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Cut Your Water Consumption

By August 14, 2013No Comments

1994 was the year that federally mandated low-flow showerheads, faucets, and toilets started to appear on the scene in significant numbers.

On average, 10 gallons per day of your water footprint (or 14 percent of your indoor use) is lost to leaks. Short of installing new water-efficient fixtures, one of the easiest, most effective ways to cut your footprint is by repairing leaky faucets and toilets.

If you use a low-flow showerhead, you can save 15 gallons of water during a 10-minute shower.

Every time you shave minutes off your use of hot water, you also save energy and keep dollars in your pocket.

It takes about 70 gallons of water to fill a bathtub, so showers are generally the more water-efficient way to bathe.

All of those flushes can add up to nearly 20 gallons a day down the toilet. If you still have a standard toilet, which uses close to 3.5 gallons a flush, you can save by retrofitting or filling your tank with something that will displace some of that water, such as a brick.

Most front-loading machines are energy- and water-efficient, using just over 20 gallons a load, while most top-loading machines, unless they are energy-efficient, use 40 gallons per load.

Nearly 22 percent of indoor home water use comes from doing laundry. Save water by making sure to adjust the settings on your machine to the proper load size.

Dishwashing is a relatively small part of your water footprint—less than 2 percent of indoor use—but there are always ways to conserve. Using a machine is actually more water efficient than hand washing, especially if you run full loads.

Energy Star dishwashers use about 4 gallons of water per load, and even standard machines use only about 6 gallons. Hand washing generally uses about 20 gallons of water each time.

 

 
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