30 Simple Ways to Save Water at Home

The fastest way to save water at home is to fix leaks first, then upgrade or adjust the biggest users: toilets, showers, laundry and lawn watering. The average American uses about 82 gallons of water a day at home, and WaterSense-labeled products are certified to use at least 20 percent less than standard models. Below are 30 changes grouped by where the water goes, with real numbers so you can decide where to start.

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The biggest savings at a glance

If you only do five things, start here. These are the changes with the largest documented payoff for an average household:

Savings depend on how old your current fixtures are and how you use them. The figures are EPA estimates for an average household, not guarantees.

Notice the pattern: the largest wins are one-time fixes you make once and forget, while habits such as shorter showers and full loads add smaller savings that compound daily. This guide covers both.

Find and fix leaks (tips 1–5)

The EPA estimates the average household loses more than 9,300 gallons a year to leaks. Most are easy to find if you know where to look.

1. Run a two-hour meter test. Turn off every tap and appliance, note your water meter reading, wait two hours without using water, then check again. If the meter moved, water is escaping somewhere.
2. Dye-test every toilet. Add a few drops of food coloring to the tank and wait 10 minutes. Color in the bowl means the flapper is leaking. Flush right afterward to avoid staining the tank.
3. Replace worn flappers. The rubber seal at the bottom of the tank degrades with age, and the EPA suggests replacing it at least every five years. A silent leak here can cost thousands of gallons; the running toilet cost calculator shows how quickly it adds up.
4. Fix drips at faucets and showerheads. Worn washers and gaskets cause most faucet drips. A dripping showerhead often just needs a tighter connection wrapped with pipe (Teflon) tape.
5. Check the outdoor lines. Inspect hose connections at the spigot, and test any in-ground irrigation system each spring for frost damage before you rely on it.

Small leaks are easy to dismiss, so here is what they add up to:

To price a leak on your own bill, try the dripping faucet cost calculator or the water leak cost calculator.

Bathroom: toilets, showers and sinks (tips 6–13)

Bathrooms account for more than half of all indoor water use, and toilets alone make up nearly 30 percent of it. This is where fixtures pay off most.

6. Replace old toilets. Older toilets can use as much as 6 gallons per flush. Current toilets meet a 1.6-gallon federal standard, and WaterSense models use 1.28 gallons or less. Swapping an old toilet can cut toilet water use by 20 to 60 percent, or nearly 13,000 gallons a year for an average household. The toilet flush savings calculator estimates your own number.
7. Stop using the toilet as a wastebasket. Each unnecessary flush of tissue or trash costs 1.28 to 1.6 gallons on a modern toilet, and more on an old one.
8. Use the reduced flush. If you have a dual-flush toilet, choose the smaller flush for liquid waste.
9. Shorten your showers. At 2.5 gallons per minute, trimming two minutes saves about 5 gallons per shower. A shower timer or a short playlist keeps you honest.
10. Install a WaterSense showerhead. Certified models use no more than 2.0 gallons per minute, are tested for spray force and coverage, and save about 4 gallons per shower versus older heads. Using less hot water saves energy too. Wondering if a bath beats a shower? The bath vs shower calculator compares them.
11. Turn off the tap while brushing and shaving. A running bathroom faucet uses roughly 1.5 to 2 gallons a minute, so a two-minute brushing with the tap on wastes about 3 to 4 gallons.
12. Add faucet aerators. These inexpensive screw-on fittings blend air into the stream. WaterSense faucets and aerators are about 30 percent more efficient than standard faucets, and replacing old ones can save around 700 gallons a year.
13. Catch the warm-up water. Collect the cold water that runs while the shower heats and use it on houseplants, or pour it into the toilet bowl to flush. Insulating hot-water pipes shortens the wait.

Kitchen and laundry (tips 14–21)

Dishes and laundry are driven as much by habit as by the machine. Loading strategy matters.

14. Run the dishwasher only when full. A full modern dishwasher is usually the most water-efficient way to clean dishes. Compare your own setup with the dishwasher vs handwashing calculator.
15. Scrape instead of pre-rinsing. Most modern dishwashers are built to cope with scraped, unrinsed plates. Check your manual, then skip the rinse.
16. Fill a basin when washing by hand. Use one basin of soapy water and one for rinsing rather than a running tap.
17. Keep a pitcher of water in the fridge. You will stop running the tap until it turns cold.
18. Thaw food in the refrigerator. Planning ahead avoids the common habit of thawing under running water.
19. Wash full loads. If you must wash a partial load, match the water-level setting to the load size instead of filling the tub for a few shirts.
20. Choose a high-efficiency washer when you replace one. Front-loading and other high-efficiency machines generally use far less water than older top-loaders. Compare each model's rated water use before you buy.
21. Reuse gentle water. Let unsalted pasta or vegetable-rinse water cool, then use it on houseplants or garden beds.

Outdoors: lawn, garden and car (tips 22–29)

Residential outdoor use accounts for nearly 8 billion gallons a day in the US, mostly for landscape irrigation, and much of it is avoidable.

22. Water at the right time. Water in the early morning or evening. The EPA advises avoiding midday, when hot sun evaporates much of the water before it reaches roots.
23. Water deeply, not daily. Most landscapes need about 1 inch of water a week, including rain. Try the EPA's tuna-can test: time how long your sprinkler takes to fill a can with half an inch, then water that long twice a week and adjust for weather.
24. Upgrade your irrigation controller. WaterSense-labeled weather-based and soil-moisture controllers adjust to conditions instead of following a fixed clock. Replacing a clock-based controller can save up to 15,000 gallons a year.
25. Aim sprinklers at plants, not pavement. Inspect the system monthly for leaks, broken heads and clogged nozzles. The sprinkler water cost calculator shows what each cycle costs.
26. Mulch garden beds. A few inches of mulch slows evaporation and suppresses weeds that compete for water.
27. Plant for your climate. Choose native or drought-tolerant species and group plants with similar water needs into the same irrigation zone.
28. Collect rainwater. A rain barrel supplies free irrigation water. Some states restrict collection, so check local rules first.
29. Sweep, don't spray. Use a broom on driveways and patios, wash the car with a bucket and a shut-off nozzle, and cover a pool when not in use to cut evaporation.

Keep it going: measure your use (tip 30)

30. Read your meter and bill every month. Savings only stick if you notice changes. The EPA suggests checking a cold winter month: if a family of four exceeds 12,000 gallons, serious leaks are likely. Leak detection and flow-monitoring devices can also alert you to unusual use. Benchmark your home with the household water usage calculator.

How to estimate your own savings

Any flow-based upgrade follows the same arithmetic: the drop in flow rate, times how long you use it, times how often.

To turn gallons into dollars, divide by 1,000 and multiply by your combined water and sewer rate:

Both examples are estimates built on round numbers. For your own fixtures and rates, the water conservation savings calculator lets you test different scenarios.

The bottom line

You do not need to do all 30. Fix leaks first, then replace the oldest toilet and showerhead, fit aerators, and tighten up your outdoor watering. Those five steps capture most of the documented savings. Layer in the everyday habits (full loads, shorter showers, taps off) and track your bill so the gains stay put.