Water Knowledge
How Much Water Does the Average Person Use at Home Per Day?
Estimates will vary, but each person uses approximately 80 to 100 gallons of water per day. Are you surprised that the largest use of household water is to flush the toilet, and after that, to take showers and baths? That is why, in these days of water conservation, we are starting to see toilets and showers that use less water than before. Yes, they really do use a lot less water. For your kitchen and bathroom faucets, if you look real close at the head of a faucet, you might see something like "1.0 gpm," which means that the faucet head will allow water to flow at a maximum of 1.0 gallons per minute.
Typical Water Use at Home
| Use | Water Amount |
|---|---|
| Bath | A full tub is about 36 gallons. |
| Shower | 2-2.5 gallons per minute. Old shower heads use as much as 4 gallons per minute. |
| Teeth brushing | <1 gallon, especially if water is turned off while brushing. Newer bath faucets use about 1 gallon per minute, whereas older models use over 2 gallons. |
| Hands/face washing | 1 gallon |
| Face/leg shaving | 1 gallon |
| Dishwasher | 20 gallons/load, depending of efficiency of dishwasher |
| Dishwashing by hand: | 4 gallons/minute for old faucets.. Newer kitchen faucets use about 1-2 gallons per minutes. |
| Clothes washer | 25 gallons/load for newer washers. Older models use about 40 gallons per load. |
| Toilet flush | 3 gallons for older models. Most all new toilets use 1.2-1.6 gallons per flush. |
| Glasses of water drunk | 8 oz. per glass (did you remember to drink your 8 glasses of water today?) |
| Outdoor watering | 2 gallons per minute |