Whether you live in a drought-prone area or not, you can benefit from knowing how to save water in daily life. By saving water, you reduce your consumption and therefore save money on your water bill. Plus it’s good for the planet.
You may not give it much thought now, but the gallons add up throughout the day if you aren’t mindful about your usage. We aren’t talking about going to extremes here. In fact, you can save water throughout your home with small changes you can start with today.
Average Water Usage – It Adds Up
People use on average 80 to 100 gallons each day. That’s per person, not per family. You may be surprised that flushing toilets are the largest source of water usage in most homes.
Let’s look at what your activity costs you in terms of gallons of water (on average):
- Flushing toilets: 1.6 to 4 gallons per flush
- Baths: 36 gallons
- Showers: 2 to 5 gallons of water per minute
- Using the bathroom faucet: From less than 1 gallon to 2+ gallons a minute
- Dishwasher: 6 to 16 gallons of water
- Washing dishes by hand: 8 to 27 gallons
- Washing machine: 25 to 40 gallons a load
- Outdoor faucet: 2 gallons a minute
Now that you see how quickly the H2O adds up, let’s look at how to save water in daily life:
1. Shower with a Playlist
An easy and fun way to make sure you aren’t taking too long in the shower is setting up a music playlist that fills about 10 or 15 minutes. Once the music ends, turn off the water and end your shower. A good tip if you’re used to taking long showers is to cut them back slowly. Take that 25 minute session down to 20 to 15, and so on until you’re at your ideal time.
2. Skip the Extra Work
Using a dishwasher is supposed to help you have less work, so why are you pre-rinsing every dish before you load it? This step is often not needed and can be eliminated with a good plate-scraping technique into the trash or compost – and you’ll be saving gallons of water and doing less work. It’s a win-win!
3. Rethink the Flush
You have two options here – either install a dual-flush toilet that lets you use choose which waste option to save water or flush less. You can leave urine in the toilet if it doesn’t bother you to save water on flushing.
4. Only Run Full Loads
Don’t run the washing machine or the dishwasher until it’s full. This way, you’re making the most out of the water used and run the machines less.
5. Fix Leaks
If you notice leaking or running plumbing fixtures, don’t ignore them! Did you know a single drip per second per faucet can add up to 3,000 gallons of water in a single year? Yeah, contact us to fix your leaks!
Saving water at home starts with you and it pays off, too. These are just a few of hundreds of tips you can use to save water in your daily life. If you’re interested in investing in new equipment to save water, you should also consider installing a smart meter or low-flow bathroom fixtures. Remember, if you have leaks or constantly running plumbing, you should get it repaired as soon as possible. Contact us today to talk about all the ways we can help you save water in your home.
