Here’s a quick fix for conserving water and power in your home: switch to a low-flow shower head. If you’re one who relishes a long, high-pressure shower, the thought of a reduced flow shower head may you a little nervous. Don’t worry! Shower heads, like almost everything else, have come a long way in the last decade. Fans of reduced flow shower heads claim that technology now allows for better showers using less water.

If your bathroom fixtures were installed prior to 1992, you could be sabotaging your green living efforts with very wasteful showers! Before 1992, some shower heads flowed at a whopping rate of 5.5 GPM (gallons per minute). These days, that number is federally regulated to no more than 2.5 GPM with 80 PSI water pressure or 2.2 GPM at 60 PSI (pounds per square Inch). If you have an old shower head, you could save more than HALF your usual shower water consumption just by switching to a newer green shower head. And, you’ll reduce energy use by easing the load on your water heater.

Want to go even greener? If you want to go lower than a 2.2 GPM shower head, try a reduced flow 1.5 GPM shower head or one that uses even less water! I found a 1.0 GPM shower head at The Natural Abode.