Simple Tips to Keep More Water in Our Rivers
Who are we kidding? We're humans, and new habits are hard to form. I'm a believer in making changes that stick and not trying to do everything at once. So here are three simple things you can do to reduce your water consumption by over 2,000 gallons of water each month - that's enough water to fill a swimming pool in a year!
#1 Don't leave your faucet running
1-3 gallons of water flow through faucets every minute, and whether you're filling up the dog bowl, brushing your teeth, or doing the dishes, the water you use all adds up. Turn your tap off unless you are actively rinsing or washing something. Just by turning off the tap while you brush your teeth in the morning and before bedtime, you can save up to 8 gallons of water! That adds up to more than 200 gallons a month.
#2 Only run full laundry and dish loads
Laundry: Even Energy Star washers use 14 gallons of water for every load you run. The average American does between 2-4 loads of laundry a week and the majority of loads are just over half full (65%). Running full loads of laundry means you could do at least one less load of laundry each week. Doing this reduces water consumption in an average household by 56 gallons every month.
Dishes: In the average home, dishwashers are run five times every week and the majority of loads are 60% full. Each time you run your dishwasher you use about 3 gallons of water. By running 1-2 fewer loads, you can save 24 gallons per month.
