Donald Trump calls for more powerful shower heads to help him maintain his 'perfect' hair
Repeated complaints from President Trump about his hair-care routine at the White House have prompted the US Department of Energy to propose rule changes that would allow increased water pressure from shower heads.
Under a 1992 law enacted by George H W Bush, shower heads in America are limited to allow 2.5 gallons of water through every minute.
However, following multiple moans from the commander-in-chief, the government has proposed a change that would see this limit applied to each nozzle, rather than the shower head as a whole.
Speaking at a White House event on rolling back regulations last month, Mr Trump said: “So shower heads - you take a shower, the water doesn't come out.
“You want to wash your hands, the water doesn't come out. 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.”
In December he also told reporters the Environmental Protection Agency would be "looking very strongly at sinks and showers and other elements of bathrooms."
"They take a shower, the water comes dripping out, it's dripping out very quietly, people are flushing toilets 10 times, 15 times as opposed to once, they end up using more water," Mr Trump said.
Conservation groups argue that the change would create unnecessary waste of both water and energy, meaning it would cost consumers more in the long run.
Andrew deLaski, executive director of the energy conservation group Appliance Standards Awareness Project, told the Associated Press “Frankly it’s silly. The country faces serious problems. We’ve got a pandemic, serious long-term drought throughout much of the West. We’ve got global climate change. Shower heads aren’t one of our problems.”
Shaylyn Hynes, a spokeswoman for the Department of Energy, responded that the rule change was as much about personal freedom as anything. She said if the rule was adopted, it would “allow Americans — not Washington bureaucrats — to choose what kind of shower heads they have in their homes.”
The Department of Energy also proposed rule changes to reduce regulations on washing machines. The administration claims its campaign of deregulation will save the average American household $3,100 per year. Critics argue increased water and energy usage would cancel these savings out.
If the proposal advances, it will likely face a court battle, Reuters report.
