HOW TO SAVE WATERWater Saving Tips

Water Saving Tips: Around The House

Doing Laundry• Only use your washing machine when it’s completely full.• If you're in the market for a new washer, choose an ENERGY STAR certified model - it will save you gallons of water per load.• If you can, dry your clothes on a drying rack or a clothes line.

Indoor Plants• Don’t over-water your plants! Many

plants die from over-watering. When you water your plants, poke at the soil with your finger. If the soil is dry and hard, give your plants some water, but if the soil is damp, leave your poor plant alone!

• Keep a bucket or pitcher in your kitchen for disposing of leftover drinking water, water used for rinsing vegetables, and water that was used for boiling food. When it’s time to water your plants, you can use this “recycled” water instead of filling up your watering can from the tap.

Home Renovations

• If you're building a new house, or re-doing the plumbing in your old house, consider setting up a greywater system. These systems allow you to re-use the water from your sinks, laundry machine and dishwasher for watering plants and flushing toilets.

• When buying any new appliances or fixtures, take their water consumption into account. There are a host of water-saving toilets, showerheads, washing machines and dishwashers available that will save water and save you money.

Water Saving Tips: Outdoors

Lawns and Gardens• To reduce evaporation, water your lawn during

the cool parts of the day, like in the early morning or late evening, and don’t water the lawn on windy days.

• Set up your sprinklers so they're not spraying the sidewalk or driveway make sure to turn them off on days when rain is expected, and get a rain sensor if you have automatic sprinklers.

• Use a drip irrigation system instead of a hose or sprinkler to water your garden, and hand-water your lawn or garden instead of using sprinklers when possible - you'll cut your water use in half.

• Set lawn mower blades one notch higher. Longer grass means less evaporation.

• Direct the water drain line from your air conditioner to a flower bed, tree base or onto your lawn.

• Better yet, use a rainwater collector (rain barrel) to collect precipitation. You could save, on average, 4 gallons each day and you can use that water on your garden or houseplants.

Swimming Pools and Summer Fun• Use a pool cover - you'll save a

thousand gallons of water from evaporating each month.

• Keep your pool water cool to reduce evaporation, and keep the water level low to reduce the amount of water lost to splashing.

• Check your pool for leaks often, and if you find a leak get it fixed as soon as possible.

Washing Your Car• Only give your business to car wash

establishments that conserve and recycle their wash water.

• Don’t leave the hose running when you wash your vehicle. Purchase a squeeze (pistol grip) nozzle for your hose so you don’t have to turn the tap to start and stop the flow.

• Drive your car onto your lawn when you wash it by hand - you'll irrigate your lawn and get two jobs done at once!

Water Saving Tips: In The Kitchen

Cooking• Install a low-flow faucet on your sink.

Conventional faucets flow at around 5 gallons per minutes, whereas low-flow faucets flow at 1.5 gallons per minute.

• Wash vegetables and fruits in a large bowl or tub of water and scrub them with a vegetable brush – your faucet is not a power-washer!

• Think ahead! Don’t use water to defrost frozen foods. Instead, leave them in the fridge overnight.

• Boil food in as little water as possible to save water and cooking fuel. You just need enough to submerge your pasta and potatoes, and with less water you keep more flavor and nutrients in your veggies.

• Use the water left over from boiling to water your plants (just let it cool down first!).

• If you're planning on steaming veggies to go along with rice, potatoes or pasta, put your vegetable steamer right on top of the starchy foods you're boiling. You'll save water, dishes and space on your stove.

Doing Dishes• Dishwashers almost always use less water than

washing by hand, especially if they're energy-efficient models. Handwashing one load of dishes can use 20 gallons of water, whereas an energy-efficient dishwater uses as little as 4.5 gallons. That's a big difference if you use a lot of dishes. Just make sure to run the dishwasher only when it’s completely full.

• When washing dishes by hand, don’t leave the water running the whole time. Just use a little water to get your sponge soapy and wet, then turn off the faucet until you're ready to rinse a bunch of dishes all at once. Better yet, get a tub to wash dishes in so you don't need to let the water run.

• Scrape dishes into the trash rather than down the sink.

• Newer dishwashers don’t even require pre-rinsing.

• Use the garbage disposal less and the garbage more (or even better, start composting!).

• When washing dishes by hand, use the least amount of detergent possible - this minimizes the water needed for rinsing.

Drinking Water

• Keep a bottle or pitcher of drinking water in the refrigerator instead of running the tap to cool it each time you want a drink.

• Always choose tap water over bottled - it takes about 1.5 gallons of water to manufacture a single plastic bottle.

Water Saving Tips: In The Bathroom

At The Sink• Turn off the water while brushing your teeth and shaving.

When you consider how many minutes it takes to brush your teeth and shave, if you let the faucet run, you're letting a lot of water go down the drain.

• Install low-flow faucet aerators in your sinks - you'll save gallons of water each time you use the tap. Conventional faucets flow at around 5 gallons per minute, whereas low-flow faucets flow at 1.5 gallons per minute.

• Fix those leaky faucets. You may think that a constant drip is just annoying, but it’s also a huge waste of water (you can lose more than 20 gallons of water per day from a single drippy faucet!).

In The Shower• Put a bucket in the shower while you're waiting

for the water to warm up, and use the water you catch for watering plants or cleaning.

• Install a low-flow shower head. It may cost you some money up front, but your water conservation efforts will save you money down the road. Conventional shower heads flow at 5 gallons per minute or more, whereas low-flow showerheads typically flow at 2.5 gallons per minute (or less!).

• Spend less time in the shower. If you lose track of time in the shower, bring a radio into the bathroom and time yourself by how many songs play while you're in there. Try to get your shower time down to one song (or less).

• Showers generally use less water than baths. The average bath uses 40 to 50 gallons of water, whereas a 10-minute (or less) shower with a low-flow showerhead only uses 15 gallons.

Toilets• Get a low-flow toilet, or put a plastic bottle filled

with water in your toilet tank to reduce the amount of water used per flush. Older, conventional toilets can use 5 gallons per flush or more, whereas low-flow models use as little as 1.6 gallons per flush. When you consider that the average person flushes 5 times per day, the gallons can really add up.

• To check for a toilet leak, put dye or food coloring into the tank. If color appears in the bowl without flushing, there’s a leak that should be repaired.

THANK YOUBy Begüm ÖZAÇAR

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