The average person in the US uses 80–100 gallons of water each day. Here’s how to reduce that number and save big on your water bill as you protect your septic system:
- Turn off the faucet while you brush your teeth. This can save 1.6 gallons of water per minute.
- Make sure you have a low-volume toilet. A cheap alternative is to put a brick in your toilet reservoir tank to reduce the amount of water used with each flush.
- Take a shorter shower. Showers can use between 1.6 and 11.8 gallons per minute. Consider getting an aerated shower head, which combines water and air, or inserting a regulator in your shower, which puts an upper limit on flow rates.
- Only wash full loads in your washing machine and dishwasher. This cuts out unnecessary in-between washes.
- Fix a dripping faucet. A dripping faucet can waste 4 gallons of water a day—1,430 gallons of water a year.
- Fix running toilets. If your toilet is refilling from time to time when no one has used it, the internal flap is leaking. It may not seem like much, but this small leak can saturate a lateral field over time.
- Water your garden with a watering can rather than a hose. A hose can use as much as 260 gallons of water in an hour. You can also save water by mulching your plants (with bark, wood shavings, heavy compost, or straw) and watering in the early morning and late afternoon, which reduces evaporation.
- Fill a jug with tap water and place this in your fridge. This will mean you don’t have to leave the tap running for the water to run cold before you fill your glass.
- Invest in water-efficient goods when you need to replace household products. You can get water-efficient showerheads, taps, toilets, washing machines, dishwashers, and many other water-saving products.
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