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12 Ways to Save Water in Your Home
Clean running water, an absolute
necessity to our very survival, is also incredibly handy
around the house. So handy, in fact, that most of us
use it wastefully at least part of the time. As our
growing population strains our water resources and infrastructure
to the limits, costs for providing water will escalate.
We can minimize those costs by employing a few simple
water conservation methods in our homes.
We benefit in many ways by cutting down
on household water use. Using water wisely by taking
short showers, for example, or running only full loads
in the washer or dishwasher results in additional savings
by using less energy and less detergent.
By practicing water conservation at
home we encourage our children to accept that natural
resources are not in endless supply - a reality their
generation will be forced to accept - a reality our
generation too often chooses to ignore.
Saving water at home helps reduce or
eliminate costs for infrastructure such as new or upgraded
reservoirs, water treatment facilities, or sewage treatment
plants. These are huge expenses which are passed on
to homeowners through municipal taxes.
Enough said. Here are 12 ways to save
water in your home:
1. Check for leaks. If you have a water
meter, read it before and after a two-hour interval
when no one is using any water. If it doesn't read exactly
the same, you have a leak somewhere in your house.
2. Find and fix leaks. Replace washers
on dripping faucets. A drip rate of one drop per second
wastes 1,000 liters per month (about 3,000 US gallons
per year). Toilets are another common source for leaks.
Check by putting a few drops of food coloring in the
tank. If the color appears in the bowl after about half
an hour, you have a leak. Replace worn parts. They're
cheap and the repairs are easily done.
3. Toilets are responsible for 30-40%
of household water use. Avoid flushing unnecessarily.
Don't put anything down the toilet except toilet waste.
Don't be afraid to let it mellow if it's yellow. Tissues,
dead spiders, hair balls and other assorted trash belong
in the garbage can, not the toilet.
4. Replace older toilets. The current
standard is 1.6 gallons per flush. Toilets 10 years
old or older may use anywhere from 3.5 to 7 gallons
per flush.
5. Take shorter showers. If you don't
have a low flow showerhead, get one that uses less than
2.5 gallons per minute. You'll never notice the difference.
In fact, if you have low water pressure, you'll get
a better shower with a low flow showerhead. Some models
have a control to let you easily stop the flow while
you suds up, then resume for rinsing. What a great idea!
6. Turn down one tap rather than turning
up the other one to adjust water temperature. It's just
as effective and uses less water.
7. Don't let the water run while brushing
your teeth or shaving.
8. Put aerators on all the faucets in
your home.
9. Run only full loads in the washer
or dishwasher, or adjust the water level for smaller
loads. Choose water-efficient appliances. Front-loading
washers use about a third less water than top-loading.
Some washing machines are available with a suds-saver
option that drains wash water into your laundry tub
to be reused for another load.
10. Start a compost pile in the yard
to avoid wasting water by using a kitchen sink disposal.
11. Keep a jug of water in the fridge
for drinking so you don't have to run the tap waiting
for the water to cool. If you're on municipal water,
this practice has the added advantage of reducing the
chlorine content as some of the chlorine escapes from
the water into the air while it sits in the jug.
12. Collect the water that would otherwise
be going down the drain while you're waiting for the
hot water to reach your faucet. You can use it for watering
plants or cleaning.
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