how long it takes to fill the grey tank.

[Defenestrator]

Anywhere from about 2-3 gallons for a careful "navy shower" to 12+ for a regular shower that involves washing long hair.

[steve dunham]

We use the campgrounds showers if available
If there is a lake or pond or stream we jump in and rinse off
We have never in our 10 years of owning a FG trailer used our on board interior shower , our outdoor shower is a different story .

[ZachO]

That's how I felt when I bought my trailer, but things change. I figured I'd only rarely use the shower, and never use the toilet. My first summer living in it, I had a shower at work, so that worked out. The last two summers, I only shower somewhere else if I'm house sitting. Otherwise every shower is in the camper. But that's when I'm not "camping", I'm living in the trailer, working. It's more work, more wear & tear, more trips to the dump station when you use the shower.

[Borden]

Our hot water tank is 4 gal good for one very quick shower; wife will not use it as it is in the same location as the toilet, Great for cleaning up the grand-kids. Will send you to the fill-up station at the park entrance early lol

[Doug Arthurs]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

We use the campgrounds showers if available
If there is a lake or pond or stream we jump in and rinse off
We have never in our 10 years of owning a FG trailer used our on board interior shower , our outdoor shower is a different story .

Please avoid rinsing off in lakes and streams. It is very bad for the lake. Rinse off inland with a bucket. This will give allow chemicals to break down before they return to the lake. Below is link to an article with more info.

https://www.treehugger.com/clean-wat...V05KLurYN8v4BE

[redbarron55]

The Tankless unit I have takes very little time to give hot water, but I am not boondocking.
To get hot water quicker change out the hot water lines for smaller lines that take less volume to move the hot water to the point of use.
Since we do not use that high a volume the smaller line will still deliver enough to get the job done.
That said I have not changed my 1/2" lines for 3/8 PEX.
Also showering outside or jumping into the lakes and streams would be the same as dumping you gray water on the ground, which is not allowed in many states or National Parks.