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High shower pressure can help people save water, study suggests
- gymbeaux 3y agoHigher GPM shower heads usually cost more, so this certainly passes the “it’s expensive to be poor” test in that those who can’t afford a $75 shower head eventually pay for the difference and possibly then some.
- joeyhage 3y agoIt’s very easy, and free, to remove the flow restrictors that shower heads have these days. For example, Waterpik shower heads can be purchased for closer to $30-40 in the US and removing the flow restrictor takes less than 5 minutes.
- EA-3167 3y agoAs someone looking to replace their old, unrestricted showerhead... do you have a link to instructions of removing the flow restrictor from modern heads?
- elteto 3y agoWithout any intention to sound cute: look inside it, remove o-ring. It really is that simple.
- EA-3167 3y agoThat simple? Alright I can do that. Thanks!
- gymbeaux 3y agoIt’s not an O-Ring… you want the O-Ring in there. Some shower heads have a sort of mesh looking object the covers the O-ring or sits just below it.
- elteto 3y agoIf it’s a wire mesh you should leave that there as it is a strainer, to prevent debris from the pipe to get into the shower head. Sometimes the restrictor looks like flat plastic cap with holes added. Most of the time it’s an o-ring and the process looks like this: [0] [0] https://www.tiktok.com/@hopopro/video/7261933672025132331 https://www.tiktok.com/@hopopro/video/7261933672025132331
- gymbeaux 3y agoNot to be pedantic but I don’t know that it’s an “O ring” if it’s a flat cap with holes.
- antisthenes 3y agoYoutube...and type what you just typed.
- EA-3167 3y agoUnderstood, and thank you.
- nathanaldensr 3y agoUnfortunately, shower heads are constructed differently. Removing the flow restrictor depends on the design. Sometimes, it's so easy you can pull them out with a pair of pliers; other times, I've had to drill them out with a drill bit. They look like little metal or plastic screens, usually. In the US, all shower fixtures must come with them installed by regulation.
- bryanlarsen 3y agoIf properly designed, removing the flow restrictor will make your shower experience worse. As the article says, it's the pressure that makes a shower effective and pleasurable, not the flow rate. A good restrictor will increase the pressure. For example, when you want to clean something with a garden hose you restrict the flow with your finger on the end to increase the pressure.
- throwaway22032 3y agoDoes anyone else find these sorts of analyses really patronising? I'll get the shower head that makes showering pleasurable. It's a trivial expense and there's already been a huge saving from shifting from filling a huge bath.
- Ekaros 3y agoMirrors my experience. You want lower rate for long sessions as it is often enough. But on other hand if you want effectively wash quickly higher pressure is better.
- HPsquared 3y agoAt the extreme end, actively causing discomfort (uncomfortable high pressure blast from a small number of nozzles) would drive water usage to an absolute minimum. People keep the shower session to a minimum, perhaps avoiding the shower altogether. Whether this is utilitarian depends on the externalities of the water usage.
- paholg 3y agoI believe that this article means speed when it says pressure. A showerhead (unless it has a pump in it) cannot increase water pressure, but it can increase the speed water comes out. It does this by creating a restriction, which actually decreases the water pressure, causing higher speed.
- cassianoleal 3y agoCan you expand on this please? I'm not a physicist so I'm going off high school physics, anecdotes and gut feel. I would think that by restricting the flow on the shower head, the pressure inside it would increase. That in turn should cause the higher speed of the water that actually comes out of it, and this increased speed should cause greater pressure where it hits compared to the lower speed version. Am I misunderstanding the meaning of pressure, or is there some other parameter I haven't considered?
- bryanlarsen 3y agoA water outlet such as a shower relieves the pressure generated at the pump. A more restricted outlet doesn't provide as much relief, in effect increasing the pressure.