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.
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