The average family of four uses 260 gallons of water every single day. By making a few small changes in our lifestyles and in our water consumption, we can conserve thousands of gallons of water per year. Adding water-saving devices on toilets, showerheads and faucets will further reduce water waste by 35 per cent with the added bonus of a substantial saving on your utility bills.
There are many areas in your home where water can be better conserved. The bathroom area uses a great deal of water with the toilet being a huge guzzler. An average toilet-tank will use up to 20 gallons of water with each flush. If you are building a new home, you can insist on installing a low-flush toilet. The low-flush toilet uses a smaller tank and has a specially-designed bowl to give it the same strong flush-power which means less water is used in the flushing process. If you are renovating, you might consider installing a new toilet and if you are handy, you could install it yourself saving costly plumbing charges. A low-flush toilet will save 22,000 gallons of water per year for a family of four which again boils down to a huge utility saving.
If purchasing a new low-flush toilet is not possible, consider one of the many water-saving devices available for toilets today. These devices are divided up into three generic categories: (1) water retention (plastic bag or bottle); (2) water retention devices (also known as a toilet dam); or (3) alternative flushing (early closure or what is known as a dual-flush). These devices are simple to install and will save you hundreds of dollars on your utility bills. To find out more about these inexpensive devices, you can visit any plumbing or hardware outlet. These businesses are knowledgeable about the latest and most efficient water-saving toilets and fixtures and are able to show you what products work best for your particular needs.
If you can't afford to purchase any toilet device at this time, you can reduce your water consumption by placing a 2-liter plastic soda bottle (filled with water) inside your toilet's tank. By using this simple technique, your toilet will flush using the water available and you will save 2-liters of water every time you flush.
Faucets in your home are another area where water is often wasted. Regular faucets flow at high volumes. By installing low-flow faucet aerators, the flow of the water is more direct making it easier to fill a glass of water or to brush your teeth. Low-flow faucet spray combinations are available for kitchen sinks as well. An aerator is a small screen that attaches to the end of a faucet. It generally costs about $2 and takes a couple of minutes to install. To find out more on the subject of faucet aerators find a plumbing or hardware store nearest you. There you will be able to shop and compare the many different styles and prices and find out which device fits your needs.
Showers use a lot of water in your home. Long showers use up anywhere from 5 to 10 gallons of water. If you were thinking of conserving water, taking a bath would be a better option. However, if your family loves to shower, there are a couple of ways to reduce water waste. By installing a showerhead that costs less than $15, you could cut your shower water consumption in half. You can install a showerhead in minutes and it will save you an estimated $10 per person every year from the water-heating savings alone. A second way to reduce water waste when showering is to install a timer to the shower. The timer can be preset to allow the water to run for a specific time period. Once the time is up, the water stops flowing. For those who have difficulty in setting boundaries, timers for the shower are an excellent way to control water usage.
Doing laundry and washing dishes are two other tasks that take up a lot of water. When it comes to doing laundry, just a few adjustments in your routine can make a world of difference. For example, instead of washing one or two items at a time designate one day a week to do all your laundry all at once. Separate your clothes into loads and fill each load to its maximum level. Secondly, when you do have smaller loads to wash, adjust your machine's water level to suit the size of the load. By adjusting the machine's water levels appropriately, you will be saving on water bills, heating bills and electricity.
When hand-washing dishes with a double sink, it is more cost-effective to fill a wash side and a rinse side. By doing this you will save gallons of water as you aren't rinsing each and every dish individually. Another alternative would be to wash the dishes and then place them on a draining rack and rinsing them off with a hand-held sprayer. If you have the low-flow faucet aerator in place, less water is used and wasted.
On the other hand if you wash your dishes in a dishwasher, always make sure you use it only when you have a full load otherwise you are wasting water and electricity. Another way to save water when washing dishes is to set the dishwasher at a shorter cycle. Many dishwashers today have a shorter cycle that uses less Shower Timers for sale USA and less electricity but does the same job as a full-cycle. If you are in the market for buying a new dishwasher, you can find many energy-efficient and water-saving dishwashers. To find out which models are most efficient, you can get a copy of a consumer's product magazine - a magazine that reviews appliances and rates them yearly according to cost and efficiency. If you are unable to easily purchase this magazine, all public libraries carry the most recent version and will allow you to make photocopies or review the magazine on site.
