20 ways to save water at home, ranked by real impact

Every water-saving list mixes tips that save thousands of liters with tips that save a glass. Not this one. We ranked the classic 20 by estimated annual impact for a four-person Mexican household, so you start where it hurts.

High impact: thousands of liters a year

• 1. Stop wasting the cold-water wait. It is the biggest ignored leak in the house: up to 7,300 liters a year per person. A hydro-return sends it back to the heater.
• 2. Fix toilet leaks. A worn flapper wastes 100 to 400 liters A DAY. We show you how to find it in 10 minutes.
• 3. Swap the showerhead for a low-flow one (6-8 L/min vs 15-20 on old ones). 15,000 to 30,000 liters a year for a family.
• 4. Showers from 8 minutes down to 5. Each minute is about 9 liters; two minutes less per person is over 26,000 liters a year.
• 5. Full loads only in the washer: 8 to 15 fewer loads a month is up to 18,000 liters a year.

Middle ground: hundreds to thousands

• 6. Dual-flush toilet, or a bottle in the tank of old ones: 2 to 4 liters less per flush.
• 7. Tap off while soaping, brushing or shaving: 6 to 12 liters per minute of open tap.
• 8. Wash the car with a bucket, not a hose: 300 liters vs 40.
• 9. Water plants at night or dawn: up to half of midday irrigation evaporates.
• 10. Reuse washer water for the yard and toilet: 60 to 100 liters per load, we explain how to do it simply.
• 11. Faucet aerators: under 100 pesos and they halve the flow without you noticing.
• 12. Sweep the sidewalk, never hose it. Each hosing is 100 to 200 liters.

Small stuff: it all adds up

• 13. Lid on the pot when boiling: less evaporation, fewer refills.
• 14. Defrost in the fridge, not under running water.
• 15. One glass to rinse when brushing.
• 16. Wash fruit in a bowl and water plants with it.
• 17. Batch laundry and dishes: half loads cost almost the same as full ones.
• 18. Native or dry-climate plants in the garden; lawn is a bottomless pit, here are alternatives that do not get thirsty.
• 19. Check your bill every cycle: a consumption jump is a leak talking to you, learn to read it here.
• 20. Measure before believing: our waste calculator tells you how many liters leave in your case, at your rate.

Order matters

If you only do three things on this list, make them the first three: the hot-water wait, toilet leaks and a low-flow showerhead. Those three cut 40,000 to 70,000 liters a year for a typical family, more than the other 17 combined.

Context: according to CONAGUA, average urban consumption in Mexico is around 150 to 200 liters per person per day. The UN considers 100 liters reasonable. The room to save is enormous and almost all of it is in the bathroom.