Low-Flow GPM Shower Heads Conserve Water

Lower water consumption and water heating bills. Conserve water and natural resources while saving on energy. Install environment-friendly 1.5-2.0 gpm low-flow shower heads, a plumbing DIY project.

Water is a precious resource. The total worldwide supply remains constant, but that supply is not always available in the right form in the right place at the right time. That’s where conservation becomes important. And what’s important suddenly becomes urgent when you’re all soaped-up and the hot water runs out. Nothing like a cold shower to stimulate an action plan!

I discovered this when my kids hit the teenage years and started taking looong hot showers. There are various options:

• Yell at them to hurry up.
• Turn up the temperature on the water heater so that it will last longer when mixed with cold.
• Install a larger water heater or convert from electric to gas.
• Try to time your shower so that the water heater has had enough time to recover since the last shower, load of laundry or dishwasher run.

Instead of any of those options, I decided to trick the kids by installing low-flow shower heads. (They never even commented, so I guess they didn’t notice.) I have no idea what the water flow rate was on the old shower heads, but it must have been significant because we’ve never run out since I installed new 2.0-2.5 gpm heads. Since 1992, 2.5 gallons per minute (gpm) is the standard U.S. maximum flow rate, although some are marketed as low as 1.25 gpm.

Low-flow shower heads conserve energy consumption as well as water. It simply takes less electricity or gas to heat less water. That saves you money as well as being environment-friendly.

The shower heads I bought have a built-in trickle valve to facilitate taking navy showers. A navy shower is an extreme water conservancy measure. Get wet; turn it off; lather up; rinse off—all in as little as one gallon of water.

One reason that many people object to navy showers with conventional shower heads is that restarting the water flow requires adjusting the temperature again. The trickle valve is a single valve on the shower head itself, so the water mixture is constant. Furthermore, it trickles continuously while “off” so that you won’t be surprised by scalding or freezing water when you flip it back “on.”

Replacing a shower head is not something you need a plumber for, unless you’re a total klutz. It’s not much different from taking the lid off a new bottle of catsup. Sometimes it will twist bare-handed; sometimes you’ll need a wrench or pliers. If the new one leaks at the threads and you can’t tighten it enough bare-handed—there should be no need to force this—then use some Teflon tape. A small roll of it costs mere pennies and you should pick one up when you buy the shower head, if you remember.

OK, now try it. I meant move out of the way first, and then try it, Wet Head!