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The next time you flush your toilet, think about how much water you use each time. On average, each of us uses well over 100 litres of water a day just flushing the toilet. Toilets account for 28% of your total indoor water use. Combined with showers and baths, the bathroom represents about 50 % of your home's total indoor water use.

To find out how you can reduce your water use in the bathroom:

Faucet

Although your bathroom faucet may account for a very small portion of your bathroom water use, it should not be overlooked. Check the flow rate of your faucet. A faucet with a flow rate of less than 8½ litres per minute is considered to be water efficient and meets the requirements of the plumbing code of Ontario. If your faucet uses more than 8½ litres of water per minute, replace the aerator with a new water efficient aerator.

A steady drip can waste up to 55 litres of water in just 24 hours, if not looked after, it could add up to 20,075 litres per year.

Shower/Bath

Shower use and/or bath use accounts for one fifth (1/5) of an individual's total water use. Baths make up a very small portion of this use. Take a shower instead of a bath if possible - generally showers use less water than baths. If you still prefer bathing, do not overfill the tub; one quarter full should be enough.

Most older showerheads use anywhere from 15 to 30 litres of water per minute. Check the flow rate of your showerhead. A showerhead with a flow rate of less than 10 litres per minute is considered to be water efficient and meets the requirements of the plumbing code of Ontario. If your shower head use more than 10 litres of water per minute replace it with a new water efficient showerhead.

Remember when you use less water in the shower or bath, not only do you save money on your water bill but you also save on your hydro or gas bill (depending on which one you use to heat the water).

Toilet

The toilet is the largest single water-using appliance in the house consuming about one third (1/3) of an individual's total water use.

Many older toilets use about 13 litres of water every time they are flushed. You could dramatically increase the amount of water saved by replacing your toilet with a low-flow or dual flush model.

Learn more about high efficiency toilets:

Look for toilets with a high Maximum Performance (MaP) score, which indicates flushing performance. The higher the MaP, the more grams of waste the toilet can remove in one flush. Initiated in 2003 by municipalities and other interested organizations in Canada, the Maximum Performance (MaP) Testing program was a cooperative effort between Canadian and American municipalities and water agencies.

The Maximum Performance (MaP) testing project was developed to identify how well popular toilets models perform. Based on this study, toilets should flush a minimum of approximately 250 grams of solids.

• As with any major purchase, it's good to do your homework in advance. When researching a new toilet, a great place to start is the MaP testing for toilets.
• MaP testing provides flushing performance scores for more than 1,600 tank-type toilets and is updated twice monthly.
• The MaP rating system has been endorsed by consumer groups, manufacturers, retailers, and the US EPA through its WaterSense initiative. (Note: Manufacturers are not required to have their toilet fixtures MaP tested and MaP testing remains a voluntary program.)
• Find out more about MaP-tested toilets.

Check your toilet for leaks:

• A toilet that continues to run after flushing can waste up to 200,000 litres of water in a single year. That is enough water to fill a large in ground swimming pool.
• Some leaks cannot be seen or heard.
• Put some food colouring in the toilet tank and wait about 15 minutes. If the colour shows up in the bowl without flushing, you have a leak. A silent leak like this can waste up to 45 litres of water per hour. Repair the leak immediately.