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@ 24. AIR.,POWER YOUR SHOWER If a family of fOUT takes 5-minure showers each day, they wiU use more than 700 gallons of water every week ---che equioolent of a three~ea:r supply of drinking water far one person. BACKGROUND. For a lot of us, a long, hot shower is.a ~ilty p~easur~it feels.great, but there's a nagging suspi- cion we re wasting precious water. , Here's good news: There's a simple, effective way to cut shower water use by about 50%; just replace your conventional shower ' head, with a "low flow" model. It's a good way to save natural re- sources and cash without having to do much. SHOWER FACTS e Showers usually account for a whopping 32% of home water use. e A standard shower head uses about 5-7 gallons of water per min- ute (gpm)-so even a 5-minute shower can consume 35 gallons! e "Low-flow" shower heads reduce water use by 50% or more. They typically cut the flow rate to just 3 gpm-or less. So installing one is the single most effective water conservation step you can take in- side your home. e According to the Dept. of Energy, heating water is "the 2nd- largest residential energy user." With a low-flow shower head, en- ergy use (and costs) for heating hot water for showers may drop as much as 50% SIMPLE THINGS TO DO First, find out if you need a low-flow shower head: e Use the "Bucket Test" : All you need is a watch with a second hand and a bucket that holds at least a gallon. e Turn on the water to the pressure you normally use. e Hold the bucket just below your showerhead and measure the time it takes the water to reach the "I Gallon" line. If it's less than 20 seconds, your shower is a candidate for a low-flow model. 50 If you're an average Amerian: 1/3 of your prbaj:e i5 p"'..Ir'lCi"& you tau out jmnuodb...ly. ~ e @ Next, Take a Look at What's on the Market: There are two types of low-flow showerheads: . Aerated: Mixes air with water to maintain a steady spray at pres- sures equal or higher than a standard showerhead. The only draw- back: if you're tall, you may notice that the water's cooled down a litde by the time it gets to your feet. This is by far the most popular type of low-flow shower head. eNonaerated: No air is mixed into the flow. It maintains heat and gets a good, forceful spray...but the flow "pulses." If you're partial to massage showerheads, this one is for you. RESULTS e With a low-flow shower head, a family of four which normally takes 5-minute showers saves at least 14,000 gallons of water a year. So if only 10,000 similar families were to install low-flow shower heads, we could save around 140 million gallons. And-get this- 100,000 four-person families with low-flow shower heads could save 1.4 billion gallons! e NDRC estimates that a good low-flow showerhead will pay for it- self with energy and water savings in less than a year if your water heater uses natural gas and less than six months if it's electric. NOTE: Don't buy "flow restrictors" (disks that insert in your exist- ing showerhead) or cheap, plastic showerheads. Both deliver far less satisfying showers than a well-designed, low-flow model. RESOURCES Your local utilty may have low-flow showerheads available for free. If not, check a good hardware store. The following companies also sell a variety of efficient showerheads.. e Ecological Water Products, Inc., 1341 West Main Rd., Middletown, R.I. 02840. (400849-4004 e Interbath, Inc., 427 N. Baldwin Park Boulevard, City oflndus- try,CA 91746. (818) 369-1841 e Vanderburgh Enterprises, Inc. Box 138, Southport. cr 06490. (203) 853-4429. If you're more interested in non-aerating showerheads, these have been recommended by some experts. , 51 Only 3% of the Earth's water is fresh water.