To ask son to reduce water consumption

[VestPantsandSocks]

My adult son leaves the water running whilst shampooing his hair and soaping himself during his 20 minute shower.

AIBU to ask him to switch off the water at these times?

Long hot showers are the stuff of life!

I would never agree to do that tbh.

Tell him to cut shower time down to 5 minutes!
Ridiculous waste of resources.

Yes - ask him. Water is a finite expensive resource.

Or just take a 10 min shower

GrazingGoat · Today 11:25
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Yes - ask him. Water is a finite expensive resource”

Yes and no. It’s the ultimate recyclable. The amount available will increase with climate change as ice caps and glaciers melt.
Too much water is likely to be the problem going forward

20 minutes is expensive though, OP. Does he contribute to utilities?

Perhaps ask him to take shorter showers? TBH I like the feeling of water running on my body for the whole shower, however we live in Scotland where residential properties don't have a meter.

Is he paying towards the bills? If so yabu.

I think there’s a reason he’s leaving the water on for that long, and it’s not to wash his hair.

A ‘full’ shower for me takes ten minutes, and that’s including a hair wash (very long, thick hair!), full
body exfoliation and leg and armpit shave. The water goes off between each step! Normal shower (just washing my body) takes less than two minutes. My weekly wallow in the bath is the treat.

How do you know this?

Not unusual to leave shower running while doing that though, would use more electric to turn it off and back on than leave it on.

Shorter showers rather than what you're suggesting. He shouldn't need 20 mins to shower. Or is he shaving his whole body too?

If he wants 20 mins showers, time to move into his own house.

@WetBandits Do you think he's that brave when he knows mum is listening to see if he turns off the water to soap up and shampoo?

I'd suspect 20 mins showers are a cover for a locked door with some privacy too, adult son needs to move out..

If you're on a water meter it.makes sense to be more frugal with water use.

@VestPantsandSocks find out where the stopcock is in your house and turn it off after 5 minutes!! dont tell him where it is though. chances are that he has no clue anyway! who needs a 20 minute shower!?????

How warm is the bathroom? In a cool room I wouldn't stand there with the shower off shivering while i shampoo my hair. But 20 minutes is a long time to stand there when water and electricity are expensive. Could he cut it down to 10 minutes? I'd suggest that instead, It sounds like he's just not appreciating the cost as it's 'on tap' so to speak.

Do you not have to stand there with cold water running when you switch it back on, until it heats up?

That sounds horrible!

Also in Scotland though where it's not metered but still don't think I'd do this. I'd cry 😂

Shorter showers, and I'm a lover of long hot showers!

Explain how "Navy" showers work. Turn on shower and get wet. Turn off shower and soap yourself all over. Turn on shower and rinse. Job done😁

What's the impact to you? If its affecting bills, have a conversation, ask him to either take shorter showers or top up the difference. If its blocking a bathroom which is in high demand, ask him to shower at another time or be quicker.
If its not impacting you, leave alone.
I take long showers with music on. Turning it off in the middle would be a nightmare even after 1min off it needs to warm up again.

Exactly!
I keep the shower on for warmth- But 20 mins of water running is excessive.

I can't imagine even just shaving in ten minutes, you must have no body hair.

My shower would revert back to cold water every time I switched it back on, no thanks!

I'm absolutely shocked that there are people out there thinking climate change means more water for drinking/showers etc😮Yes, it might mean more dramatic weather events including floods, but this does not mean more potable water available. The UK is already in a pretty dire position when it comes to water companies being able to meet the ever increasing needs of consumers with an ever diminishing supply of water, especially when considering the environmental impact of just hammering existing abstractions harder.

https://environmentagency.blog.gov.uk/2024/03/21/meeting-our-water-needs-for-the-next-25-years/

soaping yourself all over takes all of 10 seconds, no? what's the point in switching the shower off?

Do people actually turn the shower off when using soap/shampoo?! That sounds awful!

Ah, the "sweet" memories of being forced to live with parents when an adult.
Ask him/help him to move out.
You will do both of you a massive favour.
The practical bit - yes, not unreasonable to switch water off in these instances.

I'm on a water meter, and still leave the shower on whilst shampooing hair and washing body.

My showers don't take 20 mins though... more like 5-6.

If he is, er, doing something else in there, has he got sufficient privacy elsewhere?

Sorry but I think it's miserly. As long as he is contributing to bills, meals etc I would let it go