15 Ways to Conserve Water

1. 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. That is a lot of water! Instead, use the stopper on the sink and drain the basin when you are done.

2. Only flush when needed. A toilet is not a wastepaper basket for tissues, cotton balls or other bits of trash.

3. Most toilets installed before 1980 use 5-7 gallons of water per flush. Toilets installed between 1980 and 1993 use 3.5 gallons per flush. Toilets installed since 1994 use 1.6 gallons.

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. Double flushing wastes more water than you would save.

4. 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. You can find lots of information on toilets and toilet repairs at the Toiletology 101 website.

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.

Helpful hint: Are you wondering how long the parts in your toilet tank should last? The answer is: it depends. Replaceable parts such as flappers and washers or seals inside the refill valve may last several years. However factors such as water treatment processes, toilet bowl cleaners, and high water pressure can cause parts to disintegrate much sooner. If you touch the flapper and get black “goo” on your hands, the flapper needs to be replaced.

5. 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.

6. Take shorter showers. Bathing and showering consume huge amounts of water. 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.

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7. When you take a bath, use lots of bubble bath. I kid you not. Stop up the tub, add a copious amount of bubble bath and and just a few inches of water. It is totally an illusion but it will seem as though the water is higher than it really is. In addition, remember to plug the tub before turning on water; that initial burst of cold water will be warmed later by adding hot water.

8. Like your drinking water cold? Keep a bottle or carafe of drinking water in the refrigerator so that you don’t let the water from the faucet run while getting a cold drink. This applies only if you drink the water from your tap, of course.

9. In the kitchen, don’t let the faucet run when you scrub vegetables or prepare other foods. Put a stopper in the sink instead. Likewise, do not use running water to thaw meat or other frozen foods. Defrost food overnight in the refrigerator instead.

10. 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.

11. Most people know that you can leave some water running in order to prevent pipes from freezing in cold weather. Except for the most extreme of situations, all you need is a very thin trickle of water running to accomplish that goal.

12. When doing the laundry in a washing machine, run full loads only. The same applies to dishes in a dishwasher.

Hint: Instead of pre-washing dishes before putting them in the dishwasher, spray them with a mixture of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap and water (3 tablespoons per quart of water). Sponge or brush off the excess food, perhaps using a bit more of your spray. No additional water is needed.

13. Install inexpensive faucet aerators in your bathroom and kitchen. Consider this: 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? An aerator that supplies 2.5 gallons per minute should be fine in the kitchen. In the bathroom, a 1-gallon-per-minute aerator will provide plenty of water to brush your teeth, wash your hands.

14. 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.

15. Use buckets when washing your car instead of letting the water from the hose run continuously. Your vehicle will become just as clean and when you are done, a quick rinse will whisk away the final remnants of dirt.

THE HOME WATER AUDIT

Curious to see how you are doing when it comes to water conservation. I found this nifty home water audit online at the Water Use It Wisely website – it only takes a moment to complete and you might be surprised at the results. I actually scored 31 out of 36 but then again, where I live the water cost is about a dollar a flush so I am extra careful when it comes to water.

Like so many things in life, the use of water can be a mindless process mired in habit. After all, you turn on the faucet and there it is: fresh, clear water. Alas, the availability of water may be a problem following a disaster. If you are lucky, you will at least have some water and if not, well, hopefully you will have plenty of water stored away and you will have learned in advance to be frugal in its use.

While most of the tips outlined today apply to a situation normal – after all, a bubble bath would be out of the question following a disaster – they are still useful in that they get you into the proper mindset of paying attention and being aware of the importance of water for you daily living needs.