The $12 shower head that cut my water bill by 30 percent

I got tired of my old shower head leaking and wasting water, so I grabbed a high-efficiency one from Ace Hardware for 12 bucks. It has a little flow restrictor inside that I almost took out, but leaving it in actually dropped my water usage way down after 2 months. We live in Phoenix where water is pricey, so seeing that bill drop was a nice surprise. Anyone else try swapping out a cheap fixture and get way more savings than you expected?

3 comments

3 Comments

emmam891mo ago

Oh wow, that is a seriously good deal for 12 bucks. I live in an area where the water rates have been climbing too, so I feel your pain on that bill shock. I switched out an old kitchen faucet aerator a while back for a similar low-flow one, and it's wild how fast those little changes add up on the monthly total. Must feel great seeing that 30 percent drop after just two months, huh?

robert6591mo ago

Honestly @emmam89 the real savings come from leaving that restrictor in, not taking it out.

charles6401mo agoMost Upvoted

I actually read a report from some water utility association last month that said swapping out a single old faucet aerator can save like 8-10 gallons a day easy, depending on your household. That's nearly 300 gallons a month just from that one change. So yeah, the 30% drop after two months makes total sense when you think about how much water goes through the kitchen alone. I tried that same low-flow aerator on my bathroom sink too, and my hot water heater actually runs less now because less water is going through. It's one of those fixes where you barely notice the difference but your wallet does.