Reduce Water Heater Wear With Shorter Showers

A daily shower is a great way to wake up and face the day but can be hard on your water heater if you take long showers. The heater will have to pump this hot water up to the tub to meet your needs and may need to warm up even more water if your shower is too long. 

Thankfully, you can learn how to take shorter showers to minimize this problem and decrease your water heater damage.

Soap Up With the Water Off 

If you soap up your body while the water runs, you not only waste a lot of water but force your water heater to pump liquid that isn’t being used. Instead of lathering while the water runs, you can soap up your body in the tub without running the shower. 

Wet the soap a little and then rub it across your body to get started. You may even find that this step makes it easier to track where you’ve soaped yourself already, as the water might have otherwise washed it away while you scrubbed yourself. 

Shampoo Your Hair Less Often 

People often wash their hair every day. However, this step is often unnecessary and puts extra strain on your water heater and plumbing by forcing both to run more extensively. Simply put, you may not need to wash your hair every day to keep it healthy. Some experts even believe daily washes could harm your hair.

The exact washing schedule you use should vary based on your needs. Gauge how greasy or dirty your hair feels after a day without a shower. If you feel uncomfortable with your hair’s texture after a day, try to wash your hair every other day. Go even longer, if you can, to take the pressure off your water heater. 

Multitask Your Shower 

While you’re in the shower, you should multitask as much as possible to speed up your time. For example, you should carefully plan out your shower before you start to streamline how it goes. Try to do at least two things at once, such as wetting and lathering your hair while you wash the soap off of your legs. You can also integrate other steps in this process to speed it along. 

For example, you could shave your legs or your face while you rinse your hair to avoid excess water use. This step is particularly smart because the hot water coming from the shower head will open up your skin pores and make your shave easier.

Follow a strict routine – and set it to a timer – to ensure that you finish up everything as quickly as possible. 

Reward Yourself for a Quick Shower

Lastly, you can reward yourself for a quick shower, particularly one that meets your time standards. For example, if you finish a shower in under five minutes, you can enjoy a delicious bowl of ice cream. If you get your showers down to two minutes, visit a spa and spoil yourself a little. 

A good reward is an excellent way to motivate yourself to be quicker in the shower. Just as importantly, try to integrate compensation for your family if they follow this rule. For example, you could give your daughter that new phone she’s been wanting if she can keep her showers below five minutes for a month.

Improve Your Heater Operation 

If you’re concerned that your water heater is wearing down and needs replacement, please don’t hesitate to contact us at Quality Plumbing to learn more. Our experts can install a new water heater in your home or repair your broken one and help you keep your water as warm as possible.