Save Water in the Bathroom

Quick Facts Affordability Cost Savings CO2 Reduction		There are many opportunities to reduce water use in your bathroom, ranging from simple changes to your bathing and grooming habits to retrofitting your bathroom with low-flow showerheads and dual flush or low-flush toilets. Affordability The implementation costs for saving water in your bathroom are relatively low, but the water and energy savings are significant. Cost savings Turning the water off when shaving, washing hands and brushing teeth can save about $55 per year. If just one person in your home showers for one minute less than their usual showering time, you could save $23 each year – for a family of four, that adds up to $92! Environmental considerations If 10,000 B.C. households turned off the bathroom faucet while shaving, washing hands, brushing teeth, etc, energy savings would be equivalent to the annual energy used to power 200 average Canadian homes.

What you need to know

Showers

• Take shorter showers. Use a timer to limit your showers to five minutes or less. Also, turn off the water while lathering.
• Install a low-flow showerhead and faucet aerator.

Toilets

• Check for leaks and repair leaky toilets or faucets. 
• Install dual-flush toilets or low-flush toilets that use six litres of water or less per flush. Find out about possible rebates for installing dual-flush or low-flush toilets. It is also possible to convert your existing low-flush toilet to a dual-flush toilet for even more water savings. A Canada Housing Mortgage Corporation (CHMC) study found dual-flush toilets saved an average of 26% more water than the single-flush six-litre toilets and as much as 68% more water than conventional toilets used in single-family dwellings.
• Flush less often.
• Do not use your toilet as a garbage can.

Other ways to reduce water use in the bathroom

• Do not leave the faucet running when you’re brushing your teeth, washing your face or shaving.

Taking it further

• Encourage water conservation practices with your family, especially your children and grandchildren who will rely on this precious resource for many years to come.
• Extend your good water savings habits while staying away from home, at hotels or other friends’ homes.
• Consider installing Heat Recovery Water Pre-Heaters
  • Heat recovery water pre-heaters recover valuable heat that would otherwise go down the shower drain and use it to preheat incoming cold water. The total installed cost is typically $600 to $1,000 and you save 10% to 30% of your water heating cost, depending on the unit you choose and your water use habits. DWHR (Drain Water Heat Recovery) units pay for themselves in two to six years in most Canadian homes, don't require maintenance and have no moving parts. You can get $75 from the EcoEnergy Retrofit Federal Program if you install a DWHR unit.

FAQ

What uses the most water in a typical household?
About 65% of our total indoor home water use occurs in our bathrooms and toilets are the single greatest water users. Note that in B.C., low-flow plumbing fixtures, such as six-litre toilets and fittings, are mandatory in new construction as of September 5, 2008.

What uses more water: bathing or showering?
Showering for five minutes or less using a low-flow showerhead is the best method to saving water. If you shower for 10 minutes or longer with a traditional (non-low-flow) showerhead, you can use significantly more water than bathing, especially if you only fill the tub halfway. If you must use the bath, don’t fill it up all the way, plug the drain before you turn on the tap and add hot water later.

How can I find out how much water I am using every day?
In Canada, average water use is about 125,000 litres for each person per year. The use for drinking water has been estimated at about 1.5 litres each day. Use GoBlue’s One Minute Water Calculator to find out how much you are using in your own household.