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 You might not realize how much water you use in different areas of your home. Take a look at the pie chart to the right to see how the average household splits up its water usage.
What can you do to reduce the amount of water you use in your household?
Wash laundry and dishes only when there is a full load
Always turn off running water
Take shorter showers
Eliminate any and all leaks
Reduce the flow of toilets and showerheads
Wash laundry and dishes only when there is a full load
You can save 300 to 800 gallons of water a month by washing laundry and dishes only when the machine is full. For small loads of laundry, adjust the water setting to a lower level. If you only have a few dishes wash them in the sink or a dish pan and rinse in a pan of hot water or use a sprayer. Washing dishes one at a time can waste hundreds of gallons of water a month. Remember, dishwashers are designed to clean dirty dishes, so there is no need to pre-rinse. Appliance manufacturers recommend scraping dishes prior to washing them and not pre-rinsing.
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Always turn off running water
You can decrease your water use by several gallons by simply turning the water off when you are brushing your teeth or shaving. Keep a pitcher of drinking water in the refrigerator instead of running the water until it gets cold enough to drink. Plan your meals ahead of time so you can defrost food in the refrigerator instead of under running water. As you wait for the water in the shower or sink to reach the correct temperature, collect it in a bucket and use it to water plants or mop the floor. Start a compost pile with food waste and stop using the garbage disposal.
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Take shorter showers
A 10 minute shower with an older showerhead can use up to 80 gallons of water. Time your shower and try reducing it to 5 minutes. You can reduce water use in the shower by turning the water off while you lather up and shampoo. To maintain a consistent temperature, install a toggle switch on your shower to cut the water flow. If you take a bath, a full bathtub can use 30 to 50 gallons of water. Save water by filling the tub only 1/3 full or no more than 5” of water.
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Eliminate any and all leaks
A faucet dripping one drop of water per second wastes nearly 9 gallons of water a day. You can stop dripping faucets by turning them off completely, but not so tightly that you damage the valve seats. If its still dripping repair it. To check for toilet leaks, remove the toilet tank cover and put in 5 to 10 drops of food coloring. Wait 30 minutes. If any of the coloring leaks into the toilet bowl then you have a leak and you should fix it immediately. A leaking toilet wastes 15 gallons of water a day. Repairing the leaks in your home can cut your water consumption in half.
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Reduce the flow of toilets and showerheads
Close to half of the water used in a home is for toilets and showers. If your toilet was manufactured before 1993, it uses 3.5 to 8 gallons per flush (gpf). Newer high efficiency models use 1.5 gpf or less. A short-term conservation measure is to place a 2 liter bottle filled with pebbles or sand in the toilet tank. This displaces some of the water and saves about a half gallon per flush. Another way to save water is to reduce the number of flushes by not using the toilet as a trash can.
Showerheads manufactured before 1978 use 3 to 10 gallons per minute (gpm). Showerheads manufactured after 1978 use 2.5 gpm. If you are unsure of how much water your shower uses, you can check the flow rate. Hold a bucket under the showerhead and turn the water on full blast for 30 seconds. Measure the number of cups of water in the bucket and multiply by two to get the number of gallons per minute. If your showerhead uses more than 2.5 gpm you should consider replacing it with a low-flow showerhead that uses 1.5 to 2 gpm.
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Resources
Every Drop Counts: Conserve Water at Home (PDF)
Household Water Use Pie Chart
Links
Cooperative Extension Georgia Center for Urban Agriculture
Conserve Water Georgia
Georgia Water Council
For agent use only, requires a password: Water Conservation Resources
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