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Daily water usage in the typical single family home is 69.3 gallons, with showers accounting for 16.8 percent of total indoor water use. After washing machines and dishwashers, showers are the third-largest water guzzler in the home.[1] Water conservation and energy conservation can be achieved by taking some precautions and perhaps installing some new equipment. The average household can save almost 8,000 gallons of water per year by installing low-flow showerheads or faucet aerators, which also reduce the demand for hot water, saving up to 376 pounds of carbon dioxide each year.[2] If every American used just one less gallon of water per shower, the annual water savings would be more than Finland's domestic water use for a year.[3][4]

Here are the areas of your bathroom that, with some green thinking, can give you big eco-savings.

Showers: Change a-head

Low-flow showerheads, which use 2.5 gallons of water or less per minute, restrict the flow of water through small apertures and create a high-velocity spray by forcing compressed air into the water stream. A low-flow showerhead uses five fewer gallons of water than a typical bath and can save up to $145 a year in electricity costs.[5] In an average household, these fixtures can save about 7,800 gallons of water per year.[6] Turning off the water while you soap up in the shower can save an additional 15 to 20 gallons per shower.[7]

Toilets: Go with the low-flow

Every day, Americans use 5.8 billion gallons of water to flush their toilets. In an effort to promote water conservation, Federal law mandates that all residential toilets manufactured after 1994 must use no more than 1.6 gallons per flush (gpf). As of 1997, commercial toilets were also required to reach this standard, and urinals were required to use no more than one gpf. However, older models are still very common in residences and use between 3.5 to seven gpf.[8] About three-quarters of indoor home water consumption takes place in the bathroom, and the toilet is responsible for about 28 percent of total home water usage.[9] Excessive water use can be particularly damaging if your plumbing is connected to a septic system. Overloading the system with waste water reduces the soil's capacity to absorb treated water and requires that the septic tank be emptied more often, thereby increasing maintenance costs.[10]

Cleaning: Sparkling green

Conventional household cleaners often contain chemical cleaning agents like alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs), which do not easily break down in sewage treatment after they are washed down the drain.[11] APEs are among the most widely used groups of surfactants, with about half a million tons produced annually worldwide.[12] The EPA has identified APEs as endocrine disrupters, which can affect the reproductive systems of birds and mammals and disrupt the ability of some fish to reproduce.[13] Measurable levels of APEs have been found in some lakes and streams.[14]