Why Saving Water for Summer Is Key
Globally speaking, 1 out of every 10 people on this planet have to make do with far less water than they need on a daily basis. And even when water is available and accessible, it often must be sanitized before it will be safe for human use.
You cut your household water waste by 50 percent by replacing worn out toilet flappers, faucet washers, cracked hoses and leaky spigot gaskets. You upgrade to low-flow shower heads. You learn to recycle rainwater and gray water using rain barrels and re-use this water instead of buying more.
So now, instead of each family member using 100 gallons of water per day, you each use 50 gallons per day. Your water bill goes from $114 to just $57 per month.
Over the course of the next year, you save $684. You divvy the savings from your hard work up four ways, and each of you gets $171 of "fun" money to spend on a special treat!
2 Simple Leak Check Tests You Can Do Today
If you are pressed for time, you will want to start by identifying a) if you have leaks (and most households do) and b) how severe those leaks are.
You can do this with two simple tests:
- Toilet leak test. Put two drops of food coloring in the toilet tank. Wait a few minutes and see if the water in the toilet bowl becomes colored. If this occurs, you have a leak. (This is a bigger test than it seems since toilet flushes alone can add up to 27+ percent of a household's daily water usage!)
- Water meter test. Set a period of 2 hours. Before the time begins, read your water meter. During the 2 hours, make sure no one in the house uses any water. When the 2 hours ends, read your meter a second time. If the numbers are not the same, water is leaking out somewhere.
How to Start Saving Water Towards Summer Use Now
Your plumber can fix leaks that are less accessible to you and also do minor repairs like changing out toilet flappers, replacing worn out washers and gaskets, tightening spigots and installing low-flow shower heads and faucet fixtures.
But there are also plenty of other ways you and your family can adopt smart water conservation habits that benefit you and your whole community.
Here is a list of great easy ways to conserve water:
- Get a rain barrel. You can find lots of easy instructions to set it up in a location that works for your home and use the water to hydrate your lawn.
- Do not leave faucets running! Just by turning off faucets while brushing teeth and washing dishes you save many gallons daily.
- Boil water. Don't run the faucet to get hot water - heat it up instead.
- Water early or late. Your grass will thank you!
- Let your grass grow. Longer grass retains hydration so much better.
By working with your plumber to make major and minor repairs and adjusting your water habits to conserve, you will save money for your household and do your part to conserve precious water for everyone.
If you want any advice on how to conserve water in your Orlando, FL home, call Shamrock Plumbing & Drain Cleaning, Inc. today at (407) 292-8881.