Water Consumption of Domestic Appliances

Water Conservation

• As the world's population grows, the need to conserve water becomes more important. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, readily usable fresh water represents only about 1 percent of the planet's water resources. And domestic appliances such as the dishwasher and clothes washer consume a fair share of potable water. The Energy Star program, developed by the EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy, is working to reduce water usage by defining manufacturing standards for domestic appliances.

Dishwasher

• Residential dishwashers manufactured after Jan. 1, 2010, and before May 20, 2013, must meet Code of Federal Regulations standards of 6.5 gallons for a standard-capacity washer and 4.5 gallons for a compact model. After May 20, 2013, these standards change to 5 gallons for standard capacity and 3.5 gallons for a compact washer. Prior to 2010, the average dishwashers used from 7.5 to 16 gallons of water per load.

Clothes Washer

• The EPA reports that the average domestic clothes washer uses more than 41 gallons of water per load. While many older washers required the user to determine how much water was used, many modern washers can detect the amount of water necessary to clean a particular load. New, full-sized Energy Star-rated clothes washers use only 15 gallons per load.

Coffee Maker

• The domestic coffee maker is available in a wide variety of styles, manufactured to brew coffee one cup at a time or by the carafe. The water reservoir size can range from a few ounces for a single cup maker to more than 72 ounces for larger models. Some models can connect directly to a water supply line and produce several gallons per hour.