Isn’t that cool? If you swap out your showerhead, you can take the same eight-minute shower, but get eco bragging rights for taking one that’s just three minutes long. Here’s how the math works: Conventional wasteful showerheads put out about four gallons per minute or more, while many low-flow showerheads use 1.5 gallons per minute or even less.

So someone who takes an eight-minute shower with a standard showerhead uses about 32 gallons of water per shower. The same shower with the low-flow showerhead uses only 12 gallons. The savings of 20 gallons per shower adds up to more than 7,000 gallons of water per year. Multiply that by a family of three and you’ve saved enough water to fill an 16-by-32-foot swimming pool with a deep end.

Given these figures, if you don’t swap out your showerhead, you’d have to become a speedy scrubber, soaping all the necessary parts in less than three minutes. We’re sure it’s possible. We’re just not sure we want to sit next to you on a bus if that’s the case.

Concerned about your water pressure? No need. Most low-flow showerheads work by adding air to the water, a process that maintains steady pressure to create a high-velocity spray. That’s what makes the volume of water seem greater than it actually is.

And, unless you usually shower in ice-cold water, low-flow showerheads also help you conserve energy. On average, your water heater warms 73 percent of the water you use for a shower. (The remaining 27 percent is the cold water you add at the tap to prevent scalding and get that just-right temperature.) Using less water means consuming less energy to heat water that you’re not using. So you get extra time without really saving it and more money to spend on something else besides your utility bill—like maybe the designer duds you’ll put on after you’re done with your leisurely shower.

When you shop for a new showerhead, you’ll find that most models available today are low-flow. That’s because the Federal Energy Policy Act of 1992 mandated that all showerheads manufactured in the U.S. after 1994 restrict maximum water flow to 2.5 gallons per minute. Some ultra-low-flow heads use as little as 0.8 gallons per minute. That might even give you time to warble through several of your favorite '80s tunes during your morning scrub and still be conserving water.