Published 12:06 IST, December 17th 2020

How Trump's rant about hair rinsing made way for new shower head rule in US

The Trump Administration, in one of its closing acts, finalised two new rules easing energy standards on consumers fixtures and appliances.

World News
3 min read

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The Trump Administration, in one of its closing acts, finalised two new rules easing energy standards on consumers fixtures and appliances. According to NBC News, the US Energy Department on December 15 announced the new shower rules, including one on showerheads after President Donald Trump complained some showers don’t adequately rinse his hair. The new rule will now allow for each shower head in a fixture to reach the two-and-a-half gallon-per-minute maximum water flow rate mandated by Congress.

The new rules are the latest move in line with Trump’s yearlong crusade against what he calls as insufficient water pressure in household appliances and bathroom fixtures. They are also his last-minute efforts to roll back rules that limit production of consumption of oil, gas and coal as part of his “energy dominance” policy. Along with the shower head rule, the Energy Department also announced a rule to exempt some clothes washers and dryers from standards allowing them to use more energy and water.

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In the second rule, the department created a new product class for washers and dryers with shorter cycle times. In a statement, Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said that the Trump administration affirmed its commitment to reducing regulatory burdens and safeguarding consumer choice. Brouillette added that with the rule changes, Americans can choose products that are best suited to meet their individual needs and the needs of their families.

Deputy Secretary of Energy Mark W. Menezes also said, “Today’s final rulemakings allow consumers to choose products that can make their lives easier, more comfortable, and save them time. That time and effort saved can be better spent on the more important things in life”.

The new rules come after Trump had said that the environmental regulators were looking at sinks, faucets and toilets to revise conservation rules. Last year, he had said that people are flashing toilets 10 times, 15 times, as opposed to once. Now, the new rules will allow the shower to include multiple heads that flow at the 9.4 later per minute standard.

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Environmentalists call new rules ‘silly’

Meanwhile, some environmental advocates, consumer groups and manufacturers criticised the rule change. They believe that the new rules are unnecessary and potentially harmful to the environment. Andrew deLaski, executive director of the Appliance Standards Awareness Project, in a statement published on the website, said that the new rules are “simply silly”.

Andrew said, “Changing the rules to address one of President Trump’s pet peeves is simply silly. Thousands of showerhead models on the market today meet the standards that Congress set way back in 1992 and provide a great shower”.

Joanna Mauer, a senior research manager at the Appliance Standards Awareness Project, also added, “The new laundry rule will allow certain clothes washers and dryers to use unlimited amounts of energy and water and will open the door to very wasteful products”.