(courtesy of  The City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management)

1. Install low-flow shower heads. Older shower heads use 5-7 gallons per minute; low-flow shower heads use 2.5 gallons per minute.
2. Take a “Navy” shower. Rinse, turn off water, soap up, turn water on and rinse again.  Limiting the amount of time you spend “under the water” reduces water use considerably.
3. Gentlemen- shave in the sin not the shower. Ladies, if this is too acrobatic shave in the shower….but do so during the “soap-up” portion of the Navy shower.
4. Keep a 10 gallon bucket in your shower to catch water you bathe, and keep another bucket in your kitchen to catch water you would normally pour down the drain
5. Install a low- flow aerator on your faucets. Low-flow faucet aerators use 1.5 gallons of water per minute; older faucets use between 3 &7 gallons per minute.
6. Don’t let the water run while you bush your teeth or shave.
7. If you have an ancient toilet, consider switching it for a new, water conserving model. Older toilets use between 3.5-7gallons of water per flush. New toilets use 1.6 gallons per flush.
8. If you can’t upgrade to a new toilet, make sure the flapper mechanism inside the tank is working properly. Use a water displacement bag in your toilet tank (not a brick, which can damage your toilet’s inner mechanisms as it erodes) to help reduce the amount of water per flush. Consider limiting your flushes- “Number 1 can stay a while, Number 2-send it through!”
9. Hand-wash your dishes. Fill one sink with soapy water and one sink with rinse water. If you have to use your dishwasher, make sure it is full before running it. Dishwashers use between 9-14gallons of water per wash.
10. Replay your top-loading washing machine for a front loading model. Top loading machines typically use 40 gallons per wash, while front loading models use less than 20. Don’t wash until you have full load. (OMG- this is just the info I needed to convince my husband to buy a new machine!)

For more information about water conservation inside the home, call 404-589-2684.