| Automatic clothes washing machines account for | | | | By following these guidelines you can see a significant |
| about 20% of total water use in the home. When you | | | | difference in your water consumption, enough to make |
| use and launder cloth diapers in your home this figure | | | | cloth diaper laundering a non issue. But why stop |
| may be a bit higher and in some areas where drought | | | | there? Many other water conservation tips can be |
| conditions exist, this may present a problem. It is also a | | | | used to lighten our environmental footprint even less. |
| source of ammunition for disposable diaper advocates | | | | Consider these tips: |
| who are always looking to find reasons why using | | | | Use an ultra-low flush (ULF) toilet |
| cloth diapers is comparably earth unfriendly. Of course | | | | If you have an older toilet install an in-tank toilet retrofit |
| cloth diaper users know that they are acting in the | | | | device |
| best interests of mother earth but in order to balance | | | | Install faucet aerators on kitchen and bathroom |
| things out we can always find ways to cut back on | | | | faucets |
| our water usage so that cloth diapers are simply not | | | | Install a low-flow showerhead |
| an issue. The first step you can take to reduce water | | | | Avoid pre-wash and pot scrubbing cycles on your |
| usage is do use a dry pail method for laundering. | | | | dishwasher, saving 5-8 gallons per wash |
| Presoaking your diapers in a wet pail is not required to | | | | Consider installing an instant water heater on your |
| keep them clean and it would help to conserve water | | | | kitchen faucet so you don't have to the let water run in |
| by skipping this procedure entirely. | | | | order to heat up |
| We can also help conserve water by buying an | | | | Consider using a non-regenerating water filter as an |
| energy efficient washing machine. Traditional | | | | alternative to a water softener |
| top-loading washers use between 32 and 50 gallons | | | | Turn off the softener when you are on vacation |
| per load. Shop for a model that uses less water, and | | | | Use a pool cover and you can save 90 to 95% of the |
| make sure that it has settings for using less water | | | | water that would otherwise be lost to evaporation |
| when washing partial loads. If you can afford one of | | | | Use "gray water" collected from clothes washers, |
| the newer front-loading clothes washers, they are an | | | | bathtubs, showers, and laundry or bathroom sinks to |
| excellent investment. These machines tumble your | | | | water ornamental plants and lawns, or to irrigate trees |
| clothes through a smaller quantity of water, rather than | | | | Use gutters and downspouts to catch run-off water |
| using an agitator. Most front-loaders today use about | | | | from the rain and divert it to your landscaping. Tanks, |
| 24 gallons per load, or about 40% less water. They | | | | barrels, and cisterns can also be used for rainwater |
| also use less energy and detergent, and discharge less | | | | collection. |
| water into your sewer pipe. Thus, you can save on | | | | You can track the progress of your household's |
| your water, sewer, energy, and detergent bills. There | | | | conservation efforts by checking your water meter. |
| are claims that front-loaders are gentler on fabrics, | | | | Consider setting a weekly target and monitoring your |
| prolonging the life of your clothes.* | | | | total water use for that period. Investigate how |
| One of the most important aspects to consider when | | | | changing your habits or upgrading to water-conserving |
| washing is to remember to wash full loads as much as | | | | appliances and hardware affect actual water used. * |
| possible. If you must wash a partial load, see if your | | | | By using these and other water conservation tips we |
| machine allows the water level to be adjusted to fit | | | | can help to lighten the impact of cloth diaper laundering |
| the size of the wash load. Simply by adjusting the | | | | on our available water resources and say with |
| water level to correspond to the load size may easily | | | | certainty that our choice to diaper our children with |
| save as much as 12 gallons per week, especially if | | | | cloth, is the the most environmentally responsible one. |
| many smaller loads are washed. | | | | |