Now that I have it, how can I save water?
You have water
running in your sink, in your bathroom, and in your washing machine.
Saving water is easier than you think! The first thing you need to
know is how much water is being used at home. Here are some
examples:
 |
Dishes--washing by
hand: 10-20 gallons |
|
Dishes--with
dishwasher: 25 gallons per load |
|
Washing hands, brushing
teeth: 10-20 gallons |
|
Bath: 30-40
gallons |
|
Shower: 30-60
gallons [6-10 gallons per minute] |
|
Clothes washing:
30-32 gallons per load |
|
Flushing a regular
toilet: 5 gallons per flush |
|
Flushing a water-saving
toilet: 1.6 gallons per flush |
|
Sink use per day:
20 gallons |
|
Yard hose
[3/4"]: 300 gallons per hour |
Most of the time,
saving water will also save money, too. If you use town water, you
are paying for it AND the fuel it takes to heat it. If you have well
water, you are paying for the fuel that it takes to heat it AND using up
valuable water.
We found out that the body needs about 3 pints of water
a day and Americans actually use about 180 gallons.
How is water used in YOUR home?
We
were water spies in our homes for a week. Our goal was to find
things that our families did that wasted water by using a water
register. When we combined our lists, we found that our families
wasted water in the following ways:
|
30 minute showers |
|
Running water while you
wash your face or brush your teeth. |
|
Running a washer or
dishwasher that didn't have a full load. |
|
Leaving the outside hose
on. |
There were other
things like taking a full glass of water and only taking a sip. Long
showers were on everyone's list.
This helped us think of ways that we could help the
Earth by saving water. Some of these are:
|
Two words: QUICK SHOWERS! |
|
Fix leaky things like faucets and
toilets. About 20% of all toilets leak. Toilets are
the biggest user of water in the house. |
|
Get a newer, water-saving
toilet. You can save between 8000-21,000 gallons of water a
year just by doing that. |
|
Whenever you use a dishwasher or
clothes washer, make sure you have a full load. |
|
Don't rinse your dishes before you
put them in the dishwasher. Most dishwashers have settings
for dirtier dishes. |
|
When you brush your teeth, turn off
the water. Turn it on only when rinsing. |
Go to Water
Problems page
