{"id":1311,"date":"2026-06-03T06:29:43","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T11:29:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/plumbing101.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=1311"},"modified":"2026-05-30T04:43:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T09:43:20","slug":"will-a-low-flow-shower-head-save-hot-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/plumbing101.i234.me\/wordpress\/will-a-low-flow-shower-head-save-hot-water\/","title":{"rendered":"Will A Low-Flow Shower Head Save Hot Water?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Will A Low-Flow Shower Head Save Hot Water?<\/h2>\n

Long showers can drain a water heater fast.<\/p>\n

This is very common in homes with teenagers.<\/p>\n

A 40-gallon tank may sound large.<\/p>\n

Yet it can run out during one long shower.<\/p>\n

This is even more true with an older shower.<\/p>\n

Many older showers have two handles.<\/p>\n

One handle controls hot water.<\/p>\n

The other handle controls cold water.<\/p>\n

Some homes are adjusted in a risky way.<\/p>\n

The hot side may be used almost alone.<\/p>\n

That can empty the tank much faster.<\/p>\n

A low-flow shower head can help.<\/p>\n

It limits how much water leaves the shower each minute.<\/p>\n

Less water used means less hot water used.<\/p>\n

The EPA WaterSense program<\/a> says efficient showerheads use no more than 2.0 GPM.<\/p>\n

GPM means gallons per minute.<\/p>\n

A 1.5 GPM head uses 1.5 gallons per minute.<\/p>\n

A 1.25 GPM head uses even less water.<\/p>\n

For this home, 1.25 GPM may be the better first choice.<\/p>\n

It gives the water heater a better chance.<\/p>\n

It may also make long showers less wasteful.<\/p>\n

But it may not fully stop the problem.<\/p>\n

A teenager can still shower for a long time.<\/p>\n

Even low-flow heads use water every minute.<\/p>\n

A shower timer may also help.<\/p>\n

A shutoff button can help too.<\/p>\n

Some handheld shower heads include pause buttons.<\/p>\n

These can reduce waste during shaving or soaping.<\/p>\n

Be careful with very low flow heads.<\/p>\n

Some heads below 1.25 GPM may feel weak.<\/p>\n

They may also rinse poorly.<\/p>\n

That can make showers longer.<\/p>\n

So the savings may be smaller.<\/p>\n

Question<\/h2>\n

Should I buy a 1.25 or 1.5 GPM shower head?<\/p>\n

Answer<\/h2>\n

Start with a 1.25 GPM shower head if saving hot water is the main goal.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Choose 1.5 GPM if comfort matters more than maximum savings.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A 1.25 GPM head is often a good balance.<\/p>\n

It saves more water than 1.5 GPM.<\/p>\n

It should still work better than ultra-low heads.<\/p>\n

Also, check the shower valve setup.<\/p>\n

An old two-handle shower may lack scald protection.<\/p>\n

A modern pressure-balanced valve is safer.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Department of Energy<\/a> has helpful water heating tips.<\/p>\n

For safety, ask a plumber about valve upgrades.<\/p>\n

This is important in homes with children.<\/p>\n

A low-flow head is a simple first step.<\/p>\n

It is cheap and easy to test.<\/p>\n

But the best fix may include habits, too.<\/p>\n

Set a shower time limit.<\/p>\n

Use a timer outside the bathroom.<\/p>\n

Then install the low-flow head.<\/p>\n

You should see a longer hot water life.<\/p>\n

You may also lower water and energy use.<\/p>\n

I’m Chris Mayer, writing for Plumbing 101<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Will
Will A Low-Flow Shower Head Save Hot Water?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Will A Low-Flow Shower Head Save Hot Water? Long showers can drain a water heater fast. This is very common in homes with teenagers. A 40-gallon tank may sound large. Yet it can run out during one long shower. This is even more true with an older shower. Many older showers have two handles. One… Continue reading Will A Low-Flow Shower Head Save Hot Water?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1831,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[85],"tags":[1648,1649,1651,1294,1781,243,242,1647,1782,1653,303,1780,1650,98,247,1652,233,37],"class_list":["post-1311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-water-heaters-softeners","tag-1-25-gpm-shower-head","tag-1-5-gpm-shower-head","tag-40-gallon-water-heater","tag-amp","tag-head","tag-heaters","tag-hot","tag-low-flow-shower-head","tag-lowflow","tag-old-shower-valve","tag-plumbing-tips","tag-save","tag-save-hot-water","tag-shower","tag-softeners","tag-teenage-long-showers","tag-water","tag-will","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/plumbing101.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/plumbing101.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/plumbing101.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plumbing101.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plumbing101.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1311"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/plumbing101.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1311\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1832,"href":"https:\/\/plumbing101.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1311\/revisions\/1832"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plumbing101.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/plumbing101.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plumbing101.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plumbing101.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}