Several conservation practices can reduce the amount of water used when washing clothes:

• For washers with variable settings for water volume, select the minimum amount required per load.
• If load size cannot be set, operate the washer with full loads only.
• Use the shortest wash cycle for lightly soiled loads. Normal and permanent press wash cycles use more water.
• Check hoses regularly for leaks.
• Pretreat stains to avoid rewashing.
• When you replace your clothes washer, consider a water-efficient model that uses an average of 27 gallons of water per load. Front-loaders use 20–25 gallons. Older and non-water efficient washing machines can use as much as 56 gallons of water per load.