Kramer: Hey. Super's in my bathroom changing my showerhead. Have they changed your showerhead?

Jerry: No, he's doing mine next. They're low-flow, you know.

Kramer: Low-flow? Well I don't like the sound of that.

That scene between Jerry Seinfeld and his loony neighbor Kramer takes place early in the "The Showerhead" episode of Seinfeld, which first aired on February 15, 1996, as episode 16 of the seventh season of the NBC hit sitcom. Later in the show, Kramer declares, "If I don't have a good shower, I am not myself. I feel weak and ineffectual. I'm not Kramer." Toward the end of the episode, Kramer and postman-neighbor Newman find a black-market dealer in non-low-flow showerheads who sells them the "Commando 450," which, he explains, is used only in the circus . . . for elephants. (The photo, taken from this YouTube clip, shows Kramer and Newman buying the unit.)

Last night I caught a rerun of "The Showerhead" on the Fox affiliate here in the New York City area. While the show today feels dated, one notion holds: Consumers often find that some water-saving bathroom fixtures like showerheads and toilets (latest report and ratings available to subscribers) don't perform as well as their thirsty predecessors. So it stands to reason that Jerry, Kramer, and Newman might have been dissatisfied with the low-flow fixtures installed in their apartment building.

But many new showerheads we tested for an August 2009 report meet the federal maximum flow rate of 2.5 gallons per minute (gpm) and provide a satisfying shower experience.

That August report also covered shower towers, multishowerhead units that promise a spalike experience at home. These models can legally use more than 2.5 gallons per minute, though each individual showerhead must meet the federal government's flow-rate levels.

One of the five showerheads on a $500 shower tower we tested exceeded the maximum federal flow rate. So earlier this month we informed the EPA of our findings, asking the agency to take compliance and enforcement action.

Look for our story on this shower tower in the October 2009 issue of Consumer Reports (online and on newsstands next week). And if you're in the market for a new showerhead, read our latest report, which covers single- and multisetting units.—Steven H. Saltzman | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook