If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that I like to advocate changing out your standard shower head for a low flow version. The problem is, that it isn’t always easy finding a model that works well and is attractive. The “works well” issue is especially important for me. We live in an older home where the water pressure can sometimes be iffy and maintaining a consistent hot water temperature at the furnace level is sometimes difficult. Still, shortly after we moved in, we installed a low flow shower head right away and lived with it for more than two years.
A little over a week ago, we got the opportunity to try out a much more advanced eco-friendly shower head, the Waterpik Ecoflow. There is a lot of technology in this baby, but the first thing I noticed was how attractive it was. The sleek chrome finish and design gives the shower head a spa feel. I almost felt like apologizing to the shower head for the way the rest of the bathroom looked. On the negative side, it is a little large for our small master bath shower, so it does dominate the space.
My husband focused on how he was going to install it. Waterpick recommends installation without Teflon tape, and this made him a bit skeptical. He also pointed out that since installation requires a specialized wrench that comes with the shower head, we would be out of luck if that wrench was misplaced.
Installation was easy and took only a few minutes. The only problem is that the shower head needed to be retightened. In the past week and a half, we have had to tighten it once after installation. Going forward, I’ll have to see if this will be an ongoing problem or just a one-time issue.
Waterpik claims that our particular model can save 1.5 gallons per minute. And if you like to take long showers, this is important. I used the bucket test to see how long it would take to fill up a five gallon bucket half way (2.5 gallons). The normal setting did slightly better than my old low flow shower head, but where I really saw the difference was when I turned on the pause feature.
Water pause allows you to greatly reduce the water consumption, while you are not actively using the water to rinse. It is important to note that the feature does not cut off the water completely, just reduces it. With the water pause feature, it was taking so long to fill the bucket this way, that I actually had to stop the test. I wish everyone could have this feature on their own shower heads. It would make a real difference. We have already changed our habits by using water pause.
Thanks to the fact that our model comes with an attacked hose, I am able to use the pause feature in an unconventional way, to lightly rinse off the shower door and walls (the hose is also wonderful for rinsing kids). This has really cut down on the time and chemicals needed to clean the shower, so I am including it as an added benefit. The pause feature also give me adequate water to rinse my face.
Water savings aside, I was impressed with how the shower experience was. I hadn’t equated luxury and low flow together. First of all, it was so quiet. We noticed this immediately. It made for a more relaxing time, although now I actually have to travel all the way up the stairs and into our master bedroom to find out if my husband is in the shower or risk turning on the washing machine. The shower head seemed to actually increase the water pressure in the shower, not lessen it. But armed with the results of my bucket test, I could shower without guilt.
Waterpik Ecoflow has five different settings: a full body spray (the normal shower), a circular massage, a mist, a concentrated fan spray and a combination of circular massage and mist. I like the massage and fan spray settings. My husband was especially impressed with the mist, since he hadn’t seen that setting before in any shower head we would normally have in our price range.
It was my turn to be skeptical about the importance of mist, until today, when my youngest came down with croup. The mist setting quickly filled the bathroom with steam and eased his cough.
The bottom line on the Waterpik Ecoflow: Installation was very easy, but it may be too large for smaller showers. Water consumption is reduced when using it, especially on the pause setting. The design and five different settings give it a real spa feel, and it performs very well.
You can learn more about the Waterpik Ecoflow at http://www.waterpikecoflow.com/
Material Connection Disclosure: I received this product free from the manufacturer, for consideration in preparation to write this post.