The Great Unwashed

Millions of hard-up Brits are cutting back on showers, washing clothes less and sharing baths to try to save money on energy and water bills.

According to new research, an incredible 43 per cent of adults are taking fewer baths and showers, while almost half are washing their clothes less frequently to cut energy and water usage.

But while many are risking being less hygienic to mitigate the elevated cost of living, one in six people are making cost-cutting fun and flirty, without sacrificing cleanliness, by sharing baths and showers with a partner or friend.

Research by household money-saving site Nous.co found 58 per cent of people in Glasgow and 57 per cent in Newcastle are sharing baths more.

People in Leeds (35 per cent), Liverpool (36 per cent) and Manchester (37 per cent) were at the bottom of the table, with most choosing to bathe alone.

Greg Marsh, founder and CEO of Nous.co, said that their research showed the lengths to which millions of people are having to go to drastically alter their lives because they’re struggling so much to make ends meet and for many this was no laughing matter.

The research also found that across Britain as a whole, women were cutting down on baths more than men, 45 per cent compared to 40 per cent and that people under 25 were keener on personal hygiene than those over 65.

When it comes to sharing baths, Bristol (21 per cent) and Leeds (20 per cent) are the collaborative areas, while Liverpool (11 per cent), Manchester and London (14 per cent) are the shyest about getting soapy with a partner or friend.

He said that while none of us can completely avoid rising bills for energy, food and mortgages, we can all make a difference by saving on the things we can have a bit of control over.

He said it is possible to save on bills if you know where to look.

He added that as for sharing baths, we can’t advise how much that would save although get carried away and you may find your household costs increasing nine months later.

When it comes to washing clothes, cutting back is much harder to inject enjoyment into.

Glasgow also led the field on where people were admitting to using their washing machine less (67 per cent) with Nottingham not far behind (64 per cent).

Sharing a bath was extremely common back in the day. They would fill up the tin bath and everybody would use the same water. It was a case of having to or go dirty, but in these modern times when having a bath is the norm, well it was until the cost of living crisis.

Filling a bath can be quite expensive and people just don’t have that sort of money to spend. However, you can still have a bath in shallow water and still be clean. It might get a tad chilly in the winter months, but you wouldn’t be in there that long.

Children go in first because they’re small and don’t need that much water, kids go in second and can be topped up a bit, and then the adults could top it up a bit more. That way all the family have had one bath and it probably still wouldn’t have been filled to the top.

It likely wouldn’t cost that make to take a shower either, but not every home has a shower and relies on taking a bath.

An average shower would probably cost around 70p, but then 70p in the grand scheme of things adds up to a lot of money when each person in a house has one.