Somewhere, Kramer is screaming.

I hate those things. Anyone remember the Seinfeld episode with them?

That is one of the funniest, most awesome pictures I've ever seen on the Consumerist. Bravo!!!

Saves $155 per month ONLY in those months that have 52 weeks in them.

Anybody know of any great ultra-hi-flow shower heads?

Water is the only utility paid at my apartment complex.

$155 in monthly savings? my entire water bill is usually less than $40...

... ah, the article actually says $15 in monthly savings. that makes a lot more sense.

Monthly savings of $155? Are they showering with Evian over at Popular Mechanics?

Even if I paid for my water utilities, I would never install a low flow shower head. I just don't feel clean...
Luckily water is included in my rent, not an additional utility.

My average water bill was just under $8/month at the last place I lived in the States. I'm not sure I even want to know what state has water bills high enough for you to save $155/year just using a low-flow shower head!

That might take into account the electricity you save by using less hot water?

Water pressure is low enough where I am, a lo-flo would make it unbearable. Of course, maybe the water heater could keep up better if we used lo-flow.

My water company bills a flat rate for the first 10,000 gallons used. We rarely use more than 5,000 in a month so no savings here (except that we probably have low flow heads already installed)

The one that saves you the most per month is installing low-flow shower heads, with an estimated monthly savings of $155.

I always laugh when I hear this. $155 per month, eh? That amount is lower than the total cost of my water heater gas (which also fuels my furnace and gas dryer) and water bill put together. In the most expensive winter month.

Still, I'm not knocking it - sure, put one in. I think I actually saw a savings of around $2-3 per month. Yay.

@mike: I thought the same damn thing.

@humphrmi: Fortunately that's a typo by, I think, our esteemed editor. The article itself says $15 per month.

@Miraluka: I actually like my low flow shower head more than most other shower heads... It's an efficient one so it feels stronger than most shower heads.

I don't know which one I hate worse - the low flow showerhead, or it's evil cousin, the low flow toilet.

What idiot came up with these things?

With the low flow showerhead, it's like you're getting rained on, you have to shower twice as long to feel clean.

With those stupid toilets, you have to flush the damn thing 4 times after taking a dump.

Tell me how that's saving water?

@yajjo: I guess @shannanigans: I guess I'll switch over once my monthly bill exceeds $15 a month, then.

@Michael Belisle:

I have an ultra high flow shower. I love it. Its so high that if I stand to close to the head, water will spray out of the top of the shower.

:)

I swear it said $155 last night.

@brainwav: You need an aerating low-flow showerhead. We have lower water pressure in our house, and the low-flow aerating showerhead not only cut a HUGE chunk out of our water bills (my husband takes endless showers), but gives a "harder" shower.

For those who either (a) just don't care and would rather get CLEAN in the shower and not spend four times as long rinsing off soap, or (b) have water paid by the landlord, here's how to make your "Low-Flow" showerhead into a POWER head:

You should get a roll of plumbers tape (that white, thin, roll of silicone)

Unscrew the shower head. Clean any plumbers tape from the grooves on the showerhead and from the shower faucet. Now, with pliers, reach in the head, and pull out that black rubber "governor" which restricts the flow of water.

Now, take the roll of plumber's tape and wrap a layer around the thread on the shower faucet. Screw the shower head back on, and tighten.

You now have a fully functional shower.

Cost? Apparently $15 per month. Worth it to feel clean. Even more worth it if the landlord pays it.

Aerating low-flow showerheads, people! It mixes air into the water stream so you can get just as much pressure with FAR less water. It cut a good quarter out of my water bill. Now, my husband takes ridiculously long showers, but we're using SO much less water!

The pressure with our aerating low-flow is HIGHER than the pressure was with our standard-flow, because of the aeration.

We got a basic aerating low-flow model at Lowe's. You can get really fancy aerating ones with filters and all kinds of crap, but this one cost $15 and works wonderfully.

@mike: Low flow? I don't like the sound of that.

@Eyebrows McGee: Add: It also actually feels warmer, since it creates a lot of mist when it aerates. I was worried adding in air would make the shower feel colder, but not at all.

@Michael Belisle: If possible, you should redo your bathroom and put in a side sprayer, an overhead rain shower head, and a hand-held sprayer.

If you can't, the Giessdorf 8 Jet Shower Head seems like the best choice. You apartment would have to have good water pressure to start with though.
[www.neatitems.com]

@MightyJoe36: We had a plumber come out and look at our toilets since you had to hold the handle down forever to get it to flush. He brought some red flappers to replace the flappers in the toilet. He showed me that the low flow toilets install flappers with holes in the side which make it close faster. He replaced them with the red flappers he bought at Lowes and our toilet is super powerful. He did say that it is not low flow any more but I think I am saving in the long run instead of flushing multiple times. Just an idea.

One of the few things I enjoy is a high-flow shower. I'll pay the $15 and get all the shampoo out of my hair.

@MightyJoe36:

I'm with you - I want to power flush my turd through the system, not ease it along like a little puppy.

Question: Would you pay an extra $5 to feel clean and have more satisfying showers?

Answer: Of course you would.

If you want to save money, get rid of the 50 cable channels you never or rarely watch.

This photo? How gay can you get? Not that that's bad!!!!

"with an estimated monthly savings of $15"

But how much will you save if you shower once a week?

I have a newer low flow shower head and toilet, both are great. The shower head is one of those big rainfall style heads and rinses me clean without a problem. The toilet sucks down any thing I throw at it. Makes a bigger "ba-WHOOSH" than ony old high flow toilet ever did. I love them both, especially when the water bill comes.

@backbroken: You can take my shower, but YOU WILL NEVER TAKE MY 50 CABLE CHANNELS I NEVER WATCH! (or my gun)

Hrmm, my water bill is basically fixed at $9 / month (my water authority is weird...) and my gas bill is a minimum $10 / month, and usually ends up at about $15 / month ($5 gas usage). I think I'll stick with my 2.5 GPM shower head.

@Michael Belisle: Yeah, there is the Aqua Kleen 3000. but, i can't sell you that. it's mostly used in the circus industry to wash off elephants.

@Dooley: That stuff is usually teflon tape. Silicone tape is the stuff that will usually self seal only to itself, and can stop leaks. If you put THAT around the threads of your shower head, it will not screw back on. Also, make sure you wrap the PTFE tape in the direction you will be screwing on. If you wrap it backwards, it will not thread properly.

@Adisharr: @Adisharr: Best. Comment.Ever

R. Buckminster Fuller, the man who the Buckminster-fullerine, AKA Bucky-balls is named after designed a whole apartment building that was modular. One of the features was a shower that he deisgned. After observing that while on a Navy ship, a crewman from the engine room covered in soot and grime, had come up to the main deck, and just the mist in the air combined with the speed of the ship caused all the soot and grime to literally melt away. IIRC, the shower used some crazy small amount of water, like a Gallon every 3 minutes.

@mike:

Or... keep your happy-flow showerhead. Install a shut-off valve instead to save water while soaping.

@billbillbillbill: Any American showerhead manufactured after 1994 already runs at 2.5 gal/min. It's illegal for it to dump out any more water, so there's a decent chance most people already have "low flow" showerheads of a sort.

I've heard of people going as low as 1.5 gal/min, but they have mineral clog issues.

@gqcarrick: Yeah. If it takes twice/three times as long for me to get clean because i'm standing under the pressure equivalent of a gentle rain, how the heck is that going to SAVE WATER?

@jbl-az: [doing my best Roseanne Roseannadanna voice] "Well, Jane, it just goes to show you, it's always something."

@Eyebrows McGee: That was my impression of low-flow shower heads as well. Good water pressure is too good to give up, but with the aerated heads I feel that it actually does a better job in that regard than do standard heads.

@humphrmi: The important part is that you use less water overall, not so much the three or four dollars you save. Move to someplace like Georgia or Nevada where they've had to ration it, and you'll realize that even in America, LAND OF PLENTY, clean water isn't some magical infinite resource that we can just flippantly waste wherever we please.

I love the suggestion about 65.00/window for DIY install.

Id love to find a $65.00 window that doesnt leak worse than a single pane window from the 70s.

@alexawesome: Honestly, manufacturers are getting better at making high efficiency products that actually work, as well as save water. Try one that you can return if it sucks.

Swapping out a showerhead is really easy and actually saves water and the energy to heat it.

@Citron: That's fine, if this were an article about saving the planet. But it's an article about saving money.