* Tel.: +44 1273642257 E-mail address: k.m.she@brighton.ac.uk To cite: Adeyeye, K., She, K. (2015), Preliminary Studies in Demystifying the Showering Experience, Memon, F.A. (Ed.), Proceedings of the Water Efficiency Conference 2015, 5-7 August 2015, Exeter, UK: WATEF Network/ University of Brighton. Demystifying the Showering Experience: Understanding current shower behaviour and showerhead preferences Kemi Adeyeye 1 , Kaiming She *2 1,2 School of Environment and technology, University of Brighton ABSTRACT Aims: The aim of the project on which this paper is based is broadly to demystify the performance criteria that inform the user’s expectation of ‘a good shower’ experience. The objectives are to begin to define and empirically quantity the conditions and range of acceptability of water efficient shower-heads using physical and socio-psychological factors, and the effectiveness of the shower product to promote sustained water efficiency practices. Study design: The results in this paper are based on a preliminary sampling stage of a 2 stage study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in Brighton from March to April 2015 Methodology: This is an ongoing two stage study involving laboratory experiments and in- home user studies. A survey of the current showering practice and showerheads is carried out and the survey data is examined to gain some insights into showerhead choice, habit and behaviour as a first step in demystifying the showering experience. Results: The paper presents an overview of the variables utilised in this study as well as the preliminary user feedbacks on their current showering practice and showerheads. Conclusion: The findings present valuable insights in showering practices which can be used as a basis for further in-home user studies. Keywords: Showerhead, Showering, Shower experience, Water efficiency 1. INTRODUCTION The literature on the sociological use of water suggests dimensions to water use beyond the need to keep hydrated or stay clean e.g. water use for fun, leisure and relaxation or the increasing popularity of power showers. At present, showers and showering account for between 25-30% of daily per capita water use [1, 2] and the demand for separate shower cubicles has increased at an average of twenty per cent per year since 1999 [3], a figure that suggests that the composition of UK bathrooms is on the move and that showering is being positioned as a normal everyday activity [4]. The recent EST data shows that the shower, using over two billion litres of water per day, is the now the