Video Story
Watch VideoSave on your water bill with some showerheads
Story By: Kristin Hawley
Source: AP
A low-flow showerhead can save a family of four up to $45 a month in water and heating costs. But does low-flow mean low enjoyment? The Good Housekeeping Institute puts some to the test.
Engineer Todd Kent says, "everybody loves a good shower, but an old shower head that uses five gallons per minute or more can use up to fifty gallons for one shower. A home owner should really switch that out with a low flow shower that uses half of that. We tested 19 shower heads that use less than two and half gallons per minute."
Some consumers thought the alson fluidics showerhead spray was too hard. One tester says, "it felt like needles on my skin. It was too hard. It was a showerhead I couldn't use every day."
The Waterpik Ecoflow was the customers' favorite. It costs $25. "Consumers liked that this showerhead had three main settings. One that was more of a massage, an everyday use setting and one that was more of a direct stream." Another tester says, "the streams seemed to be concentrated, which was more comfortable and was sort of a more direct flow."
Kohler Mastershower Ecofficient tied for 2nd place. It costs $75. "The Kohler showerhead was a little more expensive, but it did have the fastest rinse time in our shampoo test."
Among its tests, the institute timed how long it would take to rinse shampoo from a mannequin's hair.
"The Bricor's showerhead scored well for quality of stream at a much lower gallon per minute- one point five."
