Let?s face it: we all have to get our clean on from time to time. A little home water usage is a just a fact of life, but that doesn?t mean there isn?t room for conservation and savings. According to the EPA, the largest percentage of indoor water use occurs in the bathroom, with 41 percent used for toilet flushing and 33 percent for bathing. A quick and inexpensive way to reduce your water usage is by installing new aerators in your sink faucets. It?s easy! Here?s a quick video that?ll show you how.
You can also make the same modifications to your showerhead and your toilet. If you?re using a pre-1990s toilet, you could be flushing away up to 4 times as much water per flush as low-flow toilets use. You could conserve even more water by installing a WaterSense toilet or, if you?re really hardcore, a composting toilet. As for showerheads, older models flow at 5 to 8 gallons per minute (GPM), but the current standard for low-flow heads is 2.5 GPM and some showerheads deliver only 1.6 GPM! That?s a maximum of 5 times the possible water savings!
Speaking of showers, there are lots of things you can do to conserve water while lathering, rinsing, and repeating. We?ve already covered how shorter showers can save you money and water, but how about using the cold water before your shower warms up for watering plants instead of letting it go down the drain? Showering uses less water than bathing, but if you absolutely must take a bath, there are possibilities to reuse water there, too!
Here are some more tips:
- Checking for leaks in your faucets, shower, and toilet and repairing them can save gallons of water.
- Save energy on heating your water by lowering the temperature of your water heater and buying an Energy Star qualified water heater.
- Avoid running the water as much as possible during your clean routine ? turn off the water while you brush your teeth and rinse your razor in a few inches of water in the sink rather than under the faucet.
Related links
Top 5 home water saving techniques
25 ways to conserve water in the home and yard
Green tips for your bathroom from the EPA
Top 10 tips for renters from Energy Star
--Keith Caswell
No comments:
Post a Comment