Water saving tips

Hey everyone! I know that with as many kids as we have, getting them to save water is like pulling teeth. But there are some ways to cut back. Setting a timer for showers is number one. Limit each child to a certain amount of time that seems reasonable and make sure that they are done by that time. Also there are the obvious tips: turn water off while brushing teeth, use economical faucets and toilets, and of course, fixing leaky pipes and faucets. Any more ideas?

Hey everyone! I know that with as many kids as we have, getting them to save water is like pulling teeth. But there are some ways to cut back. Setting a timer for showers is number one. Limit each child to a certain amount of time that seems reasonable and make sure that they are done by that time. Also there are the obvious tips: turn water off while brushing teeth, use economical faucets and toilets, and of course, fixing leaky pipes and faucets. Any more ideas?

I think those are the big ones. If you have a well you have to be really careful so you don't run it dry!

Remember when you're hand washing dishes, a lot of water goes straight down the drain when you rinse. Be conscious of that. Compost your veggie waste instead of using the disposal! That's not a big one, but it saves some water and results in great garden compost.

One HUGE one is your lawn. All these people pay so much money to rip up their yard and plant grass. Why? What's it good for? It just turns brown if you don't water it! If you let the natural ground covering of weeds and grass remain in place, it's almost always more heat and drought tolerant. You won't have to water much, if any at all. I don't have a pool, but if you do, covering it will eliminate a huge amount of evaporation. That can be another big on.

Most people overlook even the simplest things. When you rinse vegetables, rinse them in a bucket or bown instead of using running water. Then, use the water to water your indoor plants, or outdoor plants that are near the house!!

You mentioned shorter showers. If you have five kids and two adults, AND you have an efficient shower head, shortening the daily shower for each person by 2 minutes a day results in at least a 500 gallon savings. It adds up faster than most people realize.

I hope this is helpful!

Sam

[quote="HomesteadSam]You mentioned shorter showers. If you have five kids and two adults, AND you have an efficient shower head, shortening the daily shower for each person by 2 minutes a day results in at least a 500 gallon savings. It adds up faster than most people realize.

Sam[/quote]

arkiechic - Its funny that the next post i read mentioned that you guys have six kids. So in your case, it would save more like 600+ gallons per month.

Sam

I have an easy water saving tip for everybody....

I was outside a couple weeks ago and saw a small pipe that came out of the side of the house that had a small stream of water running out of the end of it. By small, I mean this thing was nearing a 1/4 inch stream. I didn't really think a lot of it because the other pipes come from the a/c units that dry the air and have water coming out of them constantly also.

Well, I got the water bill this month and saw an extra 2,000 gallons that I couldn't account for. What the heck!! So, I started looking closer at the pipe and found that it was a drain pipe for two pressure relief valves. One is the pressure relief built in to the water heater. The second is a pressure relief valve on the supply line to the water heater that is required by code here in cases where an expansion tank wasn't installed.

After a few quick tests, I found that the pressure relief on the supply side was leaking. I thought that the house pressure might be above the rating of the valve, so I bought a water pressure gauge for $8 and tested the house pressure. It was betwen 55 and 60 psi which is right where it should be. The pressure relief valve isn't supposed to open until it reaches 120psi. So, I cleaned the pressure relief valve and the stream slowed a LITTLE bit.

I ended up purchasing a new valve and plan to install it tomorrow. Hopefully this will help us save a few dollars on future bills!!

Have a great week!

Patriot_RAM

In case we have a large lawn and it need to water in the summer, what should we do to save water?