water consumption and top load washing machines

[Anonymous]

Has anybody noticed a huge drop in their water bills after they switched to a front load HE washing machine? Our water usage seems to be really high for our family of 4. We have an old top load washing machine we inherited in our house when we bought it and I'm wondering if that is turning out to be the problem.

[Anonymous]

I doubt that a front load machine would be any better than any other high efficiency machine. Also, no I didn't see a big water drop between our old machine and our high efficiency water saver machine. Maybe you have a leak that you haven't discovered yet.

[Anonymous]

Our family of 5 has a usage rate of about 350 gallons per day. I know it sounds crazy, but that is apparently in the typical range. If you feel that your bill shows a higher rate than that, it might be worth checking for leaks, running toilets, etc. I do a lot of laundry and I just switched to an HE top-loader so I'll let you know if there's a drop in usage.

[Anonymous]

How old are your toilets?

[Anonymous]

I switched from a high efficiency BACK to an old-style top loader (Speed Queen). For sure, it uses more water, but the amount is negligible in our overall water bill.

I agree with the others that it is more likely to be a toilet or leak.

Some other things to consider:
- How often do you run the dishwasher and how old is it?
- How often do you do dishes by hand?
- Any chance a kid is letting the water run while brushing their teeth?
- How long are showers, especially for kids?
- Do you have a basement or a slab foundation? Any possible leaks in your foundation?
- Do you have a sprinkler system or drip irrigation for any flower beds? Leaks there can add up FAST.
- If you can, turn off the water at the house and then go out to the street and see if the meter is still spinning. If so, there may be a leak between the house and the street and the water company should come out and take a look.

[Anonymous]

We switch from HE to old fashioned top loader and did not see a difference in our bill.

[Anonymous]

Our consumption is about half that for a family of 5. You probably have a leak somewhere. Maybe in the line to your house?

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the responses everyone. Our toilets are fairly new- probably about 7 years old. We run our dishwasher every 2 or 3 days - it's about 10 years old, the kids share a bath (not shower) every other day. We only wash pots and pans by hand every night. We don't typically let the water run while brushing teeth. No sprinkler system.

There has to be something going on with all this water usage. That's why I thought it could be our old washing machine. I guess I need to investigate what is going on.

We own a rental house in our neighborhood and I get the courtesy WSSC bill for them. Our tenants are also a family of 4 and their water bill is half what ours is - that's what started me thinking about the washing machine. Our rental has a front load HE washer.