How Much Water Do You Use?

A calculator to estimate your water consumption at home.

If you had to guess, how long do you think the average person takes to shower?

Guessed already? Okay, the average person spends about 8 minutes in the shower--doing some of his or her best thinking, singing and, hopefully, scrub-a-dub-dubbing. In actuality, a good squeaky clean shower can be done in about 3-4 minutes according to Underwriters Laboratories (UL).

So, now think about all the things you do throughout the day that involve water. Brushing your teeth, drinking, washing your dishes, cooking your meals, flushing the toilet, doing a load of laundry, etc. A bit of water usage here, a bit there, and that puts the average household at using roughly 400 gallons of water every day. EVERY DAY!

UL created a new calculator "Save Your Water " so that people can get a sense of how much water they use. The quiz itself is interactive, taking you through a virtual home where you answer a set of simple questions. A bunch of stats and tips are displayed throughout on the left hand side.

At the end, UL challenges quiz takers to pledge a reduction in their water usage. For the first 15,000 who pledge, UL will donate $1 to Water for People , "an international organization committed to the development of locally sustainable drinking water resources, sanitation facilities and health and hygiene education programs." Last time I was on the site, there was still a bunch of money left to be donated and gallons of water to be saved! The calculator can be found at www.ul.com/saveyourwater .