Toilets Use the Most Water in U.S. Homes

Toilets account for the greatest share of indoor residential water use, 33.1 gallons per day (gpd), followed closely by showers, faucets, washing machines, and pipe leaks.

Residential water use is almost evenly split between use outside and inside, 138.4 and 137.8 gpd respectively, according to a recent study by the National Association of Home Builders. The study also showed that hot water use accounted for one-third of total indoor water use in a sample of 94 homes.

Although it is not feasible to parse specific indoor uses by age of structure in the REUW data, it is possible to do this for total water used per single-family home. Results show less water used by homes built before 1960, but relatively small differences among homes built after that.

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