Installing a Water Efficient Showerhead

Have you ever noticed how the price of water bills tend to always go up, and never really down? Instead of just going along with this, why not look for ways to lower your water bill? One very effective method for doing that would be to install a more water efficient showerhead. Good thing that installing a water efficient showerhead is not only any easy task, but one that even the most inexperienced do it yourself enthusiast can accomplish in a single afternoon. Simply follow these directions to get the job done quickly and efficiently.

Items needed:

• Plastic bucket (1 gallon sized)
• Stopwatch, or wristwatch with second counter
• Water efficient showerhead
• Appropriate sized adjustable wrench (typically 12 inches)
• Teflon, or silicone, thread sealing tape

Procedure:

1. Check your water flow. Before you can install a water efficient showerhead, you should check to see if you actually need one. Turn the water of your shower on, and then place a 1 gallon bucket under the water flow. Allow the timer to run until you have filled up the bucket. Divide the number 60 by the total number of seconds it took to fill up the bucket, and you will have your total water flow, which is measured as gallons per minute (gpm).
2. Get the appropriate shower head. Now that you know what your gpm, output, you can begin thinking about getting the appropriate water efficient showerhead. Typically you will only need to get a water efficient showerhead that filled your bucket in 20 seconds or less. When looking at the packaging of the potential showerheads, you need to first look at the gpm rating. Ideally you want on that is at 2.5 gpm or less. After you have found the appropriate speed ratings, you can begin looking at other features as adjustable showerheads, pulsating, fine spray, wands, and so forth.
3. 3 Remove the old head. When you get home, you can begin removing the old showerhead. All you need to do is grab your adjustable wrench and hold onto the shower pipe (firmly) so that you don't accidentally damage it. Set the adjustable wrench to the appropriate size, and begin loosening the head carefully. You will want to use the flat sides of the shower head to do this, and continue turning until you have completely removed the head.
4. Remove old sealing tape. Once you have the showerhead removed, you will need to remove the old sealing tape from the threads of the shower pipe. If the tape doesn't want to come off easily, you may need to use a scrubbie to help remove it. You will want all the sealant tape removed before you apply the new tape to the threads.
5. Apply new sealing tape. After you have removed all of the old tape you can begin applying the new sealing tape. Start at the open end of the pipe, and work your way backwards to cover all the threads. When doing this, you will want to wrap the tape clockwise, overlapping the tape half the width so that you get a nice tight seal. You should only have to apply the tape once until you have covered all the threads.
6. Thread the new shower head. Remove the new showerhead from the packaging, and begin threading it onto the shower pipe. Turn the showerhead carefully with one hand, while you hold the shower pipe with your other. Continue to turn the showerhead by hand until it won't turn any more, making sure that you are turning it clockwise so you don't accidentally cross thread the showerhead.
7. Check your work. Once you have the showerhead hand tight on the shower water pipe, you will want to check your work and make sure that there are no leaks. This means that you will want to turn the water on. You only need to worry about a leak if you see water dripping from the top of the shower head. If you do see a leak, tighten the showerhead with your adjustable wrench by turning it 1/4 turn, and repeat your test. Continue to tighten and test in this manner until you no longer see any leaks.

Now that you have your new water efficient showerhead installed, you should notice a decrease in your monthly water bill. Keep your old water bill, and compare it to your current one. If there still isn't any change you may want to have a look at the rest of your pipes, or even install other water efficient items throughout your home.