Wall Street Journal - Shower Head Article

Green Choice Showerhead - BUY NOW
The shower is one of the biggest home water wasters, alongside lawn sprinklers and toilets. Most days, studies have found, the average American spends about eight blissful minutes in the shower, using some 20 gallons of water. That is more efficient than a bath, which typically uses at least 30 gallons. Yet Americans use the shower much more than the tub. And of all the water wasters in the house, the shower is among the hardest to tame, because people go to extraordinary lengths to protect it.

The big hope is that new technology will allow people to have greener showers and enjoy them, too. In this case, the goal is a turbocharged shower head that sprays a mixture of minimal water and maximal air.

The Environmental Protection Agency is hoping to guide consumer choices. Its WaterSense program stamps a seal of approval on bathroom fixtures that save water but perform well. The labels, already affixed to some toilets and faucets, are scheduled next year to go on shower heads. The EPA’s proposal is to label shower heads that spray less than two gallons per minute, the target the agency thinks is beneficial and realistic. That would result in an average eight-minute shower that uses some 16 gallons of water, 20% less than with a conventional shower head.