Indoor Water Conservation Tips
Bathroom
- Turn off the water while shaving or brushing teeth. (Savings: up to 4 gallons a minute, or up to 200 gallons a week for a family of four!)
- Take short showers instead of tub baths; showers use less water. (If you keep your showers to under 5 minutes you’ll save up to 1,000 gallons a month.)
- If you do take a bath, be sure to plug the drain right away and adjust the temperature as you fill the tub.
- Don’t use your toilet as a wastebasket and check for potential leakage. Also, if you are replacing a toilet, purchase a high efficiency model. (Toilets are by far the main source of water use in the home: nearly 30 percent of residential indoor water consumption.)
- When washing your hands, turn off the water while you lather.
Kitchen
- Wash only full loads of dishes, and select the appropriate water level or load size option on the dishwasher.
- Do not use water to defrost frozen foods; thaw foods in the refrigerator overnight.
- Scrape, rather than rinse dishes before loading them into the dishwasher.
- Compost food waste instead of using the garbage disposal or throwing it in the trash.
- Keep drinking water in the refrigerator instead of letting the faucet run until the water is cool.
Laundry
- Wash only full loads of laundry or use the appropriate water level or load size selection on the washing machine.
- Consider purchasing a high efficiency washing machine, which can save over 50 percent in laundry water and energy use.
Fix Leaks
- You can significantly reduce water use by simply repairing leaks in fixtures (faucets & showerheads), pipes, and toilets.
- A leaky faucet wastes gallons of water in a short period of time.
- A leaky toilet can waste 200 gallons per day.
- That would be like flushing your toilet more than 50 times for no reason!