Shades of Green: Conserving water in your home

If you are a regular WRAL reader, you have seen the myriad of article about Wake County's water supply.  However, conserving water in your home is not only quite green, but it is also very easy.  By making a few simple modifications to your daily life, you can conserve up to 20 or more gallons of water per day.  This can make a significant difference in your water bill and your average daily use.

A few tips for conserving water in your home:

• Laundry: wash only full load; avoid using the permanent press cycle. A family of four should try to limit laundry to 4 full loads per week.
• Shower: one five-minute shower per day using a low-flow showerhead. With a standard low-flow showerhead, water use would be 12.5 gallons per shower. All showerheads manufactured after 1995 must flow at no more than 2.5 gallons per minute.
• Bathing, children: 4 tub baths and 3 sponge baths per week. Water use for tub baths is limited to 12 gallons per bath. For sponge baths, limit water use to 1 gallon per bath.
• Teeth brushing: Each family member brushes their teeth 2 times per day but limits water use to 1 pint per brushing by wetting your brush and filling a cup with water for rinsing.
• Shaving: limit water use when shaving to ½ gallon each time by partially filling the basin with water, and dipping your razor to rinse. Alternatively, invest in an electric razor and use no water.
• Toilet use: Toilets manufactured after 1978 use 3.5 gallons, while those manufactured since 1995 use only 1.6 gallons per flush. If your toilet uses 5 gallons per flush, you can cut that amount to 4 gallons by filling a 1-gallon plastic jug or bag and placing it in the toilet tank. To further reduce the amount of water flushed away, limit family members to 4 flushes per day. This will likely mean not flushing the toilet every time it is used. If a family of four limits water use to 4 gallons per flush and limits flushes to 4 per person per day, they can dramatically reduce water use.
• Dishwashing, automatic: An automatic dishwasher uses 15 gallons of water per load on average. To limit water use, use the dishwasher only when it is full.
• Dishwashing, hand washing: Hand-washing dishes can use as much as 20 gallons of water for the same amount of dishes. When hand-washing dishes, do not rinse them under a running tap. Use small pan or basin of hot water instead. Try to keep water use for dishwashing to an average of 15 gallons per day.
• Food preparation: To conserve water, wash and peel vegetables in a small pan of water instead of under a running tap. When cooking with water, choose appropriate sized pans with tight fitting lids to avoid water loss to evaporation. Strive to limit water use for cooking and drinking to less than 5 gallons per day.
• Drinking: Keep a pitcher or jug of water in the refrigerator for drinking. If concern for water use is high, choose alternatives to concentrated juices and powdered drink mixes. Do not limit fluid intake for family members. 

Adapted from the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Services publication “Ways to Limit Water Use to Forty Gallons Per Day.”