Use a water saving shower head
A water saving, low flow, shower head can save you up to 60% in (hot) water, depending on the type of shower head you currently have. It’s one of the few products that’s a great investment and truly good for the environment.
What makes a shower head water saving
An ordinary shower head uses about 20 to 40 liters per minute, while a water saving shower head uses about 5 to 10 liters per minute. So you could easily halve your water and energy use by switching over.
A drawback could be that you have to wait a bit longer for the water to heat up, because it flows out less quickly, but there are even fancy shower heads that solve this by switching to a water saving mode once the water has heated up. Or you simply wait a bit longer.
How to buy a water saving shower head
First check if your current shower head isn’t already low flow
To know if you have a water saving shower head you simply take a bucket and hold it under a running shower for a minute. Then you check how much water is in the bucket. If a standard size bucket overflows, you already know it’s not a water saving shower head.
How to know if a shower head is water saving in the store
The best way to know if a shower head is water saving is by either looking for the WaterSense label in the US and Canada or the European water saving label in Europe. If those labels are not available you can also check the flow rate. This should be lower than 10 liters per minute.
Pick your type of shower head
Material: metal vs plastic
While metal shower heads might be a bit more pricy in the store, they last longer and don’t clog up as quickly as plastic ones. So in the long term a good quality metal one is better for the environment and your wallet.
Spray type: aerated vs non-aerated flows
An aerated shower had mixes the water with air to create a softer stream. It saves water, but also lowers the temperature of the water. So more heating energy is required.
A non-aerated shower head squeezes water through smaller spouts, providing higher pressure and a pulsating flow. This doesn’t lower the water temperature, requiring less heating energy.
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