Saving water is a great way to reduce your utility bills while doing your part for the environment and helping to ensure that we don’t run out of water in the near future. There are many ways you can reduce the water consumption in your home without sacrificing comfort and convenience. In addition, when you save hot water you not only reduce your water bill but you will also see a saving on your energy bills.
About half the water usage in a typical home takes place in the bathroom so that’s a great place to start saving water. When selecting new water efficient fixtures for your home, look for the WaterSense label. WaterSense is a program run by the EPA that provides certifications for water efficient fixtures. In order to earn the certification which is done by independent companies, a fixture must use 20% less water than comparable fixtures with no loss of performance. You can avoid the disappointment of a poorly performing low flow fixture by sticking with WaterSense labeled products.
If you have older toilets that use more than 3 gallons of water per flush, replacing them with low flow toilets will save an average family of four at least 4,000 gallons of water per year. The average household can save another 2,000 gallons of water per year by installing low flow shower heads and 500 additional gallons by replacing those old faucets with new WaterSense faucets.
In the laundry room, avoid running small loads but if you have to, make sure to change your washer’s water level. When the time comes for a new washer, choose an Energy Star washer to save up to 15 to 20 gallons of water on every load. The same goes for your dishwasher. Wait until it is full before running it and choose an Energy Star model to save water on every load.
