Put a few drops of food coloring in your toilet tank. If the coloring begins to appear in the toilet bowl without flushing, you have a wasteful leak that should be repaired at once.
25 Ways to Save Water
Water is too precious to waste. All across the country, water is becoming a natural resource that cannot be taken for granted. Please do your part to use water efficiently and protect this vital commodity. Don’t be a water waster. Instead, follow these 25 tips and save water and money. Think more about using less.
1. Check your toilet(s) for leaks.
2. Don’t use your toilet as an ashtray or wastebasket.
3. Put a plastic bottle in your toilet tank.
Put an inch or two of sand pebbles in the bottom of a quart bottle and fill the rest of the bottle with water. Then place the bottle in your toilet tank, safely away from the operating mechanism. The bottle will save water on each flush without impairing the efficiency of the toilet.
4. Take shorter showers.
Limit your showers to the time it takes to soap up, wash down and rinse off.
5. Install water-saving shower heads or flow restrictors.
Your hardware or plumbing supply store stocks inexpensive shower heads and flow restrictors that are easy to install and still give you cleansing, refreshing showers.
6. Take baths.
A partially filled tub uses less water than all but the shortest showers.
7. Turn off the water while brushing your teeth.
Before brushing, wet your brush and fill a glass for rinsing your mouth.
8. Turn off the water while shaving.
Fill the bottom of the sink with a few inches of water in which to rinse your razor.
9. Check faucets, valves, and pipes inside your house for leaks.
9. Check faucets, valves, and pipes inside your house for leaks.
10. Use your automatic dishwasher only for full loads.
11. Use your automatic washing machine only for full loads.
12. Don’t let the faucet run while you clean vegetables. Instead, rinse them in a sink full of clean water.
13. Keep a bottle of drinking water in the refrigerator.
This beats the wasteful running of tap water to cool it for drinking.
14. If you wash dishes by hand, don’t leave the water running for rinsing
If you have two sinks, fill one with rinse water. If you have only one sink, gather your washed dishes in a dish rack and rinse them quickly with a spray device or pan of water.
15. Check your water softener rejuvenation frequency.
Set back the number of times your water softener rejuvenated during the week. Make sure that the softener stops at the end for the rejuvenation cycle. A softener that continues to run will waste hundreds of gallons of water.
16. Water your lawn only when it needs it.
Step on the grass. If it springs back up when you take your foot off, it doesn’t need water.
17. Deep-soak your lawn.
When you do water your lawn, water it just enough for water to seep down to the roots where it is needed. A light sprinkling, which sits on the surface, will evaporate and be wasted.
18. Water during the cool parts of the day.
Early morning is better than dusk since it helps to prevent the growth of fungus.
19. Don’t water the gutter.
Position your sprinklers so that water lands on your lawn or garden, not on concrete or paved areas. Also, avoid watering on windy days.
20. Plant drought-resistant grasses, shrubs, and trees.
Position your sprinklers so that water lands on your lawn or garden, not on concrete or paved areas. Also, avoid watering on windy days.
21. Put a layer of mulch around trees and plants.
Mulch slows the evaporation of moisture.
22. Use a broom instead of a hose to clean driveways and sidewalks.
22. Use a broom instead of a hose to clean driveways and sidewalks.
23. Don’t run the hose while washing your car.
Soap down your car from a pail of soapy water. Use a hose only to rinse it off.
24. Tell your children not to play with the hose and sprinklers.
25. Check for leaks in pipes, hoses, faucets, and couplings outside your house.
Leaks outside the house can be extremely wasteful, especially when they occur in your main water line. To check for hidden leaks in your pipes, shut off all faucets and taps around the house for 15 minutes. If the water meter then shows some movement during that time, you have a leak. (Turn off all outside spigots and remove hoses and hose carts before the winter weather hits.)
Thank you for doing your part!