excessive showering/water usage - USA

[Tara134]

I am a new host.  We rent out our guest room and the bathroom is next to our master bedroom.  I'm trying to get over timing our guests shower's but it's really hard.  Would I be in line to ask guests to keep their showers to 1 per day per guest and under 10 minutes?  5 minutes would be preferable :). 

This morning, my guest (a college student) was in the shower for 20 minutes. And before she even got in, she started the shower, than walked back and forth between the bathroom and bedroom for a couple minutes. Urrgghh!

I also had a guest who would shower at night, run in the morning and take another shower after his run.... then shower again that night.

How do you handle these situations?  Just chalk up to renting woes and get on with things?  I am so aware of how much water we waste on a daily basis and would like to encourage my guests to be aware, also. 

Thanks!

[Alexandra316]

@Tara134 Are you in an area that's affected by water restrictions due to a drought situation, or is it a cost or general conservation thing? If there's an actual drought, I think it would be easy to address: just let the guests know in your house rules and welcome message what the issue is and that they should limit their time accordingly.

If it's due to costs and general conservation, I think you're going to have a slightly harder time restricting use. You could let guests know that they need to restrict their showering, but I don't think there's any way to put that nicely. I know that some people shower twice a day, and I think it's excessive, but I don't think it's really possible to ask people to change their habits when they're staying with you.If you do decide to go ahead with a restriction, I would make sure it's outlined in your rules so people know what they're getting into when they book. I would personally consider alternatives, like a low-flow shower head, before taking that kind of measure, because I think it could be offputting for potential guest.

[Tara134]

@Alexandra316No, it's not a drought area.  This is just general conservation.  The low flow shower head is good idea and probably the place to start.  

[Alexandra316]

@Tara134 I totally get where you're coming from on this, don't get me wrong: I think it's pretty awful to be taking 45 minute showers in potable water. This kind of excess is going to catch up to us North Americans sooner rather than later. I just think it's really hard to find a nice way to say something about it.

[Letti0]

Just chalk it up as a business expense. My two daughter will be in the shower 20-45 minutes washing and rinsing long hair, shaving legs, etc. They along with my son also take two or more showers a day if they are doing any sporting activity or going out somewhere else at night or it's hot outside and they spent hours in the heat then they feel icky. It's actually very common. 

[Chris232]

@Tara134

All of our water is metered, so when my sons started to take 20 mins showers 3 times a day (back in the days they were teenagers) i installed a cut off valve on the hot water side which was located in a hidden cupboard.

To this day they still have no idea why the shower would suddenly go cold after 5 minutes and yet there was always plenty of hot water for them to clean the dishes.

[Tara134]

@Chris0

Too funny!  Probably not a solution for this, but thanks for the smile.

[Dixie7]

Brilliant idea. I might have to implement one of those. 😂 

[Casey75]

For me personally, 10 minutes really isn't a very long time in the grand scheme of things. In order to shave my legs, shampoo (as a blonde, I have to let my purple shampoo sit for 3 minutes to tone my hair), condition and scrub my body, my showers are usually about 15 minutes but sometimes longer. If I am doing a physical activity, such as going to the gym, or rockwall climing, etc. I may want to take a second shower to rinse off.

If you are concerned about your water bill you may want to consider raising your nightly price to offset it rather than asking guests to limit their routine.

If it's an environmental thing, in the spa I used to work for there was a pretty framed message about water conservation, and how many gallons of water the average American uses. It sat nest to a basketl of rolled washcloths for guests to use instead of paper towels. It also asked guests to re-use their towels if possible. I always thought it was a classy way to ask guests to be concientious of their habits.

[Paul154]

Good question. 

Lie, shame and be ready to be firm.

Communication is key.  Emphasize green. Emphasize in your listing "green household"

We recycle, we conserve. We love salmon. We are the world.

Emphasize Reasonable showers only. 

Do you know that 2 showers a day kills Eskimo children in The Yukon and bedoins in the Sahara?

Do you know that your city penalizes us for high water consumption? Please be considerate so the guests at the end of the month can have water for their showers.

If you don't recycle, the city will not pick up our trash.

In other words, be clever. Try to lift up your guests' consciousness. 

Try not to attract abusers. "No shaving in shower" "Spa is down the street"

"Water abusers will be asked to leave" 

[Sarah977]

@Paul0  I agree with with most of what you say, but the fact is that women shave their legs in the shower. Would you prefer they did it by putting their foot up on the toilet and slopping water and hair all over the bathroom?

Personally, I shut the water off when shaving in the shower, then turn it on again to rinse, but I realize most women probably don't.

[Dixie7]

Love it. I must be something like this in my listing. 👌 

[Mike340]

@Tara134

It is a common fact that "tourists" use far,far more water than "locals" ....mostly I guess because they feel like they have paid a nightly fee, and as such feel they can use as much as they want.

I think you should try to figure out an "average" use per guest and if necessary add extra to your fees, within the nightly rate. They want it, they pay for it.

[Gordon0]

I try to leave the house, or listen to music (via noise-cancelling headphones). It'll drive you to distraction if you let it bother you. As the line goes; take a chill pill, Jill. 

[Dixie7]

When you pay what we pay for water in Australia, one needs to remind guests to be mindful of their water useage and you can only hope they take it on board and do the right thing. Most young people especially, haven't cottoned on yet that water has become a very precious resource and it needs to be dealt with with due consideration. I don't live at the place I host, so I save myself the torment of listening to the shower running.