WATER SAVING HINTS

GO SLOW ON THE H20

Saturday January 31, 2009 08:30:40 PM 

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• Catch the water that comes from the tap until it gets warm or hot in baths laundry and kitchen and use on the garden.
• Defrost foods in the microwave instead of under running water.
• Don't clean your teeth with water running.
• Don't discard use for plants or put in your washing machine.
• Don't let the water run continuously when you are shaving, brushing your teeth, etc.
• Don't wash half loads, and if you do, adjust the water level.
• Don't use the toilet as a wastebasket or ashtray. Avoid unnecessary flushing.
• Find out if the toilet is leaking by putting a few drops of food
  colouring into the toilet tank. If the colour leaks into the bowl, replace the flapper.
• Get a showerhead with a "shower off" button to conserve water while you lather up.
• Get in and out of the shower quickly. A five minute shower takes about 20 gallons.
• Get those dripping faucets repaired? Usually it's a simple matter of replacing worn washers. Check all the washers in the house and replace them all at once.
• Help to pack out your own children's stockings by making a whole video tape of their favourite television programs, icing cookies with their initials and making up little craft boxes containing paper, glue, sticky shapes, oddments of wool for hair and felt cut into shapes for eyes, mouths, noses etc.
• If you've got a well-water system and the pump comes on when no one is using water, you have a leak. Install low-flow showerheads that reduce water use up to half but still give a great feeling shower.
• If you're washing dishes in a double sink, wash them all at once and  rinse them all at once.
• Insulate water heater and water pipes. (65% of the water you use is hot water.)
• Keep drinking water in the refrigerator to avoid letting water run until it gets cool enough to drink.
• Make sure the flapper ball in the tank seats correctly.
• Older standard washing machines use up to 50 gallons of water per load, newer models use only 11-30 gallons.
• Pre- soaking prevents having to re-wash heavily soiled clothes.
• Replace "sticky" toilet handles.
• Replace an old, water-inefficient dishwasher. You can save 10 to 20  gallons of water per wash cycle.
• Replace two-handle systems with single-lever faucets.
• Re-route your washing machine hoses so that your water drains outside for use in watering your landscaping.
  Install a Furnace temperature regulator, and turn the heat down 10 degrees while you are sleeping.
• Rinse vegetables over a large bowl and reuse what would have gone down the drain to water plants.
• Run full loads in the washing machine, and use cold water when possible.
• Run only full loads in the dishwasher.
• Run your drainage hoses from your washing machine outside, and catch the water to use for washing your car and watering your plants.
• Select the water-saving cycle on your dishwasher.
• Always run your dishwasher with a full load. The dishwasher uses around 12 gallons each load.
• Shower instead of bathe.
• Soak dirty dishes instead of rinsing each dish separately.
• Stop water leaks immediately. A sink dripping one drop of water per second wastes 60 gallons of water if you let it go a week.
• Take shorter showers. Five-minute showers per day for a four-member family use about 28,000 gallons of water per year.
• Take a bucket to shower next time and fill with the cold water as not to waste when hot water comes on.  You will be surprised by how much water was wasted whilst hot water was coming in.
• Take showers instead of baths. You will save money on your water bill as well as your energy bill. Use less hot water. Washing your hands can use 2 gallons of hot water a week. Get in and out of the shower quickly. A five minute shower takes about 20 gallons. Always run your dishwasher with a full load. The dishwasher uses around 12 gallons each load. Run full loads in the washing machine, and use cold water when possible. Run your drainage hoses from your washing machine outside, and catch the water to use for washing your car and watering your plants. Stop water leaks immediately. A sink dripping one drop of water per second wastes 60 gallons of water if you let it go a week.
• Take showers instead of baths. You will save money on your water bill as well as your energy bill.
• Think you might have a leak? Check by reading your water meter before and after a 2-hour period when water hasn't been run in your home. If the reading isn't exactly the same, you've got a leak.
• To clean your iron, sprinkle salt heavily on a piece of fabric. Iron over the salt at high temp. Make sure you have steam off. Face will shine clean in a few minutes.
• Use the second load from your washing to water your garden.
• Use empty soda bottles to store water. You can also use them to water house plants when you are away. Cut small holes in the bottom, fill with water, and set inside the plant pots to slowly drip.
• Use less hot water. Washing your hands can use 2 gallons of hot water a week.
• Using excess water or having leaks can cost you hundreds of dollars a year in wasted water. A simple toilet leak can use 50 extra gallons of water a day and a faucet leak can waste up to 5,000 gallons a year. We've got some tips for keeping that water bill down.