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Earth Gauge: Saving Water for the Holidays

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By Nick Piesco - email

Holiday dinner guests often mean extra food and dirty dishes, which can mean extra water used in your home. But if every household dropped their daily water use by 10 gallons this holiday season, it would save more than one billion gallons of water -- enough for one million households with dishwashers to wash their dishes for a year.

When it's time to do the dishes, remember these water-efficient tips:

  • Dishwashers typically use less water than washing dishes by hand, as long as you run full loads.
  • Scrape, don't rinse, dishes when loading them into the dishwasher.
  • Use the garbage disposal sparingly. Compost vegetable food waste instead and save gallons every time.
  • Soak pots and pans instead of letting the water run while you scrub them clean.
  • When washing dishes by hand, fill the sink basin or a large container and rinse when all of the dishes have been soaped and scrubbed.

This information is provided by the U.S. EPA's WaterSense Program.  Learn more at www.epa.gov/watersense.

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