The bathroom may be a small space, but a few changes in what you do with it and in it can add up to significant savings in energy and money.
- Open an empty, half-gallon cardboard milk carton and hold it up to the shower while it's fully on. If it fills in less than ten seconds, your shower could use an energy-efficient showerhead. You'll get the same pressure with a smaller volume of water, and you'll save energy too.
- Take showers instead of baths. A shower saves four to five gallons of water.
- Be aware of your hot water use habits. Don't let hot water run constantly while you're shaving.
- Be sure your faucets are shut off tightly, especially the hot water.
- Install a flow restrictor on your shower. This device can cut the cost of taking a hot shower in half. It generally costs less than a dollar, is easily inserted into the showerhead, and cuts the flow of water virtually in half.
- Repair leaking hot water faucets. A leak of one drop per second wastes over 250 gallons of hot water a month. It's a simple, low-cost job to do.
- Make sure that your bathrooms have good ventilation fans. This will ensure better indoor air quality and moisture control. ENERGY STAR® fans use 65 percent less energy and run quieter. Adding a programmable timer or humidistat control will help maintain ventilation without excessive energy use.
- Turn off the tap when you brush your teeth and save 1-3 gallons of water per minute.
- Fix leaky taps! A hot water tap, dripping once every second, wastes the equivalent of 16 hot baths.
- Put a plastic soda bottle or milk jug filled with water, pebbles or sand into your toilet tank and save nearly 12 gallons of water a day.
