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

Question

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. A
(4 points)

Answer 1

Sara should replace her old washing machine first.

Replacing the old washing machine with a high-efficiency model that uses only 10 gallons of water per load will result in significant water savings. The current washing machine uses 35 gallons per load, so the new model would save 25 gallons of water per load.

By replacing the washing machine first, Sara will immediately start using less water on a regular basis. This change will have a consistent and ongoing impact on her water usage, compared to the toilet and faucet replacements which would only save water during occasional use.

Additionally, changing the washing machine will also result in energy savings, as high-efficiency models are typically more energy-efficient than older models. Overall, replacing the washing machine first is the most effective upgrade in terms of water and energy conservation.