With water bills set to increase by 6% in the UK, 4.3 million Brits have changed their bathing and showering habits to combat cost of living pressures, a new study has revealed.
New research, conducted by leading bathroom supplier Sanctuary Bathrooms, reveals all about bathing and showering habits in the UK, in conjunction with ONS population figures of UK adults. The research found that Brits have taken drastic measures to combat ongoing cost of living demands, including timing baths and showers, sharing with partners, bathing children together, and ditching baths altogether.
Money-saving measures are revealed to be an important consideration when it comes to choosing washing preferences, with 17% of respondents (equating to 9.1 million Brits) claiming they prefer their choice of bathing or showering as it’s more cost-effective.
8% of respondents, equating to 4.4 million Brits, have also taken to timing the length of their bath and showers and keeping them to a minimum, to help manage water and energy costs.
A further one in 14 (7%) respondents have even resorted to sharing baths and showers with partners or bathing children together in a bid to cut down on water and energy costs – roughly 3.8 million people based on ONS estimates. 4% of respondents (equating to 2.1 million people) have also taken to monitoring smart meters to monitor water and energy usage.
Interesting insights also come to light when splitting results by age. Young Gen-Z respondents (aged 18–24) are the age group most likely to time showers and baths to help manage water and energy costs (12%) and to monitor the costs of baths and showers on smart meters (7%), closely followed by Older Gen-Z and Young Millennial respondents aged 25–35 (6%).
According to Statista, smart meters are more widespread in the older Gen-Z and millennial age group (52%) than in any other generation. Usage in the 18–24 year old age group also ranked high, at 47%.
While the study put an end to the age-old bath vs shower debate, by revealing 3 in 5 (59%) prefer showers over tubs, compared to less than half this amount (28%) favouring baths, the research found that 8% of respondents actually used to prefer bathing over showering, but are ditching the bathtub due to the rising cost of energy and water bills.
James Roberts, Director of Sanctuary Bathrooms comments on this research: “Inflation and rising bills are really squeezing the pressure on UK households up and down the country, so much so that Brits are taking small or even extreme measures to try and keep their costs low. The fact the data shows we are overwhelmingly becoming a shower nation because of convenience, time efficiency, and speed also plays into the idea that many will be doing so as a means to get out to work to pay the bills.
“While many will be able to ride out the burden of escalating costs for now, many are actively monitoring every penny to make sure they can afford to pay just to live, minimise or avoid racking up debts, or even just be more efficient with energy and water usage.
“It is shocking that so many people are having to change their habits in the modern day – from cutting down baths completely or even shortening them in length of time – when our bathrooms are meant to be our havens of relaxation.”
For more information on Brits preferences when it comes to bathing, please visit: https://www.sanctuary-bathrooms.co.uk/journal/baths-vs-showers-which-nations-favourite.
