Taking Control of Your Utility Bill
Two-thirds of water used in the home flows through the bathroom! Don't leave the water running while:
- Shaving- uses 20 gallons of water
- Brushing Teeth - uses 10 gallons of water
- Hand Washing - uses 2 gallons of water
In the Bathroom
- 25% of all water used in the home is flushed down the toilet
- The average person flushed 19 gallons of water per day
- Standard toilets use 4 to 6 gallons of water per flush
- Detect and fix leaky toilets - you can't always hear a leak. Place several drops of food coloring in the tank and wait 30 minutes. If you see any of the food coloring in the bowl, you have a leak. Flush immediately after completing test to avoid discoloration of the bowl.
- Leaky toilets can use up to 4.5 gallons of water per minute or 270 gallons per hour 6,480 gallons per day and 200,00 gallons per month
- Don't use the toilet as a wastebasket. Remember, every facial tissue, bandage, or cigarette takes 4 to 6 gallons to flush
Shower Vs. Bath
- A full bathtub holds approximately 36 gallons of water
- A standard shower head dispenses 5-15 gallons of water per minute
- Shower heads with flow a restrictor dispenses 3-5 gallons of water per minute
In the Kitchen
- A leaky tap, dripping once per second, wastes 6 to 7 gallons of water each day
- If you hand was dishes, fill both basins. use one to wash and the other to rinse
- Water-efficient dishwashers use between 8015 gallons of water per load. A dishwasher that uses 12 gallons of water to wash to full load is probably using less water than someone washing the same amount of dishes
In the Laundry
- Front loading washers use 22 to 25 gallons of water per load versus 35 to 60 gallons consumed by a top loader
- Always was full loads and adjust your washer to the proper load size