Water saving shower heads

With low flow shower heads saving water is easy

Consider installing water saving shower heads in your bathrooms. Did you know that showering alone can account for up to 20% of your total indoor water use? 

Whether you take five minute showers or you spend five minutes just singing in the shower, low flow shower heads will reduce your indoor water use and there quite inexpensive as well.

Installing low flow shower heads is truly one of the most cost effective things any homeowner can do to save water. Traditional bathroom shower heads, estimated to currently be in 30% to 40% of American homes today, can use as much as 5 to 7 gallons of water per minute.

The evolution of low flow

By the mid 1990s bathroom shower heads were federally mandated to use a maximum of 2.5 gallons per minute, a positive improvement. But the first generation of low flow shower heads enjoyed very mixed reviews from consumers.

These early low flow models were built to function with water flow rates considerably higher than 2.5 gallons per minute, so flow restrictors were simply added to block a portion of the water flow. 

This created not just a low flow, but an undesired low water pressure that felt more like a waterfall than a shower.

And since more water, and maybe more singing, in the shower was needed to properly rinse, these early low flow shower heads more times than not failed to deliver real home energy savings. 

The new age of low flow

The low flow shower heads currently on the market are not the old flow restricting models of the past. A new water saving shower head can significantly reduce your water use and increase water pressure at the same time.

Now water saver shower heads use air chambers or jet streams to quickly mix air into the water flow. The streams and chambers allow the shower heads to use considerably less water, and also increase water pressure for that relaxing massage feeling we all seek from a shower.   

In the last few years some models have successfully reduced water flow rates even lower than the federal guidelines. Some low flow models use as low as 1 gallon of water per minute.

Some of the best shower heads allow you to pause warm water while you are in the shower. These shower heads are incredibly convenient and they can help you save even more by using less warm and hot water while showering.

This gives your hot water heater a much deserved break, which in return translates into lower water heating cost for you.