WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has long complained about modern rules that restrict the flow of water in shower heads.
In his first term, Trump directed that shower head restrictions would be eased. This is what former President Joe Biden reversed.
Now Trump is about to let the water flow – again.
An executive order he signed on Wednesday calls for immediate end to water conservation standards that limit the number of gallons per minute that flows through other appliances such as dishwashers, washing machines and toilets.
“I like to take a nice shower and take care of my beautiful hair,” Trump said Wednesday when he signed an executive order at the White House. “I have to stand in the shower for 15 minutes until I get wet. There’s drip, drip, drip. That’s ridiculous.”
“All you do is that you’re supposed to wash your hands five times longer, so it’s the same water,” he added. “And we’re going to open it up so that people can live.”
The order directs energy secretary Chris Wright to immediately retract what Trump called an “overly complicated federal rule” that redefines the term showerhead under the last two Democratic presidents.
Biden and former President Barack Obama have imposed restrictions on the flow of water from showerheads and other appliances. The standard was intended to make a dishwasher, shower head, refrigerator, laundry machine and toilet.
But the regulations “turned basic household items into bureaucratic nightmares,” the White House said in a fact sheet. “There’s no longer any weak shower heads and worthless.”
The Appliance Standards Awareness project, advocating for energy efficiency, said that the standards in the Biden era will reduce utility bills and protect the environment.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, showers make up about 20% of the daily indoor water use of the average American family. Water-saving shower heads also save energy, as heated water accounts for about a fifth of the energy use of an average home.
Andrew Delaski, executive director of ASAP, said consumer reviews consistently show that most of the shower heads on sale now “providing great soaking.”
He called Trump’s order a gimmick designed to circumvent the 1992 Energy Efficiency Act, predicting similar outcomes to Trump’s actions during his first term when major showerhead manufacturers made no major changes to their products.
