What can I do to conserve water indoors?
There are many easy changes that you can make that will drastically reduce the amount of water that you use. Here are some simple steps that you can take around your house to conserve water.
In the kitchen
- Keep a bottle of drinking water in the refrigerator. This way, there is no need to run the tap to get cool water.
- Only use the dishwasher for full loads.
- Don’t wash dishes under continuous running water. Fill one side of the sink with clean water for rinsing and use the other side for washing, or put washed dishes in a rack and rinse them all at once.
- Wash vegetables in a pan of water instead of under a running faucet. Re-use that water to water household plants.
- Don’t use in-sink garbage disposals, which require a lot of water for operation. Instead, dispose of food waste in a compost pile.
- Check faucets and pipes for leaks. Even a small drip from a worn washer can waste 20 gallons of water a day, while larger leaks can waste even more.
- Install faucet aerators, which are inexpensive devices that can reduce water usage by up to 60%.
In the bathroom
- Turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth or shaving. Fill the sink to shave instead of letting the water run.
- Check toilets for leaks. Add about 12 drops of food coloring, or a leak-detection tablet, into the tank. If color appears in the bowl an hour later, then there is a leak.
- Install a toilet displacement device in the toilet tank. Place a plastic bottle, weighted with water or sand, into the tank, making sure that it doesn’t interfere with the flushing mechanism. Don’t use a brick, which may chip.
- If you are buying a new toilet, select a low-flush model that uses less than 1.5 gallons of water per flush.
- Take shorter showers. Install a water-saving showerhead, which can cut water usage in the shower from 5–7 gallons per minute to just 3 gallons per minute.
When doing laundry:
- Only run the washing machine for full loads.
- When buying a new washing machine, buy one that can be adjusted to load-size and has a “suds-saving” option.
