Tiny houses are an excellent investment. They’re significantly cheaper than a standard-sized home, take up very little space and leave a lot of open space on your property. They can also save you quite a lot of money on electricity and power bills.
However, the overall small size of the tiny homes can also cause some significant issues. Specific zoning laws might pose a problem, and the size of the houses might be too cramped for any family larger than two people. However, those aren’t the issues we want to address today.
If you’re interested in learning more about the pros and cons of tiny houses, we covered that in detail in our types of tiny home article. As for today, we want to focus on the issue of the limited shower space and various ways you can solve it. Let’s start by taking a look at tiny house bathrooms. After that, you’ll fully understand our tiny house shower ideas.
Having a small house means that you need to be smart when it comes to interior design. You’ll need to use your limited floor space well and figure out how all the pieces fit together.
We highly recommend calculating the dimensions of everything from the couch to the kitchen sink before buying. Then, compare it with your floor plan and see if they are compatible with your specific tiny house.
When it comes to tiny house bathroom design, knowing the dimensions of all items is critical. After all, you’ll need a clear layout for the plumbing anyways.
Tiny house builders don’t have set dimensions for the shape of the bathroom space. Although you can modify the length and width during the planning stages, tiny house shower options are always limited.
A tiny home bathroom usually can’t exceed three meters in length and two meters in width, or vice-versa. In any case, there is very little space for a bathroom sink, toilet, or shower. And there’s certainly not much room for a washing machine or dryer. But that’s for another article.
When dealing with tiny homes, the first thing many people think to cut is the traditional shower. They do this because a standard fiberglass shower base is around 1 x 1 meter and takes too much space. The other reason is that there are plenty of alternative tiny house shower options. At least ones that allow you to fit most items in your bathroom.
Before we go into our choices of tiny house showers, we should mention that all of our options are suited for off-the-grid living. Still, they’ll need to be connected to a piping system or a blackwater or greywater container to use indoors.
Unfortunately, getting rid of the shower stall also means that you will need to rely on your bathroom drain to gather all of the water you’re going to be using.
Luckily, tiny house toilets usually have a drain system even if they’re installed on a trailer that doesn’t have any pipes, so you should be covered. However, if you don’t have a functioning water draining system, you need to hire a contractor to install a simple drain that leads to a container under the house.
With that out of the way, let’s get into the best tiny house showers that you can find.
Bet you weren’t expecting to find this as the first item in a tiny house showers list, but we promise that we have a good reason for including it.
We mentioned that most people get rid of their standard corner shower because there isn’t enough space in the bathroom for a shower, a toilet, and a sink. We didn’t mention that you can also substitute your toilet as well.
Getting a composting toilet instead of a standard flush toilet can give you enough space to install a proper shower with glass shower walls and a showerhead hook-up.
You can place the toilet wherever you see fit and move it around. When it’s time to shower, you can remove it from the space altogether.
However, not many people go for this tiny house shower idea because having a standard toilet is more convenient than having a traditional shower. Unless you’re used to off-grid living, dealing with all of the necessary preparations to use the toilet can be a real pain.
The off-grid showers are much simpler to set up and use, and they’re much easier to clean. In most cases, off-grid enthusiasts will likely consider this option. And most people opt for the more straightforward solution to the small space problem.
[Related Read] Off-Grid Washing Machines: The Best Washers For Smaller Homes.
Despite the name, you can use the portable shower indoors and outdoors. As long as you have a hook to place the showerhead and enough space to put a bucket of water in your bathroom, you're good to go.
There are many portable shower models, like the B.TAWD Shower Pump or the more compact Ivation Compact Handheld Rechargeable Camping Showerhead. The main difference between them is the price and whether or not they come with a water container. If not, you’ll need to acquire one.
These portable showers start at around $30, and most of them will stay under the $100 mark. They all have a showerhead connected to a built-in motor pump via a water hose. The showerhead is placed on a shower hook, while the pump goes in a bucket or water container.
There is nothing more to say here. After you set up the portable tiny house shower, all you do is press the switch and get clean. We should mention that regardless of how far out you might live, it’s not a bad idea to invest in a shower curtain or a Pop-Up Privacy Tent.
Another problem with the square feet limitation of your bathroom is that you don’t have enough space to put in a water heater anywhere.
Alternatively, you can go on Amazon, get yourself something like the Hike Crew Portable Water Heater & Shower Pump, and save yourself a lot of headaches. This item comes with a showerhead and a pump connected to a propane-powered square water heater in the middle. It comes with a built-in battery and DC/AC power adapters, meaning that you can use it just about anywhere.
It’s also equipped with pretty simple temperature control in two knobs - one for the hot and one for the cold water. Finally, you’ll also get a carrying bag, making it easier to carry wherever you need it.
The above item is a luxury for outdoor showers, which you can make even better by getting yourself a Vidalido Outdoor Shower Tent and MURO Portable Freestanding Soaking tub combo. After all, nobody said that off-grid showers couldn’t be relaxing.
It’s easy to set up a DIY tiny house shower which means bathroom space shouldn’t be an issue. All of the choices listed above have their pros and cons, and the truth is some work better than others, but only in certain situations.
If you’ve read any of our other content, we always try to encourage tiny homeowners to make intelligent choices. In most cases, that means adhering to the dimensions of your home and furnishing according to the design. The best way to ensure that you’re happy with your home is to make an exact plan and stick to it.
At this point, we realize a large percentage of readers still have no idea which tiny house shower is best. And that’s fair. Keep reading because we put together some frequently asked questions to guide you through the buying process if that's the case.
If you get to the end of this article and still have questions about tiny house showers, please reach out to us on social media or email us. We’ll do our best to answer according to our experience.
[Related Read] Tiny Home Cost: A Reliable Estimate For Building Materials
Tiny houses are a brilliant investment. They’re a lot cheaper than a standard-sized home, and they take up minimal space, making them an environmentally friendly alternative. They also save you a substantial amount of money regarding your electricity bills.
But the truth is, tiny house living is a big transition. And most newbies have many questions about appliances and the best way to utilize square footage. Here are a few common questions we hear about tiny house showers every day.
Some tiny houses may be too small for a family and therefore too cramped for more than two people. However, even with two people, shower space can be minimal. And this is why it’s vital to source a shower that caters to the tiny house variety.
The only way to know for sure is to design your home from the ground up according to your family size. Regardless, tiny homes have limitations, and they’re not ideal for everybody. So, are tiny homes big enough for a family? The answer is that it depends. It’s your job to do research and find a way to make it happen.
As expected, having a smaller house usually means a smaller bathroom too. Therefore, you’ll need to be wise when designing your interior. While you can modify the shape and length of your bathroom space, tiny house dimensions are limited. In most cases, small house bathrooms don’t exceed measurements of three feet and widths of two.
You should bear in mind that this space needs to accommodate a sink and faucet, a toilet, and a shower/bath. We highly recommend that you design your shower space first, as this is the facility that will require the most room. With that said, don’t forget to account for a bathroom vanity. Odds are, there won’t be much room for one, so planning is crucial.
A standard fiberglass shower base is approximately 1 x 1 meters and would take up too much room. However, there are a variety of tiny house shower alternatives that provide a way to utilize space more efficiently.
A large portion of tiny house showers caters to the off-the-grid lifestyle. While this is a good thing, many models still need to be connected to a blackwater container (for wastewater) or a functioning piping system.
Removing a shower stall also means relying heavily on your bathroom’s drain to gather the water. Luckily, tiny house toilets usually have a draining system, even if installed on a house that doesn’t have a functioning piping system.
If you don’t have a fully functioning water draining system instead of piping, you should hire someone to install a draining system leading to a water container underneath.
[Related Read] The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Tiny Home
If you don’t have efficient piping in your tiny home and do not want to install a drain, consider purchasing a portable outdoor shower. Remember that you can use these showers indoors, hence their portability.
As long as you have a handy hook for your shower head, you will have enough space to shower comfortably. Although these tiny house showers are usually inexpensive, the main difference is whether or not they come with a water container.
The price of portable outdoor showers starts at $30, with the vast majority under $100. Their shower heads connect to a built-in motor pump via a proper water hose. We recommend putting the showerhead on a hook and situating the pump in a water container.
After installing the shower, press the button and clean yourself! You may also want to purchase a pop-up privacy tent that makes showering even more comfortable.
Although these tents are for outdoor showering purposes, a shower curtain will prevent you from flooding the bathroom indoors.
Another restriction of having a smaller bathroom in your tiny home is that you may not have enough room for a water heater. In this case, you’ll have to get used to cold showers or put hot water in a container and use it to the best of your ability.
Alternatively, purchasing a portable water heater and shower pump will save you from a whirlwind of problems. It will also enable you to shower without too much effort. Purchasing a portable water heater from Amazon will do the trick, and most of these showers come with a showerhead and a pump. You can connect to a propane-powered square water heater to heat the water.
They also come with a built-in battery and DC/AC adapters which means you can use them anywhere. These heaters also come complete with temperature controls to ensure you don’t burn yourself! While temperature-controlled hot water showers are indeed a luxury, they provide you can shower comfortably.
There is a range of tiny house shower options to accommodate a limited amount of space. While some owners prefer hot water, others can live without it. So, it’s your job to decide if a hot water system is worth the space. We hope that we have provided enough information to help you make a wise decision.
We understand that this article doesn't cover all the best tiny shower ideas. If you are still searching for the best tiny house shower for your home, follow the link to check out a list of 33 tiny house showers from The Spruce.
With that said, we hope you found plenty of tiny house shower examples in this blog to get you started. After all, we’ve spent years playing around with various showers methods and found the above to be some of the best. As always, it’s your job to weigh the pros and cons and make the final choice according to your unique situation and personal preferences for tiny house showers.
In the meantime, here are a few more articles you might enjoy:
Tiny Home Appliances: A Detailed Guide to Small Kitchens