“Water You Doing?!”

Posted by drgracesun on September 5, 2009 under General Dental Knowledge, Information, Smart Smile | Be the First to Comment

How much water do you use in a day? A gallon? Five gallons? Sadly, few people at all know how much they use, but the amount is estimated to be as high as 60 gallons per person per day, including showers and toilet flushes. This figure has tripled since 1900! What also may seriously surprise you to learn is that the average American (who leaves their tap water on while brushing their teeth) wastes an average of 3.75 gallons of water every time they brush his or her teeth! If you brush your teeth with the tap running, you waste an average of 4 gallons. With tap off you only use 0.25 gallons.

With water shortages becoming more and more of a serious problem for more and more Americans in drought areas, conservation efforts must be stepped up if we expect our water supply to last. One of the easiest and simplest ways to do this is to turn off the tap while you brush your teeth! A person doesn’t actually need all of the water flowing out of a faucet head while brushing his or her teeth – a full cup of water will suffice just fine for an entire brushing session, including rinsing.

Whether you are concerned about ever-rising utility bills, the environment or even if you aren’t concerned with either, turning off the faucet when brushing your teeth is a simple, easy step everyone can take to make his or her lifestyle more sustainable. Just wet your toothbrush, brush thoroughly for two minutes and then rinse your mouth with water from a cup. Clean your toothbrush in the cup with the remaining water and then rinse off again with a short spurt of running tap water. Shake off the excess water on the toothbrush, rest your toothbrush in an upright position and let it air dry until next time.

Any homeowner or apartment-dweller can take a multitude of steps to save both water and money in their homes by installing a low-flow shower head in your bathrooms, replacing leaky faucets and placing a brick or a gallon-sized milk jug in his or her toilet reservoir. Newer washing machines (both clothing and dishes) also have “high efficiency” water ratings which guarantee that a specific amount of water will be used when running the appliance. Save the planet, save your wallet and save our water by turning off the faucet when you brush your teeth!