Low Flow? Life's Too Short For One Reader
Speaking of going green…there are plenty of different opinions that get expressed in the Brownstoner Forum, some more eloquently than others. One particularly aphoristic statement recently struck us as an interesting jumping off point for discussion. In a post on water billing, one anonymous reader opined that, “Life is way too short to live with…
Speaking of going green…there are plenty of different opinions that get expressed in the Brownstoner Forum, some more eloquently than others. One particularly aphoristic statement recently struck us as an interesting jumping off point for discussion. In a post on water billing, one anonymous reader opined that, “Life is way too short to live with a low-flow showerhead.” The next response in the thread countered, “And life on earth will be a lot shorter for all of us if we have that attitude about resource use.” One website we looked at said that hot water usage can account for 25% of a household’s enery costs and argues that a low flow shower head can reduce hot water consumption by half without reducing the pleasure factor. So what do you think? Where do showerheads fit in the spectrum of environmental no-no’s? Those of you that don’t have low flow, is it out of laziness or an unwillingness to compromise on shower quality.
Water Billing Frequency [Forum]
Low Flow Shower Heads [BC Hydro]
I don’t know, David. But you can get a cheap non-low-flow shower head for around $10 at your local hardware store and switch it out for your current one, and see if that fixes the problem.
NOT TO BE LOST AMONGST greenhomenyc’s REDUNDANCY (hey, I rilly want a real shower again):
HOW CAN I TELL if I have a low-flow shower head, or just low-pressure water?
I really can’t stand taking a (wasteful) shower that takes so long, and requires the kind of “single body part” focus mentioned above.
Bravo Clean Henry. I have two. They are worth every nickel. The standard one’s can be had at HD or Lowe’s for about $8. You get the low-flow energy savings coupled to the hight-output cleaning experience. And they come with simple on/off valves which keep the faucet open but the shower-head closed – you know, for soaping up! For those of you who have soured to the idea of low flow based upon Kramer and Jerry’s post low-flow hairdo’s, join the team and come on in for the big win!
greenhomenyc – I wasn’t posting anonymously at 2:36, but no biggie… I think my tone overpowered my idea, in my previous post. I was trying to push the “start conserving now” idea, but I think that got overshadowed by the “you’re going to have to anyhow, cause our resources are dwindling fast and we’re doooooomed” idea.
Basically, we all need to conserve more. But the reason for that is not that it’s just a nice idea, or that it’s the morally upstanding thing to do, or that it’ll save us money in the long run. We need to conserve now because if we don’t, and we barrel right past the point where a soft landing is even possible, it’s going to be catastrophic for all of us.
About the graywater home systems: I remember seeing a really simple solution in my friend’s apartment in Park Slope a few years ago: their bathroom sink was mounted on top of the toilet tank, so that it drained into the tank. Makes perfect sense. Brush your teeth, or wash your hands, then flush the toilet with the water from that… I guess you’d need some kind of mechanism to keep it from overfilling or not filling enough: maybe store the used water in a separate holding tank, and only have it drain into the main toilet tank after the next flush? Anyways. I thought it was pretty neat.
This is an interesting discussion with a lot of different takes on the issue and I’m coming into it late.
The Waterpick massage showerheads are low-flow and have settings that give you pretty good pressure.
There are blackwater and grey water systems on the market to recycle water from some parts of the house for use elsewhere. There are sanitary issues but with a minimum of treatment/filtering, and if you downcycle the water (drinking and sink water to the toilet, and toilet water to irrigation outside) you can avoid them.
It’s definately not useful to the city to “dilute” your wastewater for the wastewater treatment plant. The wastewater goes through the same processes regardless and the more water we use, the more capacity they have to have. Increased sanitary sewage will lead to increased overflow of the system into nearby waterbodies during rain events. It’s also not a good idea to wait until the reservoirs are empty to begin conservation measures. Much of water use is habit, and if we get in the habit now, we can avoid droughts rather than living through them.
Finally, I totally agree with Anon 2:36 but not with their tone. We do have to start now, but it’s not so hopeless as all that. There will be a radical change (crash?), but the more concious consumers are, and the more technologies that are developed now, the softer that crash will be.
How can I tell if I have a low-flow shower head, or just low-pressure water?
I really cann’t stand taking a (wasteful) shower that takes so long, and requires the kind of “single body part” focus mentioned above.
you said poop.
I moved out of my last apartment because the lack of water pressure made it impossible to properly bathe. the idea of a shower is that most of your body is “showered” with water — I’d been forced to focus on individual body parts and clean myself in a plodding, deliberate manner. my new apartment has normal, pre-low-flow regulations water pressure. showers are now pleasurable and quick. I’m certain I consume less water now. However, thje toilet is low flow and besides it’s constant clogging, I find myself very often having to flush twice before all the um, poop, is gone (although sometimes I forget).
forget lo-flo! Like the seinfeld episode, I have the illegal hi-flo. You buy a regular one – of the right kind – and open it up to remove the little plastic device that keeps the max flo below the legal limit. Nothing like a proper shower.
If you notice those plush hotels seem to install massively huge flowing showers sometimes from several nozzles so I’m not going to let this just be a pleasure for the rich. If there is a water problem in new york, then meter and charge it.