Do your part and save our precious water!
With another hot, dry summer approach, many cities and municipalities are introducing new water conservation measures in an attempt to reduce water consumption during the dry summer months. To this end, many are beginning to install water meters for billing purposes and are moving from a flat rate system to a pay per user system. This tactic seems to make sense because why should a house with only two people living in it pay the same for water as the house next door that might have a family of six that uses so much more water?
As the pressure on our water supply systems increases, we will need to get much smarter about using things like water that we have taken for granted for so long.
How can you make a difference?
Here are some tips that can help make it easier to use less water…
Check for leaks
While carefully watching your water usage, it is important to make sure that water is not escaping due to undetected leaks in your system. Many undetected leaks allow water and your money to go down the drain. To help spot invisible leaks, check your water meter (if you have one). Some homes can waste more than 10% due to unknown water leaks, and this wasted water costs both you and the environment.
There are several reasons why you might want to have your water meter tested. First, you might be interested in how much water you use in a day. By reading your meter at the beginning and end of the day, you can compare the two totals to determine how much water you and your family used. As you and your family begin to incorporate water-saving measures, it’s easy to see how much water you’re saving.
The second reason is to check for water leaks. You can tell if you have a leak by turning off all the taps in your house. Then take a look at your water meter and if you see it’s still spinning, you probably have a leak somewhere.
toilet leaks
Toilets are a common source of inadvertent leaks. Without being detected, hundreds of liters of water can be wasted every day. Leaks often occur when component parts are worn out and need to be replaced or adjusted. Here are some simple tips to tell if your toilet is leaking:
– Listen for leaks. If you hear the sound of running water, your toilet has a leak.
– Add food coloring or dye to the toilet tank and wait 20 minutes. If colored water appears in the toilet bowl, there is a leak.
Replace your old Toilet, the biggest consumer of water in your home.
If your home was built before 1992 and the toilet was never replaced, then chances are you don’t have a water-saving 1.6 gallon per flush toilet. You can verify the date stamp inside the toilet by lifting the lid and looking on the back of the toilet for the manufacturer’s imprint of the make, model, and date of manufacture.
faucet leaks
Remember to check all faucets and pipes periodically. Watch for leaks and quickly replace faulty parts. A leaky faucet can waste as much drinking water in a single day as it takes to sustain one person for a week.
Replace your clothes washer, the second largest user of water in your home.
Energy Star rated washers that also have a water factor of 9.5 or less use 35-50% less water and 50% less energy per load. This saves you money on both your water and energy bills.
Leaks in the irrigation system
Another big waste of water can seep into your irrigation system. Fix sprinkler system leaks quickly and check for water in gutters or mud puddles. Inspect your sprinklers and drip sprinklers regularly for leaks during the day, as the optimal time to water is at night when you can’t see any leaks. If you have an old irrigation system, more than 50% and even more than 75% of the water can be lost due to leaks.
Plant the right plants with proper landscape design and watering
Whether you’re installing new landscaping or delaying changing your home’s current landscape, select plants that are appropriate for local climate conditions. Having a garden with a 100% grass area in a dry climate uses significant amounts of water to keep the grass green.
Water only what your plants need
Most of the water in your garden is wasted by watering when your plants don’t need it or by not maintaining the irrigation system. Be aware if you are manually watering by setting your furnace timer or some other reminder to move the sprinkler quickly. If you have an irrigation system, make sure your irrigation controller has a rain shut-off feature and that it is programmed correctly. Most of the water is wasted in the months before or just after the rainy season when intermittent rains occur.
water saving products
Many of us are reluctant to adopt some water-saving measures, such as low-flow showers, because they do not provide the performance to which we are accustomed. Finally, there is a solution to the shower problem that you can embrace without having to sacrifice comfort or convenience. You may want to replace your existing shower heads with the Oxygenics Skin Care Shower Head in all of your bathrooms. The Oxygenics Skincare Showerhead can reduce water usage by up to 70% and leave you with a shower that meets or exceeds your expectations. Many five-star luxury hotels equip the showers in all rooms with Oxygenics shower heads so they can give hotel guests a great spa-like shower while saving thousands of gallons of water every day for the hotel due to the low flow characteristic. Oxygenics has developed a patented method to introduce air/oxygen into the water flow to create a spa-like experience.
Another win-win situation that can bring you comfort and conserve water can be accomplished by installing something called an Autocirc pump. Do you ever have to let the hot water run from the faucet for a few minutes while you wait for the hot water to come to the faucet? If so, you may want to consider an Autocirc. The Autocirc is designed to circulate hot water through your home’s hot water pipes so that there is an instant supply of hot water when you turn on the tap, thus eliminating the need to waste all the water that goes away. down the drain while you wait. for the hot water to arrive.
Remember, with so many ways to save water, do your part. Every drop counts!
It’s that easy!