Is there such a thing as a time-limiting shower?

[WhereYouLeftIt]

Years decades go, I went to a gym where you pushed a big button in the shower and it would run for precisely one minute. You could push the button to restart it immediately and have as long shower as you like, but every minute you had to consciously choose to continue your shower or not.

I now have a DS(17) who I think falls asleep under the shower in the morning, and his showers are l-e-n-g-t-h-y.

Does anyone know of a shower unit or attachment of some sort that limits how long the shower can be on for? Googling has only found me hour-glass type timers, which he will could ignore. They've existed in the past, does anyone know of something that exists now?

[Peach1886]

We have the same issue with DSD - 20 mins in the shower every day...I will be interested to see if anyone has any ideas, it is costing us a fortune in electricity and water, and yes we're glad she washes but...

[IAmAPaleontologist]

That would be great. Ds1 is only 9 but he will stand in the shower for hours with the temp turned up as high as it will go.

[SissySpacekAteMyHamster]

Just flush the loo when you want them out

[Seeline]

Ours is limited by how much hot water is in the tank, but that's probably not what you meant

[Geegee4]

Our shower turns off after 5 min. Just google digital showers.

[unlucky83]

I just threaten to turn the boiler off....so she can finish in cold water ...I haven't actually had to try it yet - she knows I'd do it (what she doesn't know is I don't really know how the new boiler works properly so probably couldn't actually do it )

[ImperialBlether]

If you run a tap downstairs does it go cold?

[Scone1nSixtySeconds]

We have a grohe one that turns off after (i think) 6 or 7 minutes. You can programme it for longer or indefinite as well.

[FishWithABicycle]

Sorry I know this isn't AIBU but I think you're being really unreasonable.

Forgive the rant but a person who I'm not allowed to rant at had the passive-aggressive cheek to give us a shower timer as a Christmas present which along with accompanying snide comments clearly meant that we are being constantly judged on our showers whether we are guests in their house or they in ours. So this rant is addressed to that person but equally applies to some of you on this thread.

Yes we know the shower is, relatively speaking, expensive to run - We have a gadget that calculates these things and it costs about a pound an hour which is obviously a lot when compared to the pennies used by TVs, light bulbs etc. But still that means my 15 minute shower only costs 25p and I honestly don't think twice about spending that in my own home and don't feel you ought to begrudge it when I am in yours, or begrudge it to any member of the family who feels they need it daily (unless that 25p really is the difference between your income and abject poverty)

A one-minute rinse off is all you need if all you are doing is washing away the sweat at the gym. For a proper shower it really does take that amount of time to properly soap and rinse each bit of my body, shampoo and rinse my (quite long) hair twice and then condition it. I do not feel that anyone else has any call to comment on my personal hygiene routine being too thorough (if it were too short tgen obviously is a mother's role to gently let her son know if it is not thorough enough). I won't criticise you for being so lax as to not bother with a really thorough wash and just rely on these quick rinse-offs because it's none of my business but please don't bring your judgement into other people's bathroom habits.

[TinklyLittleLaugh]

I have an egg timer thing stuck to the outside of the shower door, helps to encourage my lot to limit their time. I think we got them from our water company, (we also use one to time tooth brushing). Basically you need to get your kids voluntarily on board with limiting themselves though. Maybe using the green angle.

[Scone1nSixtySeconds]

For us fish its as simple as we run out of hot water if everyone has long showers.

Sadly, living in the middle of nowhere means no gas and we only have a hot water tank that heats up overnight (or takes 2 hours to heat separately) and no boiler.

In your own home with gas i totally agree that critics should bugger off.

[OneMagnumisneverenough]

If we had unlimited time and an unlimited supply of water I wouldn't care, at the weekend when we are under less time pressure and can stagger showers more to give the tank a chance to reheat then I'm happy for teen DSs to indulge.

On a weekday morning I'd love something that limited to about 7 or 8 minutes, that seems reasonable in order to have enough time to wash and a few minutes just to wake up gently. It's easy to loose track of time and I'm the one that ends up having to be in and out in 2 minutes and with only lukewarm water left. We have a power shower that runs of the hot water tank.

I keep meaning to buy a timer but have said to them to listen to two songs on the radio and then get out.

[chemenger]

If someone has a 15 minute shower in our house whoever is next in line better brace themselves for cold water or lukewarm at best for a few minutes. Its not the cost its the selfishness. Our dds know that if they want a long shower they need to do it in the evening, not in the morning when we all want hot water. We have a power shower off a hot tank as well.

[OneMagnumisneverenough]

To be fair ours isn't too bad if everyone sticks to under 10 minutes. DH has his as soon as he gets out of bed whereas the rest of us like breakfast first. So that gives a 20 minute re-heat before anyone else goes in. We try to stick to using one shower so that it only means one to dry out though technically we have two. We also keep the shower head on eco mode which might help a bit though it is still pretty strong since we had the pump put in.

[WhereYouLeftIt]

FishWithABiccle - WTF? Forgive the rant? No, actually, I don't forgive your derail. Your showers are not my concern. They may be the concern of your hosts, who don't get the chance to shower because you've used all their hot water, or who can't get into the shower in the time available to them when you are hosting them; but I don't give a stuff. I care about no hot water for anybody else in my household and the fact that the walls are sopping wet with the steam because he's pushing so much into the air that the room can't cope. Take your (probably justified) guilt elsewhere thank you very much! And by the way, you really don't need the water running all the time, particularly not when soaping as it gets rinsed off too quickly. Try wetting yourself, turning the water off, soap yourself all over , turn it back on to rinse and re-wet your hair, turn it off when working the lather in to your hair etc. Insulted by my critique or your 15-minute water-wasting showers? Tough, you raised them with us.


Aaand, back to devices.

Thanks Geegee4, believe it or not knowing exactly what to google is extremely helpful, googling on timers you just drown in results (no pun intended) that are no use.

Scone1nSixtySeconds I don't suppose you know the model of your Grohe?

Sadly he likes it so hot I don't think running a tap/flushing the loo would be any use. And I can't do anything with the boiler because it's already done it's job and furnished him with full tank of hot water to wake up to.

[MimsyPimsy]

"For a proper shower it really does take that amount of time to properly soap and rinse each bit of my body, shampoo and rinse my (quite long) hair twice and then condition it."
I turn the shower off and on for these tasks, as I hate wasting resources.

[WhereYouLeftIt]

*"I won't criticise you for being so lax as to not bother with a really thorough wash and just rely on these quick rinse-offs because it's none of my business but please don't bring your judgement into other people's bathroom habits."^

And re-reading the well-named FishWithABicycle's epistle more closely - again, WTF? I have given no description of my showering habits. I have merely described a shower set-up I came across years ago that could work for our situation, reminding you each minute of time passing and forcing you to make an active choice. Did you read it tht I take one-minute showers? That's a particularly snotty little piece of unfounded judgementalism right there. Piss off.

[WhereYouLeftIt]

Exactly, Mimsy.

[TheEmmaDilemma]

He's 17. Long showers. Take a guess...

[WhereYouLeftIt]

Emma. Nah, I genuinely think he falls asleep. He's like me, insomniac and struggles to wake up in the morning. If I thought he was keeping everybody waiting for that, there'd be hell to pay .

[FishWithABicycle]

Calm down wheryouleftit - I did say it was basically a rant addressed to someone else, not you. who does think that showers should be a quick rinse and nothing more. I am not judging you. I am sure you are lovely and fragrant.

[WhereYouLeftIt]

Re-read what you posted Fish - your last paragraph was totally aimed at me, linking back to 'one-minute' and 'gym' - then throwing in 'lax'. You really have a cheek describing someone else as passive-aggressive; perhaps they learned from you? Plus 'calm down' is just plain patronising. So, again - piss off. Your rant had nothing to do with my asking for advice and information on shower units. 'Property/DIY' is clearly not 'AIBU'.

[specialsubject]

Gotta love mn oversensitivity...

15 min showers are two fingers up to the planet, not that anyone cares. As for the op, remove the lock on the bathroom door and tell drippy that he has five minutes before you come in, turn off the shower at the isolator and open the windows. Provide a big box of tissues for his bedroom too, without comment...

[Scone1nSixtySeconds]

I have had a look and it seems that it has been discontinued :( this is what we have

[TheEmmaDilemma]