Water Saving Tips

Mark Twain is usually credited with saying, “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” Today, we might say the same thing about the drought. There’s lots of talk about saving water, but as individuals we could be doing a lot more. Here is some data from the EPA about our water usage

• Each American uses an average of 100 gallons of water a day at home.
• We can all use 30 percent less water by installing water-efficient fixtures and appliances.
• The average household spends as much as $500 per year on their water and sewer bill and can save about $170 per year by installing water-efficient fixtures and appliances.

Here are a few things you and I could do today to save water today inside our homes.

Easy Ways to Save Water at Home

Install low-flow water faucets
The average person loses 10 gallons each day to household leaks (14% of indoor water usage). Installing new low-flow aerators is the best single thing that can be done to save water inside the house, and it requires no behavior change. At a minimum, we should at least repair leaky faucets and toilets.

Take showers rather than baths
Filling a bathtub will take 20 gallons of water or more, but taking a 5 minute shower using a low-flow shower head will use about half the water of the bath.

Don’t leave the water running
When standing at the sink engaged in grooming, shaving, washing hands,or brushing teeth turn the water on only as you need it. Do not leave it running continuously.

Replace toilets

Older toilets, made before 1993, will normally use at least 3.5 gpf (gallons per flush), and may use as much as 8 gpf. Since 1993, high efficiency toilets use 1.6 gpf or less. If you do the math, a small family will save at least 10,000 gallons per year and several times this for a larger family just by replacing old toilets with newer, more efficient ones.

For help selecting water-saving fixtures, and toilets contact the experts at Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center today.

Be sure to check here for upcoming blogs on saving water tips with dishwashing, and clothes washing.