Rain showerheads use the same amount of water as standard showerheads. A rainfall shower spends between 1.8 to 2.5 gallons of water per minute; then, an 8-minutes shower will waste over 16 gallons of water.
How Much Water Does a Rainfall Shower Use Per Minute?
The rainfall experience is something that most people don’t want to miss when showering; as a result, people tend to prefer rain showerheads over standard showerheads. Therefore, a rain shower has therapeutic purposes, relaxes the muscles, and helps to relieve stress.
Moreover, people can play with water temperature to achieve specific benefits. A hot rainfall shower increases circulation, helps with respiratory illness, facilitates skin detoxing, and relaxes the body muscles to relieve stress. Then, a cold rain shower activates the body and helps to calm irritated skin.
However, rain showerheads don’t spend more water than regular ones. If someone wants to enjoy all those therapeutic benefits should be aware that a rainfall shower uses more than 2.1 gallons per minute.
So, taking a quick 5-minutes rainfall shower will spend over 12 gallons of water!
Some high-pressure rainfall showerheads can spend over 2.5 to even almost 3 gallons of water per minute; this is around 15 gallons for a fast 5-minutes shower. Thus, the average water consumption is over 17.2 gallons for an 8-minutes shower.
The issue around rainfall shower and water consumption are not how much water the rain showerhead can spend per minute because a rainfall shower uses the same amount of water as a regular showerhead.
The discussion should be about how to save water when showering, and make people aware of the damage that long showers do to the world.
Does a Rain Shower Head Use Much Water?
A rain showerhead uses the same amount of water as regular showerheads, so, in general terms, rain showerheads don’t use more water than standard ones.
Moreover, the showers are one of the house items that spend more water, so any showerhead wastes a considerable amount of water.
Any high-pressure showerheads use more water per minute than other showerheads, and some intelligent rain showerheads can regulate the water pressure.
Whether it is regular or high water-pressure, people tend to spend more time on the shower when this accomplish all their expectation. It is a fact that people love relaxing shower after a long day.
The waste of water when someone is taking a shower is a serious matter to worry about. We already know that a rainfall shower uses the same amount of water as regular showers, so the concern here is about making people aware of the unnecessary waste of water when they are taking a long shower.
How to Save Water in the Shower?
Taking a shower is one of the most relaxing things in the world. After a long day, there is nothing better than taking a relaxing shower that helps relieve stress, but taking long showers or use high-pressure showerheads can cause huge damage to the environment.
People can still enjoy a relaxing therapeutic shower, but following the next tips, we can still have a stress-relief shower and save some water in the process.
Reduce the time in the shower
The primary problem is how much time people spend taking a shower and not how much water use a showerhead. Yes, some showerhead uses more water than other, but people generally love the rainfall experience when it is taking a shower, so they tend to spend more time in the shower when this has a rain showerhead.
Reduce the time in the shower to a 5-8 minutes shower, and use the water efficiently.
Optimize the waste of water in the shower
Some people let the water run, even when they are not using it. When we are soaping ourselves, rinsing one’s hair, or doing something else in the shower; we should stop the water flow!
Showerheads spend around 2 to 2.5 gallons of water per minute and every liter matter. You don’t need to have a rush but use the water wisely.
Use a more efficient showerhead
Some showerheads use more water than others, and some modern rain showerheads that have integrated therapeutic modes use high-pressure water flow; these showerheads can spend 3 gallons per minute, or even more!
Use an eco-friendly showerhead, or if you don’t want to leave behind the rainfall experience, reduce the water flow and stop it completely when is necessary.
Which Shower Head Uses Less Water?
There are several showerhead models and designs, but only low-flow showerheads use less water than other ones. Also, on the market are some showerheads with a high-pressure or high-flow mode that increases the water flow, so the water consumption is more than even regular showerheads.
On average, a standard shower uses around 2 GPM (Gallons Per Minute), while low-flow showerheads spend just 1.8 GPM or even less.
The shower is one of the house items that waste more water, and since people stay more than they should in the shower, the unnecessary waste of water is bigger.
However, it is a fact that takes a shower wastes less water than take a bath. A standard bath uses over 40 gallons of water; that is, a 20-minutes shower with a normal water flow.
Nonetheless, some types of showerheads can vary in water consumption, and every liter saved matters.
Nowadays, people must consider water consumption as one of the factors to buy a showerhead. A showerhead should not only match the bathroom aesthetic but also be eco-friendly. Thus, people should be able to take a relaxing shower.
Single Spray Showerheads
These are the standard showerheads that everyone can find in the market. Single Spray Showerhead has a basic design, and the water spray has a single pattern flowing in constant water pressure.
These showerheads spend the average amount of water per minute; thus, they are the cheaper models on the market.
Rainfall Shower or Rain Showerheads
The therapeutic rain shower heads are the most controversial when people talk about water wasting.
There is a myth behind these showerheads; people generally think they spend more water than other showerheads, but rainfall showers spend the same water amount as standard showerheads, indeed.
However, these are more expensive, and some models have different modes, including a high-pressure option, which does waste more water.
Low-Pressure Showerheads
Low-Pressure showerheads commonly have generic designs, but these are some of the eco-friendliest on this list.
These showerheads are made to optimize the water pressure without spending extra water.
Though low-pressure showerheads are expensive and hard to install, people will never feel any lack of water when is taking a shower; they will never feel the difference between a regular water flow and their low-pressure showerhead.
High-Pressure Showerheads
Conversely to a low-pressure showerhead that optimizes the low water flow, the high-pressure showerheads use more water than standard showerheads.
The water will flow with extra pressure giving a massage sensation wherever the water jets touch the body; though, they use over 3 GPM while other showerheads use just 1.8 – 2.3 GPM.
Eco-Performance / Water-saving Showerheads
These showerheads use over 1.5 gallons of water per minute; that is around 20% less than standard showerheads.
They use a low flow to decrease the water wasting; however, the pressure would never feel like a regular showerhead, and those who are not used to water-saving showerheads will feel the lack of water in the shower.
Other Types
Showerheads have other variations, such as adjustable showerheads, shower panels, handheld showerheads, filtered showerheads, and dual showerheads; however, all these use the same amount of water as the regular showerhead.
The variation of these showerheads is the installation process and the design of each of them.
Conclusion
Rather than wonder how much water wastes each showerhead, people must wonder if a 20-minutes shower is necessary.
After reading this article, people know they can still enjoy a rainfall shower without spending more water than in a regular shower.
However, if people can save some water, we should optimize the water use when taking a shower.
References:
https://sustainability.ncsu.edu/blog/changeyourstate/ways-save-water-in-the-shower/
