Did you know toilets use more water than any other household fixture? The average home flushes nearly 30% of its water used indoors down the toilet. Leaking toilets are also a major source of wasted water in many homes. Here is what you can do to reduce your toilet's water use:

• If you have an older toilet, consider replacing it with an EPA WaterSense high-efficiency model that uses 1.28 gallons of water per flush or less.
  
  
• A leaking toilet can waste up to 200 gallons of water a day. To see if your toilet is leaking, add food coloring to the tank water and wait five minutes. If the food coloring appears in the bowl, your toilet is leaking and you may need to replace your toilet flapper.

Showering is one of the leading ways we use water in the home, accounting for nearly 17% of residential indoor water use. For the average family, that adds up to nearly 40 gallons per day. Here is what you can do to reduce your water use:

• Consider replacing your showerheads with EPA WaterSense products to save water over the long run.

• Turn off your showerhead and faucet while shampooing or shaving. Keep showers under five minutes. When taking baths, fill the tub up halfway or less.
  
  
• Keep a bucket or container in the shower to collect "warm-up" water and use it to irrigate your yard.

Replacing old, inefficient faucets and aerators with ones that use a maximum of 1.5 gallons per minute can save the average family 700 gallons of water per year. Look for the EPA WaterSense label when shopping for faucets and aerators. You can save additional water by turning off the faucet while brushing your teeth or shaving.

Laundry Machines 

• Consider replacing your laundry machine with a high-efficiency Energy Star model to save on your water and energy bills.
  
  
• Only run the laundry machine when there is a full load.
  
  
• Consider installing a laundry-to-landscape greywater system. These systems allow your laundry water to be redirected to irrigate your yard, instead of going down the drain. Learn more.

Washing Dishes

• Only run the dishwasher when it has a full load.
  
  
• Use a dishpan when handwashing dishes. Scrape, rather than rinse, dishes before loading into the dishwasher.