With water costs going up and water restrictions in place for drought-stricken areas, now is the time to begin saving water and improving the water efficiency in your home. Although you can’t do anything about the amount of snow and rain that falls, restricting the amount of water you use in your home and being conscious of this precious resource is something you can do personally to help conservation efforts. The following tips can help you to save water and be much more resource conscious in your home and in your day-to-day life.
1. Obey Water Restrictions
Water restrictions are put in place when there are anticipated drought issues, current drought problems and to help conserve water for residents and household use. Because many states across the U.S. are experiencing years-long droughts, many counties and individual cities currently have water restrictions in place asking residents to only water on certain days or at certain times, or even to use no outdoor water at all.
Ignoring water restrictions can result in fines from the city or a reduction in the amount of water that is available for yourself and the rest of the community. Remember to pay attention to any water restrictions that may be in place for your city or state, and follow the recommendations of your utility department in order to conserve this vital resource.
2. Don’t Leave Water Running
This may seem like common sense to you, but it bears repeating: never leave water running when it’s not being used! There’s no need to have the water running while you brush your teeth, shave in the sink, or wash dishes. If you’re used to letting water run while you wait for a certain temperature, choose instead to have a pitcher for cold water in the fridge or heat up water on the stove or in the microwave. If you are waiting for the water to warm up in your shower before you hop in, let the water run at a trickle until it reaches your desired temperature.
3. Watch What You Flush
Flushing old food, paper towels, garbage, leftover prescription medication, wipes, cigarette butts and feminine hygiene products down the toilet can reduce the efficiency of your toilet, clog public sewer drains and wreak havoc on the public water supply. Flushing any of these items can contaminate public water systems and leave traces of its material in source water. One of the best ways to increase water efficiency is to take care of what water you do have–and make sure not to contaminate the resource for others.
4. Watering Plants and Lawns
If you have a sprinkler system, get a timer and set your sprinklers to go on in the early morning or early in the evening, both of which are times when the least evaporation will occur. Make sure that the timer is set to only water for a certain amount of time so you don’t have sprinklers running unnecessarily. Make sure to either turn your sprinkler system off completely or have a neighbor take over the yard work if you’ll be out of town–there’s nothing worse than seeing sprinklers watering lawns in the rain.
5. Speedy Showers
Baths are relaxing, but they use nearly twice as much water as showers do. If you must have your bath, consider installing a smaller bathtub or consciously only filling your tub a certain amount. Give yourself a bath “budget”–a set number of baths you can have a month–and do not go over this limit.
When showering, restrict your showers to 5 minutes or less if you can, and install a low-flow showerhead to reduce the flow. Low-flow showerheads allow you to save plenty of water without sacrificing water pressure or any other desired amenities. In fact, installing a low-flow showerhead will give you an excuse to update old hardware in your bathroom with new technology.
Set a timer or create a showering music playlist, which can help you know how much time you have spent and how much time you have left. Keeping showers to 5 minutes or less can save up to 1,000 gallons of water a year!
6. Cooking and House Cleaning
When cooking, use as little water as possible to cook food. Not only will it help food retain its nutrients better, but it will also help conserve water. You should also make sure to use the right size pan for the job–larger pans require more water but it may be more than is necessary.
If you wash dishes in the sink, try to use one side of the sink for hot, soapy water, and the other side for colder rinsing water to dunk clean dishes and remove soap residue. If you don’t have a double sink, use large buckets instead. If you have a dishwasher, make sure to only run it when the dishwasher is full. If you can, consider purchasing a smaller and more energy efficient model that can save quite a bit of water and can be especially useful for smaller households.
The same goes for laundry. Be sure to only wash full loads in the washer, and consider purchasing a more compact, energy efficient machine. Front-loading washers use less water than top-loading machines, and newer models use less water than older machines. When washing dark clothes, use cold water, as this not only saves water and energy, but it also helps darker garments retain their color.
7. Repurpose Water
Reuse all the water that you can. Reuse water from cooking vegetables to make homemade stock. Put a pot underneath colanders when you are washing vegetables or draining the water from pasta and use it to water gardens and potted plants, or wash fruits and veggies in a pot and then use the water for your outdoor plants. Don’t dump old glasses of water or dropped ice cubes down the drain, but instead pour that water into plants and put ice cubes directly into hardier plants to water them. Keep buckets on hand to help collect extra water indoors, and if your city allows it, use a rain barrel to collect rainwater outdoors that you can then use to water lawns, gardens and plants.
This practice of saving water through repurposing is the easiest way to see just how much water you use. We all use a little water here and there throughout the day without even realizing how much it adds up. By saving all of the extra water and runoff from around your home you will save more than you think.
8. Monitor Your Water Bill
Keep an eye on your monthly water bill and check for spikes in usage. Random fluctuations in your bill could be an indicator that there is a burst pipe or that you need to make some changes around the house to reduce your use. Make sure to check all faucets, hoses, and connectors indoors as well as outdoors to prevent or fix leaks as soon as they happen.
Making small changes around your home and in your daily habits can have a big impact on the amount of water your household uses. With these tips to help improve your water efficiency, you will not only be helping the environment, you’ll be helping your wallet as well. Saving water is a duty for each one of us, and these simple tips can help you change any wasteful habits you might have.
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