One in 10 Brits haven’t bathed in over a decade – aiming to save water and cut bills

One in 10 Brits haven’t taken a bath in more than a decade, according to research. A poll of 2,000 adults found 51% agree bathing has fallen out of fashion. Nearly half (48%) now prefer a shower, while 18% of people don’t have a bath in their homes.

Recent studies, such as the Shower Market Report have seen an uptick in renovations being done to remove unused baths. A fifth of people have had a bath removed from their homes in a quest to create a larger shower space (43%), modernise their bathroom (42%), or convert to a walk-in shower (31%). Others (14%) made this renovation specifically to help reduce their water usage.

A spokesperson from leading smart Pay-As-You-Go energy supplier Utilita, which commissioned the research to support its award winning High5 tips series, including to keep showers to four minutes maximum, said: “Once a staple of the home, baths seem to have fallen out of favour for many across the UK.

“From homes getting smaller to costs getting higher, there are numerous reasons why this might be. But however you choose to clean and refresh, the most important thing is being conscious about your water usage, for the sake of both your pocket and the planet.”

A fifth of those who don’t have a bath blame a lack of time to relax. While 33% are too impatient for the time they take to run.

Other reasons for the decline in popularity included not wanting to use too much water for either cost-saving or environmental reasons, with 77% describing themselves as conscious of the amount of water they use.

Nine in 10 (90%) take active steps to reduce their water consumption, such as only filling the kettle with the water they need (55%), collecting rain to water plants (29%), limiting hosepipe use (29%), and re-using grey water (13%).

More than a third (35%) have swapped baths for showers for this precise reason. Three quarters (76%) also believe this makes a difference to reducing their water bills, with 77% saying the same about taking shorter showers.

Three in 10 (32%) said knowing exactly how much money they could save or seeing real-time costs per minute (30%) would convince them to cut down.

Utilita’s spokesperson added: “Swapping baths for showers or reducing the time spent doing either can be a small, easy change that can have a lasting impact.

“It’s great to see so many people are already doing this and have faith in the money they could save on their bills from this simple act.

“And no matter whether you prefer baths or showers, everyone can be a water-savvy person.”