Easy Steps Can Save Thousands of Gallons of Water
Drops Add Up if You Make Adjustments When Brushing Teeth, Washing Car and Doing Dishes

By Kathy Van Mullekom
Newport News (Va.) Daily Press
Saturday, August 4, 2007

The next time you brush your teeth, think about turning off the faucet until you need to rinse. That twist of your wrist can save as much as 3,000 gallons of water a year.

When you finally fix the leaky spigot outside your garage, the buckets add up -- one drop a second equals 2,700 gallons a year.

Yes, the efficient 1.6-gallon-per-flush toilet in your house conserves water, but a newer 1.3-gallon model does it better -- 4,000 gallons fewer annually per person.

Little things count -- whether you are dealing with drought or worrying that one will happen soon.

Here are some ways to slow down your water meter and reduce your water and sewer bills at the same time.

Outdoors

Catch AC water. Your air-conditioning unit's condensation drain yields as much as five gallons of water daily. Using plastic plumbing pipe, extend the line so it waters nearby plants or grass.

Meter it. Instead of guessing how much water you apply on the lawn, invest in an inexpensive moisture meter. You can get meters that attach to irrigation systems.

You can also use a screwdriver as a soil probe; if it goes in easily, don't water. Overall, plants and grass need an inch of water per week; more plants die from too much water than from a lack of moisture.

Wash wheels wisely. Wash your car on the lawn, and water the grass at the same time. If you wash your car on the driveway, use an adjustable hose nozzle to save as much as 100 gallons.

When you're finished with the car, use a broom or leaf blower, not the hose, to clean the driveway and sidewalk.

Plan your plants. Group trees, shrubs and perennials according to their water needs. Local garden centers can advise you about plants that tolerate drought better than others once they are established.

Use roof water. Direct downspouts to areas of the yard or plants you want to water. Use rain barrels to catch water and use as needed; place nontoxic Mosquito Dunks in the barrels to kill mosquito larvae.

Kitchen and Laundry

Make sure the machines are full. Running your washing machine and dishwasher only when they are full can save 1,000 gallons of water monthly.

A high-efficiency washer saves 10 to 20 gallons per load, depending on the brand and model.

Rinse produce under the faucet, catching the water in a bowl that you can toss on the grass or use on plants.

Bathe the dog on the lawn or in a tub of water you can use outdoors.

Instead of filling the kitchen sink with soapy water, fill a basin that you can later pour on plants to smother bad bugs; this works especially well on roses if you use something like Ivory liquid soap.

Compost kitchen scraps instead of putting them down a disposal, which uses gallons of water.

Assign glasses. Reduce the times you have to run your dishwasher by assigning drinking glasses each day to family members.

Keep cold water in the fridge so you don't have to run tap water to get it cool.

Microwave more. Cooking vegetables in the microwave requires less water than steaming them on top of the stove. If you steam vegetables on the stove, steam several together, such as potatoes, carrots and onions or broccoli, cauliflower and carrots.

Frozen stuff counts. Emptying your ice bin often is good for the fridge's working parts; melt that ice and use it on plants, or throw the cubes in the grass.

It's healthier and safer to thaw frozen foods in the fridge than under running water.

Bathroom and Beyond

Combine chores. Brush your teeth, wash your hair and shave in the shower to conserve sink water. While waiting for shower water to warm, you can catch cool water in a bucket you use on houseplants.

Change your shower head. Older shower heads use five to 10 gallons of water per minute, while water-saving versions use about 2 gallons per minute.

Teach family members that the toilet is not a place to throw trash like tissues or cigarette butts, which use extra water to flush and can cause plumbing problems in your septic tank or at the sewage plant.

Time showers. If members of your family linger in the shower, give them a timer to remind them to bathe and get out. Showering for five minutes or less saves up to 1,000 gallons a month.

Thank the fish. An aquarium contains free natural fertilizer for your plants. When you clean the tank, use the water on your plants.

How Do You Compare?

Nationwide, average daily water consumption is about 100 gallons per person for uses including drinking and washing dishes.

Do you have a leak? 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, you probably have a leak.

Also, listen for water trickling through the toilet long after you've flushed; that's a sure sign of a common leak.

To check for a less obvious toilet leak, add several drops of food coloring to the toilet's tank. Wait 10 minutes without flushing. If food coloring seeps into the bowl, you've got a leak.

What works best? When shopping for appliances that use water, look for products that bear the Environmental Protection Agency's WaterSense label for the best efficiency.

Want to know more? Visit the American Water Works Association's Web site at http://www.awwa.org/waterwiser and the EPA's at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/home.htm.