Your everyday actions to use water wisely add up to make a big difference.
Best ways to save water
Report leaks to maintenance right away
Leaks waste a lot of water. This is the most impactful thing you can do as a tenant. Property managers want tenants to report leaks because if leaks aren’t addressed, they drive the building’s water costs higher and can sometimes cause damage.
Check that your faucets have aerators
These devices add air bubbles to the water or change the spray pattern to make the flow more useful and efficient while you have the faucet on. If you don’t have an aerator, the water coming out of the faucet will look clear. If there is an aerator or restrictor, you won’t be able to see through the stream of water, or there will be several separate streams of water.
Let your property management know if you think your faucet is missing an aerator. They may be able to provide one.
Swap out your showerhead for an efficient one
Check with your property management first, but most properties are okay with you changing the showerhead.
- Learn more about showers and baths.
- Examine your water use habits.
- Choose showers over baths.
- Take shorter showers or shower less often.
- Scrape food scraps into the compost instead of using the sink garbage disposal.
- Take care to turn off the faucet when you’re not using it.
- Wash full loads of laundry and dishes.
Get involved
- Ask your property management about using utility rebates to replace inefficient toilets. Older toilets are a lot less efficient than newer ones.
- Get everyone involved in reducing water waste from leaks. Let your property management know about posters and email templates available on our website [link to apt & condo page] to help spread the word.
- Learn how water costs are passed on to you. Sometimes they’re included in rent, allocated based on number of occupants or other factors, charged based on actual water use, or something else. If you’re not sure, check your lease agreement or ask your property manager. While this won’t directly save water, learning about how tenants in your building pay for water can help you understand how saving water may reduce your utility or living costs.