Bathroom

Facts

Did you know that approximately 40 to 65 per cent of the water consumption in your home takes place in the bathroom, mainly through toilet flushing and baths/showers? (Environment Canada and Water Efficiency Master Plan [WEMP])

• If your home was built before 1996 (and you haven't changed your toilet), chances are your toilet uses at least 13 litres of water every time you flush and your shower could be using up to 20 litres of water per minute.
• The average person flushes a toilet five times each day, 5 x 13 = 65 litres per day, down the drain...just flushing the toilet.
• A 10-minute shower could be using up to 200 litres per day and one bath can use up to 200 litres of water.
• Letting the water run while you brush your teeth could use waste as much as 16 litres of water, water that is running straight down the drain. (2 minutes x 8.3 litres/min).
• One Leaking toilet can waste up to 40,000 litres of water per year.

Solutions

Showers and Bathing

• Finding a solution to your water (and money) going down the drain isn't difficult. Start by limiting your time in the shower. Time yourself and try to reduce your time a little each day. The average shower length is seven minutes; see if you can get down to five minutes. Just a few minutes less will make a big difference.
• Replace your showerhead with a low flow model. Showerheads flowing at 7.5 litres (2 gallons) or even 6.6 litres (1.75 gallons) per minute still offer great performance. Even lower flow models, less than five litres per minute, are available.
• Don't know the flow rate of your shower head? The flow rate is often stated on the showerhead but if it's not there it's easy to find out. To Measure your shower flow; capture the water coming out of your shower for 10 seconds. Measure the volume of water and multiply by six. This is how much water your shower head is using every minute. If this is higher than 9.5 litres per minute we recommend replacing your shower head with a low flow model.
• Take a shower using a low flow showerhead instead of taking a bath.

Toilets

Replace your old toilet with a high efficiency toilet (HET) using 4.8 litres per flush or a dual flush model using a maximum of six litres per flush for solids and a half flush of three litres for liquids. The Region offers a rebate on the purchase of up to five HET toilets for your home. Click here for more information on our water-efficient fixture rebate offer.

• Changing a 13 litre toilet to a 4.8 litre HET toilet will save an estimated 41 ((13 - 4.8) x 5 = 41) litres per person per day. Even replacing a six litre toilet with a 4.8 HET will save six litres per person per day.
• Not all leaking toilets make noise. It's wise to regularly check on the efficiency of your toilet by using leak detection tablets. These tablets are available free of charge through Water for Tomorrow at any of our public events. Click here for information on where to find us in your community.
• Fix any leaking toilets with manufacturer approved replacement parts. Using ill fitting or wrong model parts could increase your toilets flow.
• Fact or Myth? Low flow and high efficiency toilets do not work as well as 13 litre toilets. Myth. It is a common myth that water-efficient toilets require double flushing. While this may have been the case when they were first developed, today's high efficiency toilet flushing at 4.8 litres work extremely well, without the need for double flushing. The Region will only offer rebates on those toilets which have proven performance.
  

Faucets

• If your bathroom is undergoing a renovation, consider replacing your faucet with a low flow faucet. These flow at a maximum rate of 5.7 litres per minute and can save two litres of water per person per day (Environmental Protection Agency Oct 2007).
• Turn the taps off while you brush your teeth and save up to 16 litres of water.
• Fill the basin while shaving.
• Use the green bin and garbage can for used tissues and dental floss; not only will this save water from unnecessary flushes, dental floss and excessive facial tissues are not good for our sewage systems as floss can get wrapped around our pump propellers and excessive facial tissues can cause clogging due to their thickness and additives (like lotion).