Almost no one thinks about it until they are in a drought or a survival situation, but we waste literally tons of water each year.
By adopting these tips for conserving water, we not only will lower water bills, we also will help preserve over the long haul a vital resource.
HOW TO CONSERVE HOUSEHOLD WATER
The faucet at the bathroom sink does not need to be running continuously while you brush your teeth, wash your face or shave. You will save between three and five gallons of water each minute your faucet is turned off.
Only flush when needed. A toilet is not a wastepaper basket for tissues, cotton balls or other bits of trash.
If you happen to have an older toilet, consider filling a used soda bottle or jar with water and small pebbles or marbles and place it upright in the tank. This will cut down on the amount of water that flows through the tank with each flush. Just be careful not to place the bottle where it will jam the flushing mechanism. Also, make sure you don’t displace so much water that you have to double-flush.
Check for leaky facets and toilets. It is easy to replace worn washers and since a small leak can waste many gallons of water a day, it is well worth the effort to test for leaks now.
The way to test for toilet leaks is to put a few drops of food coloring in the tank to see if the colored water appears in the bowl. This takes about 10 minutes. If the water color changes, you have a leak. Not to worry though. Most leaks can be repaired with a kit that you can pick up at your local hardware store.
Keep in mind that little leaks can add fast. A faucet drip or invisible toilet leak that totals only two tablespoons a minute comes to 15 gallons a day. That’s 105 gallons a week or 5,460 wasted gallons of water a year.
Check for hidden water leaks elsewhere in your home by reading your water meter. What you do is read the house water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter does not read exactly the same, there is a leak.
Take shorter showers. One good way to conserve is to turn the water off while you soap up. I get too cold doing that so instead, I have installed a water saving shower head. Another option is to limit the length of your shower to 5 minutes or less. Reducing your shower time by 1 minute can save up to 1,000 gallons of water a year.
Instead of using a garbage disposal that requires running water to operate, start and use a compost pile. Your garden will love you for it.
Install inexpensive faucet aerators in your bathroom and kitchen. If you can bathe your whole body with a showerhead that uses less than 2.5 gallons per minute, why use up to 7 gallons just to wash your hands in the sink?
When watering your plants, deep soak each time you water. Many people water lightly and frequently, causing a shallow root system. Watering deeply and infrequently creates a healthy root system that is better equipped to withstand heat and drought. Also, use watering cans, whenever possible, especially when watering just a few patio plants. Watering with a hose may actually put more water on the patio than in the containers as you move from plant to plant.
Conserving water really is just using common sense. It adds up though – by just doing these tips and implementing simple maintenance on things like leaks, you will save tens of thousands of gallons potentially, each year.
Imagine if everyone would do it.
For these and other tips on saving water, please visit Backdoor Survival.