How to Save Water at Home: The Top Tips to Know

There are many compelling reasons to save water. Such as saving you money each month.

Plus drought occurs regularly in the U.S. So saving water helps our environment by lowering the overall impact on a limited resource. A resource we need to grow food, support wildlife, and more.

Here are some ways to lower water usage at your home.

Toilets Tips

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, water use in toilets accounts for the most water usage at home. Toilets use between 1.28 and 1.6 gallons per flush. And more if yours is an older model. 

Use your toilet for only its intended purposes. Don’t use it to get rid of items such as Q-tips, facial tissue, or cigarette butts. 

If you don’t have a low flow toilet, consider getting one. If not, you can adjust the flapper in your toilet (or put a plastic bottle in the toilet tank) to restrict the amount of water your toilet uses for each flush.

Run Only Full Loads

The tip for running only full loads applies to both your dishwasher and your laundry washing machine. Depending on the type of dishwasher you have, it uses between 4 and 6 gallons to run through each cycle. Laundry machines use between 13 and 23 on average.

While some dishwashers and laundry machines do have settings for running smaller loads, waiting until you can wash full loads are great ways to save water at home. 

Use the Two Sink/Bowl Method to Wash Dishes

On average, kitchen faucets allow 2.2 gallons of water to flow per minute. So instead of letting your faucet run while you wash your dishes, fill one side up with hot soapy water and the other with just water. This way you can wash your dishes then rinse them in the clean water.

In time, you’ll get the hang of how full you need to fill each side to get the results you want. If the dishes are fairly clean without much grease or food residue, you can get away with filling the sinks with less water. 

Cut Down Your Shower Time

Being efficient in the shower can save you on average 2.1 gallons per minute. So if you normally take an 8-10 minute shower, lowering the time you’re in the shower to 5-6 minutes can save up to 10 gallons of water.

Another method for saving water at home in the shower is to turn off the water once you get your hair and body wet. Shampoo, wash your body, and whatever other things you do in the shower. Then turn the water back on to rinse off. 

Repurpose Your Water

There are many activities where water can be gathered and repurposed for use elsewhere. This will cut down the water used for those subsequent tasks.

Collecting water while you’re at your sink waiting for water to warm up. You can use this water to cook with, to water plants, or even to wash your car.

Fix Leaks and Drips

Water leaking from pipes or dripping from faucets is only costing you money for water that isn’t being put to use. You can use this drip calculator to figure out how much water you’re wasting, then use this water savings calculator to figure out how much you’ll save by getting it fixed. 

Use These Tips to Save Water

Put these tips to use to save water starting today. Your lower water bill will make you smile and you can feel good about doing good for the environment.

Want more tips on home advice? We’ve got’em. Just check out the rest of our site.