Shower Heads

There are many ways to conserve water. One way concerns your shower, or shower head to be precise. Showers use many gallons in each use. Older shower heads use way more than current water saving shower heads, meaning their GPM rating is higher.

GPM stands for gallons per minute. This is the unit used for measuring the water usage of shower heads, washing machines, dish washers, etc.

Say, for example, you have an old shower head that uses between 5 and 8 GPM on full flow. Now, that may not sound like much, but if you have only a 10 minute shower you will use between 50 and 80 gallons every shower. If you only have one 10 minute shower per week you are wasting between 200 and 320 gallons of water every month. That seems like a lot now doesn't it?

Now, if that shower head was replaced by a water saving shower head that uses 1.5 GPM, the numbers will be a lot smaller. A 10 minute shower with a 1.5 GPM shower head at full flow will use approximately 15 gallons. With one 10 minute shower every week, you will only use 60 gallons per month.

Per year with the old shower head you waste between 2600 and 4160 gallons of water. Per year with the new water saving shower head you only use 780 gallons of water. That's a pretty drastic difference if you ask me.