THE HOME IS THE FASTEST AND BEST PLACE TO CONSERVE IN YOUR DAILY LIFE, A SINGLE DRIP CAN BE A DANGEROUS THING...

CONSERVING WATER

Savings –       
Conserving water in your home can save you over $100 each month.

GENERAL WATER USE

1. Saving water starts with each individual.

2. Never pour water down the drain when you have a choice.  Instead collect it where you can and pour it on plants and grass.

3. Turn off all the water in your house, go out to your water meter and see if the meter is running. If the meter is running even a small amount means you have a leak and that could waste thousands of gallons of water and hundreds of dollars on your water bill.

4. Repair dripping faucets with new washers. Drips will affect your water and sewer bill, and will make you need to drain your septic system if you have one.

5. Check your water meter bill.  Track how much you use and see how you and your family can lower your use each month.

6. If there is a leak or a drip anywhere in or around the house fix it as soon as possible. This could save you hundreds of gallons of water.

7. Teach your children to make sure they turn the faucet nozzle hard to turn it off completely.

8. In case of emergencies, make sure everyone that is old enough know where the water shut off valve is.

9. Look for car washes that are commercial and recycle water.

10. Talk to your children’s teachers or school about teaching ways to use water wisely and water conservation.

11. If you can afford it, install an instant tankless hot water heater and place it near the kitchen in a central area.

12. Talk to you boss about saving water at work, conserving equals dollars.

13. Talk to your friends and neighbors to conserve water, electricity, gas, and other resources.

14. Only install water softeners when your water really needs. Water softeners need to clean their systems and flush a great deal of water to clean out old salt.

15. Check with your plumber to see if he can reroute your gray water outside to plants or trees.  He should check with code but if he does it correctly, he should be able to do it.

KITCHEN WATER USE: (About 8% of your water consumption)

1. Keep a pitcher of water in the refrigerator instead of running the tap every time you need a drink. This way you won’t lose water down the drain and ever drop counts.

2. Next time you are in the market to buy a new dishwasher look for the Energy Star or other label to find the load size which tells how much water is used in each load, find one that works more efficient with less than water.

KITCHEN CLEANING WATER USE

1. Place all dirty pots and pans in the sink to soak instead of running water while scraping them off.

2. Fill the sink when you wash dishes. If you have two side-by-side sinks then fill one with soapy water and the other with rinsing water. This could save you 200 – 500 gallons a month.

3. Run your dishwasher only when it is full and not just partially loaded, this could save you 1000 gallons.

4. If your dishwasher is new it is more efficient on cleaning dishes. Cut back on rinsing your dishes

5. Install a low flow faucet in the kitchen sink.

COOKING WATER USE

1. Plan ahead, thaw early instead of thawing under water.

2. Use one glass/cup a day to use for the whole day. This will save on water and wash loads.

3. Collect the water you used to rinse produce and pour it into your houseplants or outside on your grass.

4. Wash produce in a water container instead of washing it under running water from the tap.

5. When cooking, make sure you use as little as possible. Use a lid to steam; this will retain more of the nutrients.

6. Dropping an ice cube is not the end of that cube, toss it into a houseplant and feed the plant.

7. For houseplants and hanging baskets, consider placing ice cubes on the top of the groundcover for a long drink so the roots can drink it in.

LAUNDRY WATER USE

1. Run your washing machine when it is full and not just half loads, this can save you 1000 gallons.

2. Next time you are in the market to buy a new washing machine look for the Energy Star or other label to find the load size which tells how much water is used in each load, find one that works more efficient with less than water.

3. Set the dial on the washing machine that matches the amount clothing in the load.

BATHROOM WATER USE: (75% of your water consumption)

1. If your shower can fill a gallon container in less than 20 seconds try replacing the showerhead with a flow control/more efficient showerhead.  This could save you 500-800 gallons per month.

2. Fix all leaks in your toilet, faucets, and showerheads. This could save you 20 gallons per day.

3. Avoid flushing your toilet as much as possible.  Avoid putting things in the toilet that can be placed in the trashcan. Instead of dropping your tissue in the toilet and flushing it, throw it in the trashcan. Don’t use toilets as ashtrays or wastebaskets. Save up to 500-600 gallons per month.

4. Install low flow toilets. If you do not want to buy another toilet you can place a brick or other hard (non-biodegradable) item to fill empty space in the toilet tank. If you do not receive a full flush the next time, place a smaller item inside so the toilet will operate correctly. Most new toilets are low flow toilets. This could save you over 300 gallons a month.

5. After flushing make sure the toilet flapper does not get stuck.

6. Put food coloring or a colored cleaning tab in your toilet tank look for running water in the bowl. You should see one or more colored streaks in the bowl if it is leaking. Could save you 400 gallons a month.

7. Plug the tub before you fill up the tub, and then adjust the temperature.

SHOWERING/BATH WATER USE

1. Turn off the water in your shower while you shampoo, condition, lather, or put soap on. This will save hundreds of gallons of water. Could save 35 gallons every day.

2. Time your showers.  Try to keep them under 5 minutes and save over 700 gallons per month.

3. Faucets allow 4 gallons to flow each minute. Turn off the water while you are scrubbing your hands, flossing your teeth, brushing, mouth washing, and shaving. This will save you hundreds of gallons of water each month.

4. Bath your young kids together.

5. Reuse your towels and clothes at least a few times before you wash them.

HEATING AND COOLING WATER USE

1. Seasonal Maintenance checkup is needed on evaporative coolers and other water coolers.

2. Insulate all of your hot water pipes you can get to, allow the heat from your water heater to get to your designated faucets.

3. Direct your evaporative cooler water drain towards a tree, plants, or flowers.

PETS WATER USE

1. Don’t throw away your pets old water. Before you fill their dish with new water, dump the old water on a houseplant or a plant outside your front door.

2. Bath your pets outside on the grass where water is needed.

LANDSCAPING WATER USE

1. Avoid planting grass or other plants on steep slopes or in isolated area such as along sidewalks and driveways, these areas are hard to impossible to water.

2. If you raise your lawn mower to its highest setting you grass will set its roots lower in the ground and the blades shade the root systems that are close to the top of the soil.

3. Plant in the fall or spring when water requirements are low and the season is bringing on the rain.

4. Use a layer of organic mulch or chips around plants to reduce evaporation. Also use a drip line and place the edge of drip tube within the branches of the plant. This should save hundreds of gallons a year.

5. Use landscaping materials that are porous to avoid runoff.

6. To save on watering, direct your rain gutter downspouts toward shrub and trees. For those that are not near plants collect water for the garden.

7. Try to limit the amount of grass you plant in your yard, instead try to cover your lawns with rocks and mulch.

8. When watering plants or grass that are on a steep slope use a drip system or soaker hose to help stop wasteful runoff.

9. Group plants according to how much water they need and water them at the same time.

10. Avoid fountains and other water features in your yard, especially those that spray water through the air.

11. Fertilize your lawn during the last snowfall or around the first rainfalls of the season.  Fertilizer requires plants to drink more and rain takes care of that water they need.

12. When you plan to replace a flower or plant, replace with a lower water consuming plant.

13. If you are okay with zero-scape, plant Xeriscape trees, shrubs, and groundcover.

14. Did you know that plants could die from over watering, even more than under watering? Only water when necessary.

COMPOST AND WASTE WATER USE

1. Throw food scraps in to the compost instead of using the garbage disposal.  Also be worried about throwing anything down the garbage disposal.  They stopped calling it garbage disposal because that is what people kept throwing in it.  Never throw in fruit/vegetable peels, or anything you can’t squish with your hand.

2. Think of starting a compost pile. Use this organic material to hold more water around each plant.

3. Weed your gardens and lawn.  Extra weeds and plants steal water, nutrition, and light from those who need it and those you attend these resources to receive. Place these plants in the compost to use as a fertilizer for future plants.

SPRINKLER WATER USE

1. Maintain your sprinkler system frequently. Check for leaks, adjust spray nozzles so they are watering grass and not concrete, your house, or streets. This could save you over 500 gallons per month.

2. Water during the morning and avoid evaporation. Water around 4AM and make sure the water soaks in.

3. Set up multiple shorter watering cycles to allow for absorption.  Instead of watering for 10 minutes at one time, split into (2) 5 minute watering. This will allow for absorption and limit the possible run-off.

4. Do not water your grass or plants everyday.  This hurts the grass or plants more than helps it.  When you water every other day, the roots will grow deeper and will become more self-reliant. Recommended to water your lawn after two or three days. Winter grass requires watering ever 3-5 days. This could save you between 750-1500 gallons a month depending on how large your lawn is.

5. Only water your lawn when it is needed, you can tell this by walking across it. If foot prints are left in the blades of grass then it is time to water it, then repeat at the same spacing minus one day.

6. Install a rain shut-off valve for your sprinkler system; this will turn off the next sprinkler cycle to eliminate unnecessary watering.

7. For large areas of grass use a sprinkler system. For small areas and plants that are isolated, use a pitcher of water to limit waste.

8. Don’t water your lawn on rainy, snowy, or windy.  There is no need to water a soaked lawn as well as sidewalks or driveways.

9. When you kids need to cool off, use a sprinkler in an area that shows it needs more water.

10. Bermuda grasses go dormant during the winter and only need watering every four weeks, less if it rains.

11. Replace your sprinkler heads with those that spray large drops near to the ground. Small drops evaporate quickly.

12. According to the season, adjust your sprinkling schedule to accommodate.

13. Aerate you lawn every year. Aerating is when you punch holes into your lawn about 1 inch deep and about 6 inches apart. This allows the lower roots to gather more water and separates the soils to become more porous.

14. Install a water-efficient drip system for trees, shrubs, and flowers. To be most efficient, water the root systems of these plants. Be careful not to over water.

15. Pay a professional or blow out your sprinkler system every year.  Small leaks can form if your pipes freeze even a little bit so blow out your pipes and winterize your outdoor spickets. If you can’t winterize your spickets, insulate them with foam spicket caps. At 20 degrees your pipes and spickets can freeze and your pipes will burst.

16. When you are watering your lawn with a sprinkler or hose time it with a kitchen timer.

OUTDOOR WATER USE

1. Use a broom to sweep of the driveway instead of a hose this will save you about 80 gallons each time you clean off your driveway. This could save you about 150 gallons or more every time you wash the driveway.

2. Check your faucets outside your house frequently. These are the faucets that are most likely to be ignored. This may save you hundreds of gallons.

3. When you clean out fish tanks or other containers full of clean water, empty them into houseplants or your grass outside. This could save you 600 – 1000 gallons a month.

4. Wash your car on the grass or bare spots on your lawn and use low chemical car cleaners.

5. Use a spray nozzle when you are washing your can and turn off the flow of water when you are scrubbing the car. This could save you 150 gallons per time you wash your car.

6. Do not leave your hose unattended, you could lose 600 – 1000 gallons of water in just one hour.

7. Install hose washers at either end of the hose to keep water from leaking at the spicket or nozzle.

8. Check you hoses for leaks, holes, or parts that may be worn or tattered.

SWIMMING POOL WATER USE

1. Replace swimming pool filter with a new water-saving pool filter, this will save you 180 to 250 gallons of water

2. When cleaning out your pool and refilling it, pour the old water on the grass, don’t worry about the chlorine, by the time you are about to backwash, the chlorine would have dissolved or deluded.

3. Water toys that need a constant flow of water waste water at a constant rate.  Save hundreds of gallon each time every time you would use it.

4. Do not fill the pool or spa too close to top. This will cause water to overflow the edges when people get into the pool.

5. Always cover pools and spas to keep water from evaporating.

6. Check for leaks in the pumps and around the pool. Be careful to check for water pooling under the pool itself, this may show a hole in the bottom of your pool.