Last year Sheryl Crow called for limiting toilet paper use to just one square per visit, “except, of course, on those pesky occasions where two to three could be required.”

If the bathroom is your oasis of peace, consider the shower a mirage. (Photo credit: bigfoto.com)

Now the British Royal Society of Chemistry notes that a 30-minute shower is completely unnecessary.

As the Society’s chief executive Richard Pike put it:

“We hear stories of people staying in the shower for half an hour at a time, which is absurd and self-indulgent. They say that it helps them relax. Well, if we had a population of five million and not 60 million such self-indulgence might be tolerable. But today, with the world facing water shortages, that simply doesn’t wash.”

Personally, I’m wondering why people find showering for half an hour relaxing when they could spend the same amount of time lying down in a bubble bath. But that’s just me.

Given the water crisis, Pike argues, people should shower for no more than two minutes, though a full five minute shower might be tolerable.

The statement accompanies the release of survey results in which respondents from France, Germany, Great Britain and Spain were asked how long they let the water run when showering and whether or not they were concerned about the chemicals from their soaps and shampoos that were going down the drain.

“We have to take on board the critical message that water is a precious resource and in the years to come it is going to become increasingly scarce. We can save water massively by using less when washing, without compromising hygiene. One should be able to shower thoroughly in a couple of minutes,” Pike said in a statement.