WATER CONSERVATION TOOLS AND TIPS R E D U C I N G W A T E R U S E S T A R T S W I T H U S!

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Horace Blair
5 years ago
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1 WATER CONSERVATION TOOLS AND TIPS R E D U C I N G W A T E R U S E S T A R T S W I T H U S!

2 KITCHEN Store drinking water in the refrigerator rather than letting the tap run, when you want a cold glass of water. Little leaks add up in a hurry! A faucet drip that totals only two tablespoons a minute comes to 15 gallons a day. That s 105 gallons a week or 5,460 wasted gallons of water a year. Don t let the faucet run when you scrub vegetables or prepare other foods. Put a stopper in the sink or use a bowl. Wash all the vegetables for a meal at the same time. When washing anything, use a brush, washcloth, or your hand to dislodge particles of dirt rather than relying on the force of water to do the job. Reuse wash water to water house plants or use in the garden.

3 KITCHEN Start a compost pile! Garbage disposals require lots of water to operate properly. Composting scraps will also reduce demand on our landfills and wastewater reclamation facility. Automatic dishwashers can claim the most water in kitchens, at about 14 gallons per load. Don t use the extra-long prewash and scrub cycles unless absolutely necessary. Rather than rinse dishes before putting them in the dishwasher, try scraping them. If this just won't work, then rinse in a tub of water rather than under running water.

KITCHEN When it s time to replace your dishwasher look for the most water efficient ones. A dishwasher with a water-saver function uses 8.5 gallons/load, which is 5.

4 KITCHEN When it s time to replace your dishwasher look for the most water efficient ones. A dishwasher with a water-saver function uses 8.5 gallons/load, which is 5.5 gallons per load less than a standard dishwasher. If you wash dishes by hand, don t leave the water running for rinsing. If you have two sinks, fill one with soapy water and one with rinse water. If you have only one sink, gather washed dishes and rinse them with a sprayer or a pan full of hot water. Also use the right amount of dish soap - less soap can mean less rinsing. Also consider an aerator with pause action. Change your cooking habits. Instead of boiling, try steaming. It uses less water, and it also retains more nutrients in your food.

5 KITCHEN Think about how many beverages you drink each day. Most people use a new cup every time they get a drink. Why not just keep using the same cup all day. To avoid confusion for whose is whose, designate a place to leave a glass for each person - or put differently colored rubber bands around each person's glass. If you need hot water from the tap, collect the water in a pitcher or bowl while waiting for the water to heat up. Then you can use that water later to water plants or rinse dishes.

6 KITCHEN Plan ahead to use the fewest dishes you can for eating and cooking. Less dishes = less loads = less water usage. (Also less power!). Break out the crock pot and other one-pot cooking methods that dirty up a bare minimum of dishes. Wash the really big dishes and pans by hand. This saves space in the dishwasher and can use less water. Use the right size pot for the job. An oversized pot means more water being heated and more energy being used to do it. A tight-fitting lid on a pan keeps water from evaporating and boiling away and also helps water to boil faster.

7 KITCHEN Don't use running water to thaw meat or other frozen foods. Defrost food overnight in the refrigerator or by using the defrost setting on your microwave. Wait to run your dishwasher until it's full because it will use the same amount of water for a normal cycle, whether it contains a full load of dishes or just a few items. Don't let ice cubes, prep and cooking water go to waste! If it s not salty, it can be used on house plants or in the garden.

BATH If your shower fills a one-gallon bucket in less than 15-20 seconds, replace the showerhead with a water-efficient model.

8 BATH If your shower fills a one-gallon bucket in less than seconds, replace the showerhead with a water-efficient model. Shorten your shower by a minute or two use an inexpensive shower timer to help you keep track. If your toilet was installed before 1994, reduce the amount of water used for each flush by inserting a displacement device in the tank. Or upgrade older toilets with water efficient models, or convert to dual flush.

9 BATH Put food coloring in your toilet tank. If it seeps into the toilet bowl without flushing, you have a leak. When running a bath, plug the tub before turning the water on, then adjust the temperature as the tub fills up. (Better yet, take a shower, which uses less water.) Turn off the water while brushing your teeth and save 25 gallons a month.

10 BATH Turn off the water while you wash your hair or lather, then back on to rinse. Some showerheads make it easy with a pause button. Turn off the water while you shave or fill the sink. Or grow a beard and save even more. Keep a bucket in the shower to catch water as it warms up. Use this water to flush toilets or water plants.

11 BATH Don t use the toilet as a trash can and definitely don t flush medications of any kind. Use the MedDrop at the Middleton Police Station instead. Consider installing the Ladybug device to save water in the shower.

12 LAUNDRY Run your washing machine only when full. Rethink how often your clothes really need to be washed can that pair of jeans be worn twice? When purchasing a new machine, consider a front loader that uses 35-50% less water than a standard model. Line dry your clothes in the house during winter; you can humidify the house without using extra water AND save on energy costs.

13 OUTDOORS Adjust sprinklers so only your lawn is watered and not the house, sidewalk, or street. Plant shrubs and trees in the spring or fall when conditions are cooler and rainfall is more plentiful. Water your lawn and garden in the morning or evening when temperatures are cooler to minimize evaporation. Spreading a layer of organic mulch around plants retains moisture

14 OUTDOORS Use a broom instead of a hose to clean your driveway and sidewalk. Check the root zone of your lawn or garden for moisture before watering using a spade or trowel. If it's still moist two inches under the soil surface, you still have enough water. Adjust your lawn mower to a higher setting. A taller lawn shades roots and holds soil moisture better than if it is closely clipped.

15 OUTDOORS Install rain barrels to collect water from your roof to water your garden. Use drip irrigation for shrubs, trees, and in gardens to apply water directly to the roots where it's needed. Reduce the amount of lawn in your yard by planting shrubs, ground covers or other natives appropriate to Wisconsin. Xeriscaping is a method of landscaping that utilizes only native and low water plants; this can nearly eliminate outdoor watering. Don't water your lawn on windy days when most of the water blows away or evaporates.

16 OUTDOORS Water your plants deeply but less frequently to encourage deep root growth and drought tolerance. Trickling or cascading fountains lose less water to evaporation than those spraying water into the air. Use a rain gauge, or empty tuna can, to track rainfall on your lawn. Then reduce your watering accordingly.

17 OUTDOORS Set a kitchen timer when watering your lawn or garden to remind you when to stop. A running hose can discharge up to 10 gallons a minute. Wash your car on the lawn, not the driveway, and you'll water your lawn at the same time. (Be sure to use an environmentally friendly cleaner.) Also use a hose nozzle or turn off the water while you wash your car. Use sprinklers that deliver big drops of water close to the ground. Smaller water drops and mist often evaporate before they hit the ground.

18 OUTDOORS Install a rain garden to capture runoff from your downspouts and encourage infiltration into your landscape. Use your rain garden (or a depression in your yard) as a snow garden. Shovel snow into this area so when it melts it will infiltrate rather than running into the street.

19 ODDS AND ENDS Monitor your water bill for unusually high use. Your bill and water meter are tools that can help you discover leaks. Use your meter occasionally to determine if you have a leak by checking on it when you leave for work. Then verify the reading right away when you return to see if any water was used while you were gone. When cleaning out fish tanks, give the nutrient-rich water to your plants. While you re at it, use the dog or cat water you re changing out on plants or in the yard. Insulate hot water pipes for more immediate hot water at the faucet and for energy savings.

20 ODDS AND ENDS If you use a water softener, learn how to fine tune it to use as little water as possible. Capture and reuse water from a dehumidifier or air conditioner. Look for products with the EPA WaterSense Label for items that been certified to save 20% or more without sacrificing performance.

21 OUR PURCHASES Nearly 95 percent of a typical American s water footprint is hidden in the food we eat, energy we use, products we buy, and services we rely on according to the National Geographic. According to California s Orange County Water District it takes: 20 gallons of water per glass of beer 900 gallons for a pair of jeans 11 gallons for a slice of bread 1232 gallons for an 8 oz steak 2.6 gallons per sheet of paper gallons to manufacture a new car, including tires

22 RESOURCES water conservation products and information ment/freshwater/water-footprint-calculator/

111 Ways of Conserving Water in Your Home

111 Ways of Conserving Water in Your Home There are a number of ways to save water, and they all start with you. #2 When washing dishes by hand, don't let the water run while rinsing. Fill one sink with