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1. What are some tips for saving water in the bathroom?

The bathroom is where you can make the most substantial reduction in personal water use. More than 50% of the water used in an average home is used in the bathroom.

Water-Saving Tips in the Bathroom

• Stop using the toilet as an ashtray or wastebasket. Every time you flush a cigarette butt, facial tissue, or other small bits of trash, you waste 5 to 7 gallons of water.
• Take shorter showers. Long, hot showers can waste 5 to 10 gallons every unneeded minute. Limit your showers to the time it takes to soap up, wash down, and rinse off.
• Reduce flushing water. Put an inch or two of sand or pebbles inside each of two plastic bottles to weigh them down. Fill them with water and put them in your toilet tank, safely away from operating mechanisms to reduce the fill amount.
• Install water-saving showerheads or flow restrictors. Your local hardware or plumbing supply store stocks inexpensive water-saving showerheads or restrictors that are easy to install.
• Take baths. A partially filled tub uses far less water than a long shower, but a short shower uses less than a full tub.
• When shaving and brushing your teeth, don't leave the water running. Run as much as you need, then turn off the tap until you need more.

Visit the Environmental Protection Agency's Start Saving page for more information.

2. What are some tips for saving water in the kitchen?

You can conserve water in your kitchen without sacrificing taste and cleanliness.

Water-Saving Tips in the Kitchen

• Automatic dishwashers claim the most water in kitchens - about 12 gallons per run. Make sure the washer is fully loaded before you turn it on.
• Don't rinse the dishes in the sink before you put them in the dishwasher. Scrape them clean and let the machine do the rest.
• If you wash dishes by hand, don't leave the water running for rinsing.
• Don't let the faucet run while you clean vegetables; Just rinse them in a stopped sink or a pan of clean water.
• Keep a bottle or pitcher of drinking water in the refrigerator. Running tap water to cool it off for drinking water is wasteful.

Visit the Environmental Protection Agency's Start Saving page for more information.

3. What are some tips for saving water while doing the laundry?

Many washing machines use 40 or more gallons of water per load, whether the washer is stuffed full or loaded with only a couple of socks.

Water-Saving Laundry Tips

• Save up for a full load and make your water work efficiently.
• Set your machine for a lesser load, if it can be adjusted.
• For hand laundering, put a stopper in the washtub for both washing and rinsing. Don't let the faucet run.

Visit the Environmental Protection Agency's Start Saving page for more information.

4. What are some tips for saving water outdoors?

Water-Saving Tips for Outdoors

• Water before 5:30 a.m. or after 6:00 p.m. and avoid watering on windy days. If you sprinkle your lawn under the hot midday sun, you will lose as much as 30% of your water to evaporation.
• Avoid sprinklers that spray a fine mist, which increases evaporation. Lawns can only absorb water so fast. It's better to water your lawn for three, 10-minute sessions (with each session 30 minutes apart) than it is to water steadily for 30 minutes and cause runoff.
• Water your lawn only when the grass does not spring back up when you step on it. Keep grass at least two inches high to shade roots and hold moisture.
• Plant drought-resistant trees and plants. Water trees slowly, deeply, and infrequently to encourage deep rooting.
• Aerate lawns regularly and put a layer of mulch around trees and plants to reduce evaporation and discourage weed growth. Weeds are water thieves, so keep the garden free of them.
• Keep track of how long you water. A kitchen timer is a handy reminder for turning off sprinklers.
• Make sure sprinklers cover just the lawn or garden, not sidewalks, driveways, and gutters.
• Use a spray nozzle with a cutoff handle on your hose so water doesn't flow continuously. Your garden hose can pour out 600 gallons or more in only a few hours. Thousands of gallons can be lost in a very short time.
• Check your hose connections often for leaks. Leaks outside the house may not seem as bad because they are not as visible. But, they can be just as wasteful as leaks inside.
• Don't run the hose while washing your car. Clean the car with a pail of soapy water. Use the hose just for rinsing.
• Use a broom or leaf blower, not a water hose, to clean driveways, sidewalks, and patios.