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Top 10 Ways to Conserve Water at Home

You don't have to overhaul your entire plumbing system to save this precious natural resource. And since the typical household water bill runs about $300 per year, saving water means saving money too. Here are ten ways to do it.

  1. Turn the water off when brushing your teeth. This can save up to eight gallons a day.
  2. Fix leaky faucets. A faucet with a slow drip can leak seven or more gallons of water per day. Stopping the leak will save 50 bathtubs full of water each year or more.
  3. Install aerator faucets and low-flow showerheads. Easy to install and inexpensive (many are under $10 and can be purchased at a regular hardware store), these can cut your water usage in half.
  4. Take a shower, not a bath. A leisurely 10-minute shower under a low-flow showerhead (or a five-minute quickie under a conventional one) uses about one-third of the 60-70 gallons needed to fill a tub.
  5. Don't rinse dishes. Save up to 20 gallons per day by skipping a pre-rinse before you put your dirty dishes in the dishwasher. Most dishwashers today can easily handle dishes that have been only scraped.
  6. Run only full loads. Whether it's a dishwasher, which typically uses about 10 gallons per cycle, or a washing machine, which uses 40, these appliances are most-water-efficient when run at full capacity.
  7. Choose water-conserving appliances. Look for the Energy Star label: these dishwashers use about one-third less water and the washing machines use about half the water of less efficient models.
  8. Install a dual flush toilet. A dual flush toilet is a step up from the now-common low-flow toilets that have been mandated by law since 1992. Dual flush allows you to use more or less water depending on the kind of waste you're flushing.
  9. Harvest rainwater. Put the water running off your roof to good use. A modest rainwater harvesting system requires just a barrel at the end of a gutter downspout. The captured water can be saved for a sunny day -- to water a garden or wash a car. More elaborate rainwater harvesting systems can be installed to supply water for lawn irrigation and other outdoor use (which typically accounts for one-third of household water consumption), and even drinking water if filtered.
  10. Install a graywater system. This is a larger project (generally requiring a plumber) that conserves significant quantities of water by recycling it in the home. Soapy, not-too-dirty water that drains from showers and washing machines is diverted to toilets for flushing and the yard for irrigation.

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