Water Conservation Tips For Your Home

Save money by saving water – and your planet

Conserving water in your home needs to become an essential, daily practice. Drought or no drought, we all need to think differently about the way we use water. Use these tips to conserve water in your home and start doing your part for your community, your children, and your water bill.

Run the dishwasher only when full to save water and energy.
Install a water- and energy-efficient dishwasher. Save: 3 to 8 Gallons/Load.
Install aerators on the kitchen faucet to reduce flows to less than 1 gallon per minute.
When washing dishes by hand, don’t let the water run. Fill one basin with wash water and the other with rinse water.
Dishwashers typically use less water than washing dishes by hand.
If your dishwasher is new, cut back on rinsing. Newer models clean more thoroughly than older ones.
Soak pots and pans instead of letting the water run while you scrape them clean.
Use the garbage disposal sparingly. Instead, compost vegetable food waste and save gallons every time.
Wash your fruits and vegetables in a pan of water instead of running water from the tap.
Don’t use running water to thaw food. Defrost food in the refrigerator.
Keep a pitcher of drinking water in the refrigerator instead of running the tap.
Cook food in as little water as possible. This also helps it retain more nutrients.
Select the proper pan size for cooking. Large pans may require more cooking water than necessary.
If you accidentally drop ice cubes, don’t throw them in the sink. Drop them in a house plant instead.
Collect the water you use while rinsing fruit and vegetables. Use it to water house plants.
Designate one glass for your drinking water each day, or refill a water bottle. This will cut down on the number of glasses to wash.
Install an instant water heater near your kitchen sink so you don’t have to run the water while it heats up. This also reduces energy costs.
Reuse leftover water from cooked or steamed foods to start a nutritious soup, it’s one more way to get eight glasses of water a day.
When shopping for a new dishwasher, use the Consortium for Energy Efficiency website to compare water use between models.

Bathroom:

Take a (short) shower instead of a bath. A bathtub can use up to 70 gallons of water.
If your shower fills a one-gallon bucket in less than 20 seconds, replace the showerhead with a WaterSense® labeled model.
Shorten your shower by a minute or two and you’ll save up to 150 gallons per month.
Time your shower to keep it under 5 minutes. You’ll save up to 1,000 gallons per month.
Toilet leaks can be silent! Be sure to test your toilet for leaks at least once a year.
Put food coloring in your toilet tank. If it seeps into the bowl without flushing, there’s a leak. Fix it and start saving gallons.
When running a bath, plug the bathtub before turning on the water. Adjust the temperature as the tub fills.
Upgrade older toilets with water-saving WaterSense® labeled models.
If your toilet flapper doesn’t close properly after flushing, replace it.
Use a WaterSense® labeled showerhead. They’re inexpensive, easy to install, and can save you up to 750 gallons a month.
Turn off the water while you brush your teeth and save up to 4 gallons a minute. That’s up to 200 gallons a week for a family of four.
If your toilet was installed before 1992, purchasing a WaterSense® labeled toilet can reduce the amount of water used for each flush.
Consider buying a dual-flush toilet. It has two flush options: a half-flush for liquid waste and a full-flush for solid waste.
Plug the sink instead of running the water to rinse your razor and save up to 300 gallons a month.
Turn off the water while washing your hair and save up to 150 gallons a month.
When washing your hands, turn the water off while you lather.
Take 5-minute showers instead of baths. A full bathtub requires up to 70 gallons of water.
Install water-saving aerators on all of your faucets.
Drop tissues in the trash instead of flushing them and save water every time.
Look for WaterSense® labeled toilets, sink faucets, urinals and showerheads.
One drip every second adds up to five gallons per day! Check your faucets and showerheads for leaks.
While you wait for hot water, collect the running water and use it to water plants.

Laundry:

Use the washing machine for full loads only to save water and energy
When doing laundry, match the water level to the size of the load.
Washing dark clothes in cold water saves water and energy, and helps your clothes retain their color.
When shopping for a new washing machine, compare resource savings among Energy Star
models. Some can save up to 20 gallons of water per load.
Have a plumber re-route your greywater to trees and plants rather than the sewer line. Check with your city and county for codes.
When buying a washer, check the Consortium for Energy Efficiency website to compare water use between models.

Other:

One of the easiest ways to slim your water footprint is to eat less meat and dairy. Another way is to choose grass-fed, rather than grain-fed, since it can take a lot of water to grow corn and other feed crops.
Consider how far your food has to travel, and buy local to cut your water footprint.
On average, a vegan, a person who doesn't eat meat or dairy, indirectly consumes nearly 600 gallons of water per day less than a person who eats the average American diet.
A cup of coffee takes 55 gallons of water to make, with most of that H2O used to grow the coffee beans.
Buy recycled goods, and recycle your stuff when you’re done with it. Or, stick to buying only what you really need.

water conservation FAQ page

Want to find out what more you can do to help?

Call Think H2O
Arroyo Grande Residents call (805) 473-5447
Pismo Beach Residents call (805) 773-4657

Or contact us here.