Having a supply of clean water is something we often take for granted. It is reported that a family of four uses 400 gallons of water a day. Here a few tips to help reduce water consumption.
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Start saving by breaking a bad habit: Turn off faucets. Bathroom faucets run at about 2 gallons of water a minute. Turn off the tap while you brush your teeth and shave, and you can save hundreds of gallons a month.
Tip: Be sure to fix leaks. A slow drip from a leaking faucet can waste as much as 20 gallons of water a day. A leaky toilet can waste 200 gallons a day.
- Use repurposed water. Capture potable water you use to rinse fruits and veggies, and deposit it in the garden. Do the same while you wait for your hot water to come in. Catching rainwater from gutters is also good for watering a garden.
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Buy a high-efficiency washer. The average family washes about 300 loads of laundry each year. Clothes washing accounts for more than 20 percent of residential indoor water use.
Front-loading machines use less water than top-loading machines. When shopping for a washer, to save the most water, look for an Energy Star–certified machine. These machines use about 40 percent less water than regular washers.
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Replace toilet and showerhead. The bathroom is the site of the greatest indoor water use in the house. Toilets account for nearly 30 percent of an average home’s indoor water consumption. Older toilets use as much as 6 gallons per flush. But the newer, low flow toilets use an estimated 1.28 to 1.6 gallons of water per flush. Dual-flush toilets use even less water.
Showering accounts for almost 17 percent of household indoor water use — 40 gallons a day for the average family of four. Replacing a regular showerhead with a WaterSense- certified showerhead which uses 2 gallons a minute or less.