Showering is one of the leading ways we use water in the home, accounting for 20 percent of residential indoor water use. For the average family, that adds up to nearly 40 gallons per day.
That’s nearly 1.3 trillion gallons of water used in the United States annually just for showering, or enough to supply the water needs of New York and New Jersey for more than 18 months.
You can save a considerable amount of water by installing a water-saving shower head.
Water-saving shower heads – also called low-flow shower heads – restrict the water flow without making it feel like you’re standing under a trickle of water. They allow smaller amounts of water to flow through compared to ordinary showerheads.
Not sure if you have a low-flow shower head?
Here’s a quick test to determine whether you should replace a shower head:
- Place a bucket — marked in gallon increments — under your showerhead.
- Turn on the shower at the normal water pressure you use.
- Time how many seconds it takes to fill the bucket to the 1-gallon mark.
If it takes less than 20 seconds to reach the 1-gallon mark, you could benefit from a low-flow shower head.
Many households in the USA have shower heads using 2.5 gallons per minute or higher. Low-flow shower heads use no more than 2 gallons per minute.
Switching will do more than reduce overall water consumption. In addition to financial savings from less demand on water heaters, it also decreases energy-intensive water treatment, distribution costs and greenhouse gas emissions, mitigating climate change.
When shopping for a new shower head, look for WaterSense or Energy Star labels that indicate a product meets the EPA’s water-saving standards.
In 2022, the EPA said that if every home in the United States installed WaterSense or Energy Star labeled shower heads, that would save more than $2.9 billion in water utility bills and more than 260 billion gallons of water annually.
For more inside and outside water-saving ideas, go to cvwd.org/conservation.
