How much water do you use for showers?- survey

I used to use a 1 gal pump-pressure garden sprayer and that worked fine. Then I switched to a USB powered pump and shower head ($35 on Amazon) and put the pump in 5 gal bucket with enough water heated on the stove to get a warm shower. I found that way I use about 2-3 gals - but it is a more satisfying shower. In both cases I tended to use Navy shower method. I am now converting from a trailer to a standard height van and haven't solved the shower problem to my satisfaction yet. Unless I decide to stand outside. If anyone has solved a sit down shower I would be happy to hear about it.

Some people here are mentioning their use of a kitchen sink sprayer. That didn't work out for me at all since kitchen sprayers are made for 150psi city water rather than 40psi RV water. Not knowing that, I bought this Universal Kitchen Faucet Sprayer but only used it once, for it hardly more than dribbled water! Having learned my lesson I next purchase a shower head on a handle designed for low source pressure, and it works great!

I explain more about my shower setup here.

To greatly reduce how much water I use, I added this electric button which sticks right onto the back of my showerhead where I press it as needed with my thumb. So now it only sprays water at the exact moments I need it to.

I've used a kitchen sprayer with no problems at 40psi maybe you bought the wrong one.

RonDean said:

I used to use a 1 gal pump-pressure garden sprayer and that worked fine. Then I switched to a USB powered pump and shower head ($35 on Amazon) and put the pump in 5 gal bucket with enough water heated on the stove to get a warm shower. I found that way I use about 2-3 gals - but it is a more satisfying shower. In both cases I tended to use Navy shower method. I am now converting from a trailer to a standard height van and haven't solved the shower problem to my satisfaction yet. Unless I decide to stand outside. If anyone has solved a sit down shower I would be happy to hear about it.

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I use the same set up. I need to sit through at least part of my shower.
Pop up shower tent and a plastic stool. I have several like this. The one with my fan on it happened to be easy to snap a picture of. I bought these in Mexico but there ought to be something similar on the north side of the border too.

Gr8ful said:

I've used a kitchen sprayer with no problems at 40psi maybe you bought the wrong one.

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That didn’t make sense to me either. But I’m on a well with 40 psi myself. I’d be concerned with 150 psi water. I don’t think I have anything that could handle that kinda pressure...
But that is my concern is what sprayer to use... maybe the usb one is my ticket.

I use the shower in my class C and collect the water for a second use, like others here. I have a 6 gallon hot water heater and take "Navy" showers. I use about two gallons because there's always more than enough hot water left over for washing "smalls" (love that @abnorm) and doing dishes (filling one side of sink with hot for washing and one side with cold for rinsing).

The shower head is one of those oxygenated ones, and propane is used to heat the water in colder months.

The challenges with showering in vehicle are water storage, water heating, water disposal, and use of space. In most DIY van builds, this results in compromises that make showering a hassle because of the setup and takedown. Still, showering is very important to me so I’m always interested in hearing people’s setup and tweaks I can make to mine.

I find having a large but immovable fresh water tank to be inconvenient because it requires taking the vehicle to the water source. It's easier to do it the other way- bring water to the vehicle. I typically carry four 7 gal Aquatainers of fresh water used exclusively for the sink and shower. I find water readily available (restaurant/laundromat/grocery store/oil change shop) when citydocking.

I have two shower setups: a high water use and a minimal water use. My first shower setup used a camping shower head dropped into an AquaTainer. Hot water is essential, so I set the thermostat on my immersion heater rod to 120 F and in less than 15 minutes it's ready to use. I don't do Navy showers, I’m perfectly happy exhausting 7 gal of water enjoying a slow, luxurious hot shower. My biggest problem with this setup is dealing with the grey water. The shower pan is a PVC dog pool, it isn't trivial to transfer the amount of water that's accumulated in the pool into a container so that it can be dumped. This led to my second shower system.

My minimal water use setup wasn't cheap, but it's well worth it. I was reluctant to spend $300 on what I thought was a glorified sponge bath, but when the Geyser shower kit went on sale, I bought it. It lives up to the hype, delivering a refreshing shower experience using less than a gallon of water. My routine is similar to what it would be at home. Instead of adding soap to a bath loofah, I squirt it on the sponge. I put the Geyser on medium slow speed which is sufficient time to make several passes (reapplying soap each time) over my entire body during the course of 6-7 minutes. Since fresh water is continuously flowing out, it feels much like the stream of water that would be hitting my body from a regular shower head. I end by removing the sponge and exhaust the remaining water by using it as a hose to rinse my body for another 1-2 minutes. I use the ubiquitous 1 gallon water jug exclusively for the Geyser.

I bought the Geyser model with the built in heater because I didn’t want to fuss with guessing the ratio of hot to cold water. But it's a low watt heater and can take 20+ minutes to reach a max temperature that is in my opinion, lukewarm. To address both of these issues, I bought a sous vide heater which can bring it to the max temperature the Geyser pump will allow, in about 2 minutes.

I’m very happy with the Geyser. A traditional shower doesn’t get me any cleaner, and will feel only marginally better. In addition to delivering a satisfying shower experience, it addresses all the challenges: there’s very little water to store or dispose of, it’s heated, and it takes up a minimal amount of space.

Willow4303 said:

washing "smalls" (love that @abnorm)

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There's nothing small about me.............I'm the Fat guy........You are looking for Jason.....RVNaut

During my LTVA stay I started off with a sprayer then upgraded to simply using a bucket and a cloth.

sprayer would make a mess in my minivan. I would wet my hair with the washcloth and then use my shampoo. I would wash my face with bar soap, then rinse my face then rinse my hair. I would use the wet wash cloth to rinse my hair until the soap was all gone. I used a shampoo from walmart made with coconut oil plus Im a guy with short hair. I would suggest women or guys with longer hair then use fresh water to wash the rest of the way up..

Then I would wash my arms, the castile liquid soap and water in a spray bottle and spray that onto my skin. Then I would scrub with a rag and then rinse. I googled the way nurse do sponge baths. Which is face, arms, belly & back, pits thighs, legs, privates, feet, bum last.. always last..

I washed up daily and found the water would be dirty at the end. I guess if I skipped a few days I would add more water so It could hold more dirt. I always felt clean afterwards so I never had an issue. I would recommend DAILY sponge baths over how others suggest less frequent washes with a sprayer.

If your wasting 1-2 gallons to wash up and then only washing up every 2-3 days then your NOT going to live a comfortable life as if you were washing up in some 20oz to 40oz sponge bath water.

Time it how long you take to sponge bath. For me I think 20-40min was typical. Enjoying my morning coffee while I washed up and watched a show helped make it a more enjoyable experience.

sponge bath in ice cold water in the back of a minivan when it's 45 degrees out... yea, it takes long to wash up cause your gonna wanna go slower lol..

I typically would burn through 3 gallons a week washing up. Mostly once a day only but sometimes I would need to wipe the sweat of the day off before bed cause I felt gross.. Listen to your body, it will tell you when you are clean or if you need more water and still feel grimy.

Don't get sucked into all they hype of using a "shower" cause in super cold temps a sponge bath is far more comfortable than ice water running down your back haha.

Lance22 said:

I washed up daily and found the water would be dirty at the end. I guess if I skipped a few days I would add more water so It could hold more dirt. I always felt clean afterwards so I never had an issue.

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Yuck! The thought of wiping off my body with visibly dirty water is disgusting.

Lance22 said:

If your wasting 1-2 gallons to wash up and then only washing up every 2-3 days then your NOT going to live a comfortable life as if you were washing up in some 20oz to 40oz sponge bath water.

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Keeping clean isn't a waste of water in my book.

Lance22 said:

sponge bath in ice cold water in the back of a minivan when it's 45 degrees out... yea, it takes long to wash up cause your gonna wanna go slower lol..

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That sounds miserable!

Lance22 said:

I typically would burn through 3 gallons a week washing up. Mostly once a day only but sometimes I would need to wipe the sweat of the day off before bed cause I felt gross..

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Using 3 gals in a week works out to about half a gallon per day. I described how I use a Geyser, but I understand not everyone can carry a few dozen gallons of water in their vehicle.

Here's a YT video of an overlander using a Geyser in a necessarily miserly way, to shower, clean dishes, wash hands and face. He makes a gallon go a long way while preserving good hygiene.

I have the old standard 2 gal. garden sprayer painted flat black. I have only tested it once to date and it worked just great and I was able to shower using about half (1 gal.) the water in the sprayer. It came with several tips I can swap out but the original tip was fine. I really liked it as it was sort of like pressure washing my body and that long wand reaches down my back really well. I will be showering outside of my van wearing a small bathing suit. I also like that it gives a built in Navy shower because when you let go of the handle to soap up, the water shuts off. Showering this way in the winter may be a challenge so I may have to swap methods. I will see what I can stand. Oh, I am 5" 11" and about 170 with very little hair on my head as I keep it almost shaved. I like having the sprayer as I can use that to help me clean my solar panels as the pressure is not high enough to hurt them. Dual use is great.

afblangley said:

..... Keeping clean isn't a waste of water in my book .....

Using 3 gals in a week works out to about half a gallon per day. I described how I use a Geyser, but I understand not everyone can carry a few dozen gallons of water in their vehicle .....

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I can get clean using about a quart of water to wash up.
I use about 2-3 quarts in a Sunshower when I shower (frequency is dependent on water supply).
I carry 20 gallons of potable water for 2 weeks boondocking. So showering frequency depends on non-potable water sources near by.

I grew up in a family and community that still had strong memories of when wells ran dry and the hardship that created. We took sponge baths each night and a bath (3" of water in the tub) on Saturday night. I didn't shower until introduced to it in junior high after gym class. I still am very conscious of my water usage and try not to waste.

I once dated this girl/young woman who lived on a farm that didn't really have running water. Had a cistern. She drove a pickup truck that had a topper over the bed of the truck. She often spoke of her shower days and told me I could help her. How ?

She would wear a bikini under her jeans and tee shirt and carried a pair of flip flop sandals. The trick was this out of the way car wash that was coin op. Never really many people around in the earlier afternoon. She would pull the truck into the stall and get out of her jeans and tee and have some coins ready to start the car wash sprayer. She set it to rinse so it would be just water. I would hold the sprayer wand and stand back while she soaped herself up and rinsed off. When the wash stopped I threw her the towel.

Of course she only did this in the nice weather months. She had friends & family in town where she could get a bath or shower if she wanted, but the car wash would get her thru the week with a couple of showers.

Having semi-privacy was the main thing to her as she would stand behind her truck which blocked the view from the road. If a Nomad were traveling to stay in the 70 degree weather, this might work.

I'm not suggesting anyone spend $400 for a shower, but the Evershower is in some ways intriguing. (Link: https://evershower.com/#FAQ). The FAQ verifies, yes, the pump recirculates your dirty shower water until you're ready for a fresh rinse (or not-yuck). The part I like is being able to enjoy the flow for as long as you want (or the water is a good temp).

My shower consists of a shower head attached to a 12 volt marine bilge pump, a collapsible bucket and a folding dog pool. I have rarely used it. the pool is too big, really. I always carry an empty plastic tote nested outside a full one, and sometimes wash my hair over that.

A 2.5 gallon solar shower has been added to the water works, but I haven't needed it yet.

Before that, I had a couple (they break) of 12 volt drop-in-the-bucket camping showers. If needed, I could pump the gray water out of my shower pan (a masonry tub). To keeping any stray hair out of the pump, I put a knee high stocking over the inlet. A marine sponge is good for that last bit. Usually, I could just pour the water into a jug manually.

Before that, I used a garden sprayer. It worked and is also nice for washing dishes, but required too much room and maintenance (just Vaseline on the seals, but I'm lazy).

Returning to the Evershower concept, I would like to try using my pump/shower head in that way, recirculating a small amount of water until I'm ready to rinse. Not sure how deep the water would need to be for my pump.

As for sitting down to shower? After spending a day at a Korean-themed bathhouse, I had to seriously question why we work to defy gravity and risk life and limb to shower. Any clues? Sitting on a small stool works pretty well--especially in a regular roof van.

I had a shower in my Class B, but used it very rarely. Maybe 10 times over the 3 years I had it. It worked fine, but I was always worried about the moisture getting/staying somewhere and causing damages.
I have a 5 gal solar shower bag that works fine in theory. Plenty of water even for 2. Issues are that the water smells very plasticky, and that I need to remember to fill it and place it in the sun/on the roof. It's a big space saver though compared to a full size shower stall.

Tinker Rising said:

...build a better shower...what others do...

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We shower and shampoo each afternoon or evening.
Mandatory.
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2003, we engineered our ExpeditionVehicle with a rear entry, permanent porch, and permanent porch roof.
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We shower outside on the porch, semi-enclosed with a 9'x12'/2.7mx3.7m tarp.
Our tarp attaches to the porch roof using 'Eye-bolts' and short sections of chain.
Depending on weather, wind, and ooglers, we adjust the height of the tarp with different links in the chain.
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Warmer weather, the tarp gets lowered about 5"/13cm so we can enjoy the view.
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We heat shower water in 4qt/4liter(litre) pots on our ancient Coleman two-burner propane camp-stove.
That hot water goes directly into the Craftsman 20v battery-operated garden-sprayer.
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For our use, each pot of boiling water is matched by about a gallon (four liters/liters) of ambient water.
As explained in our introduction, a full hopper lasts about twelve minutes with the garden-sprayer on 'HIGH'.
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The four gallons (sixteen liters/liters) is plenty for a satisfying shower...
... although another pot of hot water plus another gallon of ambient water is generally waiting to be poured into the garden-sprayer for an extra few minutes of meditative soak.
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As we describe in our introduction, we extended the wand hose by about double, so the garden-sprayer sets on the deck, giving the standstill-house shower-wand plenty of length to rinse shampoo suds.
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Why keep moisture outside?
Warmer weather, why cook outside?
Probably something to do with comfort and mold.
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In our introduction, we have two sections about our shower, so it must be pretty darn important.
Our introduction with plenty of portraits, plus our reasons for our decisions:
https://vanlivingforum.com/threads/expeditionvehicle-build.44908/#post-576110
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This portrait includes our summer kitchen, again on the porch.
Those two wire-rack shelves are hinged, folding down against the rear wall for travel.
Supervising the camera operator is CallerNumberFive!, one of our Heelers:

I use the beach showers whenever possible as I’m often at a beach where it’s at least fairly warm to warm.
When no beach showers are available I have a 5 gallon Advanced Elements solar shower and use about 2.5 gallons. 35-40$ it rolls up easy storage.

Have no complaints on it. Works as advertised.
Fill with your dose of h2o lay it in the sun for a few hours and get pooft & doosht. Sometimes it’s gotten 2 hot and I’ve had to put it in the shade for haf hour or so.

If it’s a cloudy or cool day I lay it on the dash inside the vehicle and park facing toward sun while I’m taking a 4 or 5 mile beach hike. When cool & no sun I’ve put 2 gallons in it and then heated a half gallon on the stove till steaming then add.

If not washing my hair, a 2 liter bottle of water heated in the sun is a very adequate shower.

With or without the Simple Shower attachment.

I use the disposable facial cloths that have face wash in them…wet a little, wash my face, add some body wash for the rest of me, rinse with the bottle of water, throw the face cloth away, so no water needed for rinsing.

If not prohibited where you are, stand in a collapsible bin to do this, toss the water under a nearby tree or bush.

I shower at campground facilities even if I am not staying there. The cost is reasonable. Sometimes going into RV parks just for a shower, the cost is reasonable. In between I can do what hospitals do for patients who are unable to use showers. I take sponge baths and on hot days when I get sweaty and feel itchy I do an isopropyl alcohol rub down to clean my skin and control excess bacteria and odor. It is also very cooling. The alcohol also works for a quick “pits only clean”.

I do not have the ability to lift 5 gallon containers of water or store large quantities of water so camp showers are simply not happening in my life. We do what can be done within our many limitations both for physical and for size of space as well as the fuel for heating wash water. There is no one method fits all solution.

afblangley said:

Yuck! The thought of wiping off my body with visibly dirty water is disgusting.


Keeping clean isn't a waste of water in my book.


That sounds miserable!


Using 3 gals in a week works out to about half a gallon per day. I described how I use a Geyser, but I understand not everyone can carry a few dozen gallons of water in their vehicle.

Here's a YT video of an overlander using a Geyser in a necessarily miserly way, to shower, clean dishes, wash hands and face. He makes a gallon go a long way while preserving good hygiene.

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A bit late but I finally wanted to respond.

Your promoting a 400 dollar sprayer. If that is not your affiliate link your suggesting then you really are suggesting a 400 dollar sprayer which if you got that kinda money to spend good for you.

I think I mentioned I researched the method of how nurses do sponge baths so unless your saving up for a private nurse and have detailed instructions to use your 400 dollar geyser if you ever get to a situation late in life when you need nursing home care then I hope you make those arrangements if you truly find the thought of a sponge bath disgusting.

The "visible dirty water" is soap mixed with dirt and if your washing daily your remove it daily.. Much of this period in my life I was doing this was during the winter in the Arizona where it really is dusty. especially at the LTVA haha.

You mentioned it sounded "miserable" I couldn't disagree with you more. Sometimes in life we live to "soft" and "cushy" lives that when it comes time to do something hard we find it impossible because we can't imagine doing it..

Now, as I'm about to go back to minivan life again I typically take two showers a day since I been going to the gym working out improving my health. I don't have the SLIGHTEST worry that if the showers were to be out of order what would I do? I could simply pull out the collapsible bucket and wash cloth and be clean after one episode of watching a classic tv show! haha.

What happens when your fancy 400 dollar pump stops working? off to drive to the local gym for a shower.. what happens if there is an awful long line.. ugh.. off to the next shower location or a nice long wait? hmm.. That sounds far more miserable to me but to each there own.

My experience was GLORIOUS! I stayed perfectly clean, and now I have survival skills that will last me a lifetime!

Also to wash dishes you just need mostly vinegar and water to wash them and then rinse with some water. I have never used a sink in my minivan nor would I suggest anyone actually do that..

Sure at my apartment I leave the faucet run as I scrub away. but disconnect that constant water supply and your hauling in every gallon one at a time YIKES, that is what taught me that water usage switched from an asset, to a liability.


I will challenge you to TRY IT.. humor me please.. This winter when it cracks below 42 degrees right before your warm shower with your 400 dollar sprayer crack out the old bucket and a wash cloth and give it a go. I used water mixed with Castile soap blend.. I think it was 80% water 20% soap, I forget the ratio but Bob Wells recommended that method.

Then come back and tell me how miserable it was.. or maybe, just maybe you will realize.. it's not really that bad and well you damn well feel rather clean and why even bother with that warm shower now.. haha.

Or maybe it will give you the motivation for a tattoo on your chest for the nursing home workers stating "do NOT sponge bath!"

Either way. Cheers and I truly wish you the best in life, as we are all on our own journey.