More hours with more people at home adds up to more cooking, baking, cleaning, flushing and washing. And while every household is different, it’s normal for water use — and your water bill — to creep up with the sudden influx of stay-at-home, work-from-home activity.
The good news is how much it increases is under your control. Here are some tips to help reduce water use indoors.
- Turn off the water while washing your hands. You only need it on for wetting and rinsing, not the 20 seconds of scrubbing in between.
- Run full loads in the dishwasher. Try soaking dishes in a container instead of prewashing under running water. No dishwasher? Use bowls of soapy water and rinse water to hand-wash dishes.
- Wash only full loads of laundry. Consider which cycle you’re using — some take less water and still clean well.
- Check for running toilets. Put a few drops of food coloring in the tank. If the color appears in the bowl without flushing, you’ve got a leak.