Taking baths and long showers
Showering drives almost 17 percent of water use in homes, and an
average American family uses some 40 gallons of water per day in the
shower. This amounts to 1.2 trillion gallons of water in the United
States each year, says EPA, “enough to supply the water needs of New
York and New Jersey” over the same time period. If 20 percent of that
is wasted, well, you’re talking about over 200 billion gallons, in a world
where gigantic states (California) and megacities (Sao Paulo, Brazil) are
suffering from drought and water scarcity problems are expected to
become still worse in the decades ahead.
Conventional Showerheads
Did you know that standard showerheads use 2.5 gallons of water per
minute (gpm)? Water-saving showerheads that earn the WaterSense
label must demonstrate that they use no more than 2.0 gpm. The
water sense is an agency in USA that deals with wastage of water and
other problems involving it. With a 2.5 gpm showerhead, you'll soak
up nearly 440 gallons of water in one month from shower use alone.
With a low-flow showerhead, 175 minutes of showering uses just 262
gallons of water. Which means you save about 60 percent every month.
A showerhead leaking at 10 drips per minute wastes more than
500 gallons per year. That's the amount of water it takes to
wash 60 loads of dishes in your dishwasher.
Leaky Pipes
DID you know that the average household's leaks can account for
nearly 10,000 gallons of water wasted every year? And ten percent of
homes have leaks that waste 90 gallons or more per day. Common
types of leaks found in the home are worn toilet flappers, dripping
faucets, and other leaking valves. These types of leaks are often easy to
fix, requiring only a few tools and hardware that can pay for themselves
in water savings. Fixing easily corrected household water leaks can save
homeowners about 10 percent on their water bills.
Laundry loads that are only half full
Did you know that a standard, washing machine that is not highefficiency uses 19 or more gallons of water per load, while the highest
rated high-efficiency (HE) machine is capable of getting clothes clean
with only 7 gallons. So why should we waste water by washing loads
which are only half full? Washing a full load of laundry is the most
water-efficient choice. Combine smaller wash loads into one and only
wash when you have a full load. Every time the machine is used, you're
consuming water, so consolidating washes will be more efficient.