Two rules easing energy standards on consumer fixtures and appliances were finalised on Tuesday after Donald Trump’s gripes about shower heads that don’t adequately rinse his hair.
The news from the US Department of Energy also included exemptions for some washing machines and dryers to allow them to use more energy and water.
The president is known to take great pride in his hair and spent tens of thousands on styling when he starred on The Apprentice, according to an investigation of his taxes earlier this year by The New York Times.
He has repeatedly complained about weak water flow and rinsing capabilities from shower heads.
“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,” he said at a White House event in July.
Last year, Trump said environmental regulators were looking at sinks, faucets and toilets to revise conservation rules.
“People are flushing toilets 10 times, 15 times, as opposed to once,” Trump said during a White House meeting with business owners about overregulation.
The Trump administration appears to be in a dash to the finish line to complete dozens of outstanding environmental rollbacks, along with expanding access for the fossil fuel industry before he leaves office in January.
The rule change effectively allows showers to include multiple heads that flow at the 2.5 gallon (9.4 liter) per minute standard Congress set in 1992, when George H.W. Bush was president.
The Trump administration positioned the change as one of personal choice.
“Americans can choose products that are best suited to meet their individual needs and the needs of their families,” Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said.
But environmentalists said easing standards will boost utility bills and waste.
The rules “allow for products that needlessly waste energy and water are ridiculous and out of step with the climate crisis”, Andrew deLaski, head of nonprofit, Appliance Standards Awareness Project, told Reuters.
In his climate plan, President-elect Joe Biden said he would direct the energy department to issue new efficiency standards.
An analysis of the president-elect’s plan by energy efficiency advocates, Carbonswitch.co, notes that by updating appliance efficiency standards the Biden administration would cut emissions by 5.2 billion metric tons.
Reuters contributed to this report
