Water is an important part of our daily life. We use it for a wide variety of purposes. Many of us have easy access to some of the safest treated water in the world. You can get water by turning on the tap. But we do not know how much water we use. Do we understand how water we use per day? Estimates vary, but each person uses about 80-110 gallons of water per day. It is surprising that, the largest use is to flush the toilet. After that to take a shower and baths.
Many local governments now have laws. It specifies that water faucets, toilets and showers are allowed a certain amount of water flow per minute. The purpose of this article is to point out how much water we use every day, and important it is in our lives. You can calculate the per day water usage by the following categories.
Average Daily Water Usage for Per Person:
An easy way to understand individual water use is to look at your water bill. The water sense calculator can help determine how much water you use. The following consumption data sheds light on our daily relationship with water. Here are the various categories of water consumption which might be consumed each day under normal conditions.
1. Water for Drinking:
Each day we consume various forms of water. Some of which is in our foods and others in the liquids we drink. We need 1 gallon of water for each survival day. That means 16 cups of water per day.
2. Water for Washing Hands and Hygiene:
How often do you wash your hands throughout the day? Or running water while brushing your teeth? When the faucet is running, there is more water flow than you may think. An old faucet can use up to 5 gallons per minute. A newer faucets flow about 2 gallons per minute. So an average daily water usage in this category might be 2 to 3 gallons per minute.
3. Water for Cooking:
This category amount depends on what you are eating each day. It can vary from food to food. But I need to estimate an average. So let’s say that you might consume more or less 1 gallon of water per day for cooking.
4. Water for Washing Dishes:
This category of water use can vary. Generally, a modern dishwasher will use much less water than you do it by hand. A modern dishwasher uses less than 4.25 gallons of water per cycle. An old model uses 5.8 gallons. If you are hand washing dishes, the amount of water you will consume varies depending on your method. I will guess that water consumption for hand washing dishes may range from 10 to 30 gallons. Most people in the modern world use an automatic dishwasher. So the average consumption of water is about 8 gallons.
5. Water for Flushing the Toilet:
You are consuming at least 2 gallons of water in each flush. So the question is, how many times do you flush every day? That depends of course, but on an average, the number is 6 to 8 times. So the amount would be 20 gallons per day.
6. Water for Washing Clothes:
It depends on how many are in the household. It also depends on the lifestyle which may or may not warrant more clothes washing than others. Most people don’t wash the laundry every day but once a week. A top-loading washing machine consumes lots of water. On average 40 gallons per load. A front-loading washing machine may consume on average about 20 gallons per load. So if you only wash one load, the average consumption will be 4 gallons of water per day.
7. Water for Bathing:
Most people bathe in a full bathtub of water. A half-full bathtub of water may consume about 50 gallons of water. A modern shower head may flow about 2 or 3 gallons per minute. Other shower heads will blast out much more than that. A ten-minute shower will use about 30 gallons of water. So a daily shower on average and usage of 30 gallons of water per day.
There will be wide variations of water usage. But according to my general estimations listed above, each person may consume 66 gallons of water per day.
Here is a quick look at daily water usage:
Bath | A full tub varies, but 36 gallons is a good average amount |
Shower | Old shower use up to 5 gallons of water per minute |
Teeth brushing | <1 gallon |
Hands/face washing | 1 gallon |
Shaving | 1 gallon |
Dish-washing | About 8 to 27 gallons |
Clothes Washer | 25 gallons |
Toilet Flash | 3 gallons |
Drinking water | 8 oz. per small glass |
Outdoor watering | 2 gallons per minute |
The amount of water use on a daily basis can be shocking at first glance. But water consumption is well within everyone’s control. By taking simple steps, you can reduce water use and can save gallons of water. Saving water is much easier today. Newer toilets, shower heads, tankless water heater and faucets are designing more efficient than older models. They can save your household gallons every day. For example, older toilets use up to 7 gallons per flush. But a low-flow toilets use 1.5 gallons or less. Long hot showers waste both water and energy. The modern fixtures and appliances are a great way to save gallons of water. Water-saving can become an invisible habit, after purchases of water saving appliances.
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