Dropped $40 on a shower head that supposedly saves water, jury's still out

My last shower head started dripping so bad it was waking me up at night. I figured I'd try one of those fancy low-flow ones from the hardware store. It was about 40 bucks and said it would cut water use by 30 percent. Honestly the water pressure feels way weaker now and I'm not even sure it's saving anything because I take longer showers trying to rinse off. I've had it for two weeks. My water bill next month will tell the real story. Has anyone else tried these things and actually seen a difference on their bill?

2 comments

2 Comments

fiona5021h agoMost Upvoted

My neighbor switched to a low-flow shower head last year and his bill actually went up a few bucks. He said the water company explained it like this: when the pressure drops, people run the water longer to feel clean, plus they crank the hot water up which hits the water heater harder. His showers went from 8 minutes to almost 15. I also read that some of these "30% savings" claims are based on perfect lab tests, not real homes with old pipes and hard water buildup. Plus if your house has galvanized steel pipes like mine does, the low flow can actually make sediment settle and clog things faster. The math just doesn't add up for everyone.

spencer_johnson2212h ago

My buddy installed one six months ago and his bill dropped by 12 bucks a month according to him. He said the key was getting one with an internal pressure compensator that actually keeps the flow steady even when it's low flow. The cheap 40 dollar ones don't have that feature from what I read. He spent 80 on a Delta model and swears by it.