One in 10 Brits haven’t taken a bath in more than a decade, new study finds

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 per cent agreed bathing has fallen out of fashion, with 20 per cent of those who don’t indulge regularly blaming a lack of time to relax. One in 10 Brits haven’t taken a bath in more than a decade, according to a new study Credit: Galina Zhigalova Nearly half of respondents just preferred a shower instead Credit: d3sign While 33 per cent 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 (24 per cent) or environmental (22 per cent) reasons. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! But 48 per cent are just “shower people” who don’t like the idea of hanging around in a warm puddle. The phenomenon goes beyond preference though, as 18 per cent of people don’t even 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, even if they were included in the first place – in favour of walk-in showers, wet rooms, or additional floor space. This data is backed up by the 21 per cent who have had a tub removed from their homes in a quest to create a larger shower space (43 per cent), modernise their bathroom (42 per cent), or convert to a walk-in shower (31 per cent). Others (14 per cent) 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. Most read in The Sun “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.” While bathing is clearly on the outs, 30 per cent went so far as to say it will become completely extinct within the next 10 years. Reasons for baths falling out of fashion range from busier lifestyles (55 per cent) and smaller homes (53 per cent) to rising costs of both energy (55 per cent) and water (70 per cent). Higher prices likely also form part of the reason 77 per cent describe themselves as conscious of the amount of water they use. Nine in 10 (90 per cent) also take active steps to reduce their consumption, such as only filling the kettle with the water they need (55 per cent), collecting rain to water plants (29 per cent), limiting hosepipe use (29 per cent), and re-using grey water (13 per cent). More than a third (35 per cent) have also swapped baths for showers for this precise reason, according to the OnePoll.com data. Three quarters (76 per cent) also believe this makes a difference to reducing their water bills, with 77 per cent saying the same about taking shorter showers. The average shower now lasts for nine minutes, but when asked what could be done to reduce this even further, costs were the key motivator. Three in 10 (32 per cent) said knowing exactly how much money they could save or seeing real-time costs per minute (30 per cent) 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.” Comment now