Tips for Conserving Water in Your Home
According to a recent study, the average person uses 80 to 100 gallons of water per day. Approximately 70% of the water is used indoors (not watering gardens, lawns, or washing cars). Below are some helpful tips for conserving water in your home. These tips will also help you save money as well.
1. Toilets
- Older toilets use 3 to 4 gallons per flush, while the newer models use less than 1.5 gallons per flush.
- A leaking toilet is literally wasted water and money down your drain. A great way to tell if your toilet is leaking is to flush it, then let the tank fill back up with water, then add some food coloring to the tank. Check the bowl periodically to see if the colored water leaked into the bowl. If your toilet has a major leak you will hear the water filling the toilets tank consistently.
- Upgrading your toilets, or repairing your existing ones, can have a large impact on your water usage.
2. Showers & Baths
- In recent years more Americans are taking showers than baths. A regular non-restricted flow shower head uses around 5 gallons of water per minute, compared to a newer water saving shower head which will use about 2 gallons per minute. The difference is HUGE. Updating to a water saving shower head can drastically reduce the amount of water used in your home every day.
- The average regular size bath tub holds about 35 to 40 gallons of water, and larger jetted tubs holding 70 to over 100 gallons. Since a bath tub can only hold a certain amount of water, the only way to save is by reducing the amount of water in the tub.
3. Faucets
- Older faucets use about 2 gallons per minute. Newer ones use about 1 gallon per minute. By adding a restricted flow aerator to older faucets, you can lower water usage by 50%.
- Turning the water off while you brush your teeth or when you shave.
- Did you know waiting for the water to warm up before you take a shower, wash your hands, or do the dishes can waste approximately 20 to 30 gallons per day.
4. Washing Dishes
- Using an automatic dishwasher uses less water than washing them by hand.
- When washing dishes by hand, don’t let the water run, turn it off until you’re ready to rinse.
As you can see there are many different ways you can reduce the amount of water you use every day. Using less water not only can save you money and depending upon your association helps keep your monthly assessments DOWN, it’s also good for our environment and the future of our planet.