US proposes change to shower rules after Trump's hair-washing moan
Donald Trump’s hair has mesmerized many observers since he began his career in politics, but now the president’s own pride in his locks has prompted the US government to propose an easing of shower pressure standards.
The Trump administration proposed rule changes that would allow shower heads to boost water pressure, after Trump repeatedly complained that bathroom fixtures do not work to his liking.
The Department of Energy plan followed comments from Trump last month at a White House event on rolling back regulations. He said he believed water does not come out fast enough from fixtures.
“So what do you do? You just stand there longer or you take a shower longer? Because my hair – I don’t know about you, but it has to be perfect. Perfect,” he said.
Last December, Trump said environmental regulators were looking at sinks, faucets and toilets to revise rules meant to conserve water and fuel that heats it.
“People are flushing toilets 10 times, 15 times, as opposed to once,” Trump told a meeting of small business leaders at the White House.
Consumer groups decried the plan, saying current rules saved consumers money by conserving water and fuel.
Andrew deLaski, the executive director of the Appliance Standards Awareness Project, an energy conservation organization, said the proposals were “silly” and could result in enough gushing water to flood a bathroom.
“The country faces serious problems,” he told the Associated Press. “We’ve got a pandemic, serious longterm drought throughout much of the west. We’ve got global climate change.
Showerheads aren’t one of our problems.”
David Friedman, the vice-president of advocacy Consumer Reports, and a former acting assistant secretary for the Department of Energy, said the new rule would cause a big increase in wasted water and cause a rise in utility bills.
“There is absolutely no need to change current showerhead standards,” he said.
The proposal would effectively allow shower fixtures to include multiple shower heads that would get around the 2.5 gallon per minute standard Congress set in 1992, when
Trump’s fellow Republican George HW Bush was president.
The energy department also proposed easier standards on washing machines. The Trump administration says its regulatory rollbacks save average American households $3,100 a year. But conservationists say easing bathroom fixture standards could boost energy and water costs.
It was uncertain whether the plan would be finalized. Trump is campaigning for re-election and trails in opinion polls ahead of the vote on 3 November. If he wins and the proposal advances, it could also face court battles.