Sara is working on making her house more eco-friendly. She has a number of upgrades she wants to make such as replacing her toilet that uses 5 gallons per flush with a new toilet that uses 1.2 gallons per flush. She also wants to replace a leaky faucet in her kitchen. Finally, she would like to replace her old washing machine that uses 35 gallons of water per load with a new high-efficiency model that only uses 10 gallons per load.
Which item should Sara replace first and why? Support your answer with evidence and reasoning
Sara should replace her old washing machine first. The reason for this is that washing machines typically use a large amount of water per load, and replacing it with a high-efficiency model can result in significant water savings.
Comparing the water usage of her current washing machine to the new high-efficiency model, Sara's old washing machine uses 35 gallons of water per load, while the new model only uses 10 gallons per load. This means that by replacing her old washing machine with the new one, Sara can potentially save 25 gallons of water per load. If Sara does several loads of laundry per week, this can add up to a substantial amount of water savings over time.
Additionally, water conservation is essential for environmental sustainability, as water is a finite resource. By reducing her water usage through upgrading to a high-efficiency washing machine, Sara is taking a proactive step towards making her home more eco-friendly.
Once Sara has replaced her washing machine, she can then move on to replacing her toilet and leaky faucet, further reducing her household's water consumption and environmental impact.