CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to shower stalls, and more particularly to a water saving device for shower stalls.

BACKGROUND

Untold billions of gallons of water are wasted down shower drains each year while people wait for their shower water to heat-up to a desired temperature. Recirculating hot water systems can be installed to reduce the wait time, but such systems are costly to install and often require running additional pipe through walls back to the water heater.

Furthermore, even with recirculating hot water systems, there is some inefficiency in running hot water through the pipes in a residence, commercial building, or industrial building, and then back to the water heater, cooling the water along the way, 24 hours a day.

Therefore, there is a need for a device that can capture the cold water that first exists the shower head in a shower and saves it for other use, such as watering plants or trees. Such a needed device would be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and could be added during construction or after construction without nearly the complexity of installing a hot water recirculating system. Such a needed invention would further provide additional shower storage for shampoo bottles, and the like, and could be mounted to a shower wall or within a shower wall as desired. The present invention accomplishes these objectives.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present device is a water saving apparatus for use in a shower stall that has shower walls and a handheld shower head. A basin has a rear wall, two side walls, a front wall, a bottom wall, and a top wall. All of the walls defines an internal volume. The front wall is open at a top portion of the basin and sized to accept the handheld shower head therethrough.

A drain pipe is fixed through the basin proximate the bottom wall and directed to a collection point that is lower than the basin. The drain pipe may be made from a combination of pipe segments and pipe fittings.

In use, with the basin mounted with the shower stall, the handheld shower head can be placed into the internal volume to collect water exiting the handheld shower head and direct the water by gravity to the collection point, such as a catch bucket, a garden, or the like.

In some embodiments, the basin is mounted to one of the shower walls, or preferably as in new construction or a shower remodel project, within one of the shower walls. In the preferred embodiments a depth of the basin is not more than a depth of the shower wall in which the basin is mounted, such that the basin can be mounted flush with shower tiles of the shower wall.

In some embodiments, the water saving apparatus further includes a side compartment fixed with one of the side walls of the basin. The side compartment has an open front side facing the shower stall and is adapted to receive items, such as shampoo bottles and the like.

Preferably the bottom wall is sloped towards the drain pipe such that water on the bottom wall is directed by gravity to the drain pipe. Similarly, in embodiments having the side compartment, a bottom wall of the side compartment is sloped towards the open side, such that water on the bottom wall of the side compartment is directed by gravity towards the shower stall.

The present invention is a device that captures the cold water that first exists the shower head in a shower and saves it for other use, such as watering plants or trees. The present device is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and can be installed during new construction or as a remodel project without nearly the complexity of installing a hot water recirculating system. The present invention provides additional shower storage for shampoo bottles, and the like, and can be mounted to a shower wall or within a shower wall as desired. Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.

