SAVING WATER INDOORS

  1. Never put water down the drain when there may be another use for it such as watering a plant or garden, or cleaning.
  2. Verify that your home is leak-free, because many homes have hidden water leaks. Read your water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter does not read exactly the same, there is a leak.
  3. Use the minimum amount of water needed for a bath by closing the drain first and filling the tub only half full. Stopper tub before turning water on. The initial burst of cold water can be warmed by adding hot water later.
  4. Retrofit all wasteful household faucets by installing aerators with flow restrictors.
  5. Kitchen sink disposals require lots of water to operate properly. Start a compost pile as an alternate method of disposing food waste instead of using a garbage disposal.
  6. Consider installing an instant water heater on your kitchen sink so you don't have to let the water run while it heats up. This will reduce heating costs for your household
  7. Insulate your water pipes. You'll get hot water faster plus avoid wasting water while it heats up.
  8. When adjusting water temperatures, instead of turning water flow up, try turning it down. If the water is too hot or cold, turn the offender down rather than increasing water flow to balance the temperatures.
  9. Shorten your shower. Even a one or two minute reduction can save up to 700 gal./mo.
  10. Use low-flow shower heads or flow restrictors in regular shower heads (saves 500-800 gal. each month)
  11. Put bathroom trash in the wastebasket and cigarettes in the ashtray instead of flushing them down the toliet (saves 400-600 gal./mo.)
  12. Check toliet for leaks by dropping dye tablets or food coloring into the tank. If color appears in the bowl without flushing, there is a leak that should be repaired (saves 200 gal./mo.) It is not uncommon to lose 100 gallons a day or more through a leaking toilet.
  13. Turn off the water while brushing your teeth (saves 3 gal. each day)
  14. Rinse your razor with short blasts of water or by swishing it in a partially filled sink instead of running the water while you shave (saves 3 gal. each day).
  15. While you wait for hot water to come down the pipes, catch the flow in a watering can to use later on house plants or garden (saves 100-300 gal./mo.).
  16. Fix leaking faucets and plumbing joints. (saves 20 gal./day per leak)
  17. Run only full loads in the washing machine and dishwasher (saves 75-200 gal./week)
  18. Keep a bottle of water in the refrigerator for drinking instead of running the tap for cold water ( save 200-300 gal./mo.).
  19. Defrost frozen foods without running water over the packages. Either plan ahead by placing frozen items in the refrigerator overnight or defrost them in the microwave (saves 50-150 gal./mo.)
  20. Rinse vegetables in a filled sink or pan instead of under running water (saves 150-250 gal./mo.)
  21. Never install a water-to-air heat pump or air-conditioning system. Air-to-air models are just as efficient and do not waste water.
  22. Check your pump. If you have a well at home, listen to see if the pump kicks on and off while the water is not in use. If it does, you have a leak.