Limiting shower times

[Lee Schierer]

My daughter is looking for a way to limit the time her kids stay in the shower. The various egg timers and clock timers don't work. She is looking for something that can be preset and then it shuts off the water. Price is a consideration, but it needs to be reliable.

What have you guys found that works?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

In the fall of 1968, I distinctly remember an ABH1 who limited the shower times for 90 of us in bootcamp in Great Lakes. That would seem a little extreme in this case, however.

[Matt Meiser]

When we were teens and there were 7 people in the house and 2 showers I used to limit my one brother's time by going down the basement and shutting off the hot water valve. As soon as he'd "run out" of hot water and I heard it shut off I'd turn it back on and head back up. He never did catch on.

[Andrew Fleck]

When we were teens and there were 7 people in the house and 2 showers I used to limit my one brother's time by going down the basement and shutting off the hot water valve. As soon as he'd "run out" of hot water and I heard it shut off I'd turn it back on and head back up. He never did catch on.

That's an effective technique. My Dad used to shut the hot water valve off on me to shorten my showers. I did know he was doing it, but it sure changed me from warming up in the shower to getting straight to business and getting out.

[Mike Lassiter]

10-15 minutes is enough time to shower for anybody. Bathroom door remains unlocked timer set and when it goes off shower is over. Parent goes in if necessary and turns the water off. Or start taking away electronic toys kids need. This is a game many kids start playing in early teens. I understand my oldest granddaughter like to do it. Then the next or 3rd gets to run out of hot water.
I personally think this is a challenge to parents authority and kids feel like they have some power over their parents in this. I mean, come on they lock the door and do it all the while getting fussed at and yelled at through the locked door. Of course there is a problem when they come out but - they won, they did what they wanted to anyway.
So really this is a symptom of a bigger and different problem in my view.

[Mark Bolton]

The problem with killing the hot on modern single handle tub and shower valves is the cold will cut out as well due to the pressure balancing spool. Of course you could issue a warning and then simply cut off either to shut the shower down entirely. (May still be a trickle).

I agree that it's simply the parents responsibility to set and enforce the rules. If the kids don't respect their mother enough to mind,.. Well

I'm sure a google would turn up an automated timer with some sort of alarm so they didn't get cAught with a head full of shampoo but id bet it'll be pricey plus the install.

[Mike Ontko]

Anyone here with a background in submarines (I know there are at least a couple of us) or other limited water supply situations knows about short duration showers :)

Today's youth, and hopefully all of us, are much more in tune with the growing needs for making more earth-conscious decisions in our daily lives. Rather then push the need to cut back on shower times solely as an issue of cost savings, your daughter could emphasize reduced or smart water consumption as just one of the ways that the family is helping to lessen their impact on the environment. Empower the kids to make their own personal contribution through choice, rather than by enforcing a punitive limitation. Place your monthly consumption amounts on the refrigerator or a noteboard and set a goal that everyone can contribute to, and then reward low usage with an occasional "Hollywood" shower or some other perk.

[Mike Lassiter]

How many did this in YOUR youth that have this problem now with your own kids? I grew up in a boys home. Shared bathroom with 4+. Don't recall this being a problem then during the years I lived there.
I think to some degree this is about maturity and realizing what things cost. What things cost to a teenager mean little unless they have to work for something. These things hit home when you grow up and start footing the bills. Things like long hot showers, standing looking around with the refrigerator or freezer door open, or exterior door of home while heat or a/c is on. Kids typically don't think or care what wastefullness cost because it doesn't affect them.

[Brett Luna]

A bucket of ice water dumped over the shower rod might also get the message across.

[Mark Bolton]

http://www.showermanager.com/cgi-showermanager/sb/ss_mb.cgi?storeid=*1eda31a4c30a384871c025e6709eb4a 4e9&ss_parm=A7984199363b6071ff129e3944953cb48

[Mike Henderson]

I like what Mark posted. The other approach is to use an overhead pull valve like they used to use on Navy ships before they could make all the fresh water they needed. You had to pull the cord to get water. So you held the cord, got wet, then soaped up, and then pulled the cord again to rinse off. I suppose someone could stand there with the cord pulled but it's awkward.

Mike

[Jim Rimmer]

I like what Mark posted. The other approach is to use an overhead pull valve like they used to use on Navy ships before they could make all the fresh water they needed. You had to pull the cord to get water. So you held the cord, got wet, then soaped up, and then pulled the cord again to rinse off. I suppose someone could stand there with the cord pulled but it's awkward.

Mike

The last Navy ship I was on didn't have the pull valve but they did have a valve that would shut the water off while you soaped up or shampooed and then turn it back on without having to adjust the temp again. I don't think this would help the OPs situation but it is useful for water conservation. BTW, my last time on a Navy ship was in this century. :D

[John Pratt]

http://www.showermanager.com/cgi-showermanager/sb/ss_mb.cgi?storeid=*1eda31a4c30a384871c025e6709eb4a 4e9&ss_parm=A7984199363b6071ff129e3944953cb48

+1 on the Showermanager. I have three girls and it worked good for me.

[Pat Barry]

I find it incredible that this sort of thing is even needed. Who cares how long they spend in the shower? Is it really necessary to be such a dictator as to control the most minute aspects of everyday life. Get yourself a bigger water heater for goodness sake. Don't alienate your kids by taking away a few minutes time in the shower. Its ludicrous.

[Charles Wiggins]

I find it incredible that this sort of thing is even needed. Who cares how long they spend in the shower? Is it really necessary to be such a dictator as to control the most minute aspects of everyday life. Get yourself a bigger water heater for goodness sake. Don't alienate your kids by taking away a few minutes time in the shower. Its ludicrous.

Some people have to watch every penny. They don't have the luxury of wasting an extra $10-$20 a month on water and water heating. Others have large families where it's not so much about the water supply as the time. Even in smaller families it can be about the time. Our son would get up late and want a shower before he went to school. I would say, "Tough! You should have gotten up earlier." Invariably my wife would relent and he'd stay in the shower forever, and then they would both be late for school and work.

Don't judge a man until you've walked in his shoes.

[Andrew Fleck]

I find it incredible that this sort of thing is even needed. Who cares how long they spend in the shower? Is it really necessary to be such a dictator as to control the most minute aspects of everyday life. Get yourself a bigger water heater for goodness sake. Don't alienate your kids by taking away a few minutes time in the shower. Its ludicrous.

I care how long they spend in the shower when I'm paying the bill. It's not about controlling every aspect of their lives. It's about controlling my money. I don't budget money to be washed down the drain with a needlessly long hot shower.

[Charles Wiggins]

When we were teens and there were 7 people in the house and 2 showers I used to limit my one brother's time by going down the basement and shutting off the hot water valve. As soon as he'd "run out" of hot water and I heard it shut off I'd turn it back on and head back up. He never did catch on.

Matt,
You're my kind of devious.

Cheers,
Charles

[David Weaver]

Pat, do you have kids? It may just be part of a bigger problem, but personally, I wouldn't tolerate any of my kids taking a half hour shower, and I certainly wouldn't encourage it by spending a grand or two instead of encouraging responsible behavior.

It's not a lost minutes issue, it's a waste issue. Ditto to Charles' last line.

[Mike Cutler]

Anyone here with a background in submarines (I know there are at least a couple of us) or other limited water supply situations knows about short duration showers :)
.

Mike

When I was on the boat, I did the exact opposite. I turned off the cold water. A lot of Hollywoods could take a cold shower, but I never found one that could take one at 165+ degrees F. In fact our heaters were set closer to 180.
Yep. I was pretty evil in my younger days.

[Mike Henderson]

I find it incredible that this sort of thing is even needed. Who cares how long they spend in the shower? Is it really necessary to be such a dictator as to control the most minute aspects of everyday life. Get yourself a bigger water heater for goodness sake. Don't alienate your kids by taking away a few minutes time in the shower. Its ludicrous.
In addition to the money, it's the idea of waste of resources. Here in CA water is scarce (the old saying in CA: Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting). It's important to conserve, not just to save money but because it's a scarce resource. And I believe it's something important to teach young people.

Mike

[Mike Lassiter]

I care how long they spend in the shower when I'm paying the bill. It's not about controlling every aspect of their lives. It's about controlling my money. I don't budget money to be washed down the drain with a needlessly long hot shower.

If they want to soak in hot water, then fill the tub and lay in it. I agree Andrew, AND not only your points, but trying to teach them HOW to live when they grow up. If wastefulness is OK growing up it will be when they are grown too. Some people struggle because they waste too much. I know someone that NEEDS cell phones for every child in the family, yet had to file bankruptcy because their wants exceeded their ability to pay. Apart of raising kids is teaching them. Setting the example is the parents job and responsibility. If they fail to lead their children by example who will?
I can drain the water heater if I want to - now (but do not); but when I was younger starting out there was never enough money. We struggled to make it. We didn't throw out more food than we ate (and still don't) but the point I think is just because you can do it, doesn't mean it's wise or should be.
My wife works at water and gas office. I recall one year her coming home and telling me of someone who had a $600 gas bill to pay during the unusually cold winter that year ( one month). MANY will not try to conserve that cannot afford to pay for; then expect to keep service because they feel they should be given what they cannot pay for. This subject is more about teaching life lessons than controlling ones kids. They must be taught to use what is needed, but don't squander what doesn't need to be.

Personally I think there isn't an unlimited amount of anything that we can just consume with no regard for tomorrow. Food, energy, resources come at a cost. SOMEONE must pay. This is why many have gotten a hybrid or diesel car, put a high efficiency heating and cooling system in, or better windows and insulation. They are trying to conserve their resources.
Conservation is one of the best investments we can make. Teaching our kids to conserve would require parenting rather than letting them do as they please. However, when they are paying for their own consumption I bet they will be thankful that their parents taught them to not be wasteful.

[Robert McGowen]

I like the Showermanager's pricing. $109 each or a 2-pack for $220. Hmmm.......

[Ken Fitzgerald]

In bootcamp in the late '60s we had 4 showers, 76 men in the company and an allotted amount of time in which all of us had to shower. Because a lot of ships didn't have an unlimited water supply at the time, you were taught to take quick showers. There is nothing wrong with limiting the amount of time someone can shower. It conserves energy and water, both of which are becoming in shorter supply.

[Mark Bolton]

With water saver shower heads a tub uses much more hot water than even a moderate shower.

[David Weaver]

Mike H - what you talk about is how my dad's done it all his life. I never noticed it until I was in college and I came back home for break and realized he was turning the water off.

I said "why are you turning the water off in the middle of your shower".

And he said "9 kids and a hand dug well, don't waste water". (he had 8 brothers and sisters).

He was and is financially very comfortable by then, but he hasn't changed that habit. Part of the reason he and my mother are as financially comfortable as they are is discipline. It still feels right for him to turn the water off (despite knowing that he can't run his source dry in a drought - the plumber literally tried that searching for a problem once), so I'm not going to try to change his habits.

We never had a long shower issue at the house because never occurred to me to be something I'd want to do, but he'd have put a stop to it and as a kid, even though I was defiant, I wouldn't ignore outright orders like that. My mother would tell us that if she didn't do what she was supposed to, she'd get a bucket of ice in the tub or a cup of water in bed. They were more lax with us than her parents were with her, but I did say something to her once when I was about 12 about how I wouldn't get out of bed, and she brought in a cup of water and used it. I got out of bed.

I watched a lot of other kids' whose parents were a "lot cooler" have trouble in college and rack up student loans. I thought my parents were dicators, too, when they sometimes wouldn't change my curfew to match other kids', and then I realized after I got out of college, with no problems, got a good job and had no student loans (courtesy of their funding) that my "dictator" and "cheap" parents may have known what they were doing.

[Sam Murdoch]

Assuming that the kids have a shower all their own or one that can be designated as the "kids" shower - I wonder about installing an on demand water heater with a timer - or - install a 10 gallon or 15 gallon water heater (or smaller?). That with a 2.5 gallon per minute shower head should give 6 to 8 minutes of a comfortable shower (mixed with cold water of course). My math could be off as I don't really know how much cold water gets mixed with hot during a shower. I assume that depends on the preference of the showeree. My wife would use all 10 gallons of hot, whereas I might just use 6.

These are suggestions from a woodworker. Consider them for what they are worth :rolleyes:.

[Brian Elfert]

My RV has either a 6 or a 10 gallon water heater. I've never run out of hot water in the RV, but one has to take a Navy shower in the RV to conserve water anyhow. One time I was able to able to take a hot shower in the RV after the water heater was off for almost 12 hours. The water stays hot a good long time.

I waste a lot of water at home because it takes some time for the hot water to get to the 2nd floor from the basement. I should have installed some sort of auxiliary water heater in the bathroom when the house was built. I am probably in the shower between 3 and 5 minutes not including the time for the water to get hot.

[Mike Lassiter]

We never had a long shower issue at the house because never occurred to me to be something I'd want to do, but he'd have put a stop to it and as a kid, even though I was defiant, I wouldn't ignore outright orders like that. My mother would tell us that if she didn't do what she was supposed to, she'd get a bucket of ice in the tub or a cup of water in bed. They were more lax with us than her parents were with her, but I did say something to her once when I was about 12 about how I wouldn't get out of bed, and she brought in a cup of water and used it. I got out of bed.

I watched a lot of other kids' whose parents were a "lot cooler" have trouble in college and rack up student loans. I thought my parents were dicators, too, when they sometimes wouldn't change my curfew to match other kids', and then I realized after I got out of college, with no problems, got a good job and had no student loans (courtesy of their funding) that my "dictator" and "cheap" parents may have known what they were doing.

Same wakeup we got every morning. First time the door opened was someone telling you to get up. You MIGHT see it crack open again checking to see if you did get up. The next time water was coming thru the door as it opened. We had to make our own beds and clean rooms everyday; so this was unwanted extra work to change sheets. There weren't many times the water was used, but it WAS used.

Last remark is where maturity comes in. By that time you are old enough to realize it wasn't the way it was just trying to be hard on you so much as to program you. My oldest daughter has told me when she was young she thought we were unfair on her for making her do things in the house. Now she has 4 kids and she keeps her younger sisters 2 she has told me that she is glad that she was made to do chores when she was little. "Now I know HOW to do things that I might not had you and mama not made me do them when I was little." Kind of made the struggles with her worth it to hear that when she grew up and has her own family.

[Larry Browning]

Maybe it is a time issue as much as a water conservation issue. If there are several kids waiting to take a shower, there may not be enough time for everyone to take a shower and get to school or work on time. We used to have a problem of running out of hot water in the mornings. We solved it with low flow shower heads. They work very well, We have not run out of hot water even once since we installed them. I think they could run all day and never run out.

BTW: I really like Matt's solution. It's called motivation therapy.

[Phil Thien]

We never had a long shower issue at the house because never occurred to me to be something I'd want to do, but he'd have put a stop to it and as a kid, even though I was defiant, I wouldn't ignore outright orders like that. My mother would tell us that if she didn't do what she was supposed to, she'd get a bucket of ice in the tub or a cup of water in bed. They were more lax with us than her parents were with her, but I did say something to her once when I was about 12 about how I wouldn't get out of bed, and she brought in a cup of water and used it. I got out of bed.

My father was without a doubt my best friend and ally.

But if he had given me instructions to limit the length of my showers, failure to do so would have made a home invasion look like a walk in the park.

[ray hampton]

Assuming that the kids have a shower all their own or one that can be designated as the "kids" shower - I wonder about installing an on demand water heater with a timer - or - install a 10 gallon or 15 gallon water heater (or smaller?). That with a 2.5 gallon per minute shower head should give 6 to 8 minutes of a comfortable shower (mixed with cold water of course). My math could be off as I don't really know how much cold water gets mixed with hot during a shower. I assume that depends on the preference of the showeree. My wife would use all 10 gallons of hot, whereas I might just use 6.

These are suggestions from a woodworker. Consider them for what they are worth :rolleyes:.

you need to consider that as the hot water leave the HEATER , cold water enter and cool the remaining hot water down

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I find it incredible that this sort of thing is even needed. Who cares how long they spend in the shower? Is it really necessary to be such a dictator as to control the most minute aspects of everyday life. Get yourself a bigger water heater for goodness sake. Don't alienate your kids by taking away a few minutes time in the shower. Its ludicrous.


+1, be glad the kids want to take a shower. If you want them out quicker, give them a positive reason.

Along Ken's line, I know why my drill sergeant did something similar, it was training. Although I doubt Ft. Leonard Wood would ever run out of hot water, it was likely that there was a limited supply wherever I was going next. It doesn't relate to young kids though.

[Andrew Fleck]

+1, be glad the kids want to take a shower. If you want them out quicker, give them a positive reason.

Along Ken's line, I know why my drill sergeant did something similar, it was training. Although I doubt Ft. Leonard Wood would ever run out of hot water, it was likely that there was a limited supply wherever I was going next. It doesn't relate to young kids though.

We run out daily at Ft Leonard Wood. I work in one of the basic training units here, our plumbing was installed in 1966. That's why shower drills are important. It's entirely possible to clean your entire body in 20 seconds or less as you probably got to experience.

[Pat Barry]

Pat, do you have kids? It may just be part of a bigger problem, but personally, I wouldn't tolerate any of my kids taking a half hour shower, and I certainly wouldn't encourage it by spending a grand or two instead of encouraging responsible behavior.

It's not a lost minutes issue, it's a waste issue. Ditto to Charles' last line.
Believe me, I've got kids (3) - actually they are all grown and gone and we certainly did not concern ourselves with trivial concerns such as how long they were in the shower. Its absurd to even have this conversation. I've not tried to walk in the shoes of trying to regulate things like these in our family nor would my bride tolerate it if I tried - in fact I expect she would let me know in no uncertain terms that I was out of line to try to dictate things like that.

[Pat Barry]

In addition to the money, it's the idea of waste of resources. Here in CA water is scarce (the old saying in CA: Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting). It's important to conserve, not just to save money but because it's a scarce resource. And I believe it's something important to teach young people.

Mike
If you want to teach conservation then by all means do so. Set a good example, teach them, explain it to them. Getting an auto timer to limit the water usage is not a very good solution or teaching method/

[Pat Barry]

I like the Showermanager's pricing. $109 each or a 2-pack for $220. Hmmm.......

Wow - think of the savings!

[Mel Fulks]

I can still remember as a child spending the night with some relatives. I took a leisurely bath and was gently rebuked for
taking so long. And then kidded about it for months ,maybe years. Some of us will indulge children more than others and
all will work out. It's probably a good idea to at least give a child a sense of norms and thrift even if the family is used to a high level of luxury.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Believe me, I've got kids (3) - actually they are all grown and gone and we certainly did not concern ourselves with trivial concerns such as how long they were in the shower. Its absurd to even have this conversation. I've not tried to walk in the shoes of trying to regulate things like these in our family nor would my bride tolerate it if I tried - in fact I expect she would let me know in no uncertain terms that I was out of line to try to dictate things like that.

Pat, you live in Minnesota where water is freely available. In some areas of the West, like where I live, water is not as readily available. Farmers here often have to irrigate. In fact, water here for farming is rationed. You can buy land only to find out you didn't buy the water rights as land and water/irrigation rights are two separate beasts. While you may think it's trivial, it's not.

If parent has talked with their children and the children continue to take extremely long showers, then a timer would be an appropriate tool for a parent to reinforce the lesson.

I don't find trying to teach children self-discipline a trivial matter.

[Sam Murdoch]

you need to consider that as the hot water leave the HEATER , cold water enter and cool the remaining hot water down


As I noted.

[Pat Barry]

If parent has talked with their children and the children continue to take extremely long showers, then a timer would be an appropriate tool for a parent to reinforce the lesson.

Sure thing Ken. That's a great idea. Just so long as the parents use it also. LOL

[David Weaver]

I don't find trying to teach children self-discipline a trivial matter.

Nor do most of us.

[Jim Matthews]

I just tell my boys that they can watch TV after they shower.

The time between the shower and bedtime is fixed.
Ends the dawdling, but they're still little.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Folks,

Let's get back on topic in this thread. The OP asked for recommendations for timers for limiting showers not debating the rationale.

[Lee Schierer]

+1 on the Showermanager. I have three girls and it worked good for me.

The reviews on it aren't very good and customer support seems poor or non-existent. Units reportedly work for a time and then fail. How long have you had yours? Have you had any issues? What has been your experience?

[John Pratt]

We didn't have any issues. It worked well for us for two years now. We did have to periodically take it down and clean it due to hard water, but other than that it worked fine. As to customer support, I can't say; we never had the need to call them.

[Rich Riddle]

The last time I was on an aircraft carrier, they had devises that rationed the amount of water you could expend in the shower. One of the old chiefs called it the "5 gallon" shower. You wet yourself, stopped the water, lathered up, then rinsed. Once one adjusted to it, you could shower on far less than that. Others would want to get behind the "masters of the showers" so that they could get the leftover water for their showers. I will ask one of the sailors to indicate the name of the devise. Someone indicated you could adjust the amount allowed.

[Matt Meiser]

Maybe the "Homer Bucket?" :D

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_k_z-E4rH2s0/S5LRNy1vXqI/AAAAAAAAC1c/ligKRjuKWcM/s320/HomerBucket.jpg

That could work--just disconnect the shower all together and make them fill the bucket in the kitchen.

[Matt Meiser]

Speaking of shower water conservation, an order of nuns who's Motherhouse is near here did a massive green renovation a few years back that won a number of awards. One of the things they did was install a grey water system which recovers grey water from showers and bathroom sinks and uses it for flushing toilets. I just can't get past the "nun's shower water" part.

[Mel Fulks]

Matt, I'm told they shower "out of habit".

[Larry Browning]

Matt, I'm told they shower "out of habit".

Ohhhhh! That's bad!!! I like it though:p

[Bert Kemp]

Thank You For your service, Semper Fi LOL :D

[curtis rosche]

get one of the coin mechs that campsites use. give them a reasonable allotment of change at the beginning of the week, when its gone its gone. so if they take a logn shower Monday, they have nothing Friday. teaches budgeting too

http://www.kingsupply.com/Coin-Operated-Shower-Timers-s/1827.htm

[Mike OMelia]

So the reviews here are good on the Shower Manager? My kids like to run the shower for up to 1/2 hour. Drives me nuts. THink I'll get two. How about the batteries... how long do they last?