Conserving Water during the Summer Heat

Saving water is particularly important during the summer, when the days are hot and the rainfall sporadic at best. With much of the country in a heat wave this summer, our plumbing is taking a toll in over use. Watering the lawns, longer cool showers, running the taps for cold glasses of water. If you want to cut your water bills or just do your part to conserve a precious resource, here are a few smart tips to reduce water usage around the house.

-Use a bowl in the sink when washing fruit, vegetables or dishes. You can then use   the waste water to water your plants.

-Fill a jug of water and put it in the fridge for when you want a cool drink.

-Turn off the tap when you clean your teeth. A running tap uses more than two galloons of water a minute.

-Wait until you have a full load before using your washing machine or your dishwasher. Some new washing machines use less than a gallon of water for each pound of clothes, while modern dishwashers can use as little as two to three gallons of water a cycle.

-If possible, take a shower instead of a bath. A five-minute shower uses about ten gallons of water. This is about half the volume of a standard bath.

-Use a water-saving device in your toilet cistern. Depending on the size of your cistern, you could save about half a gallon each time you flush the toilet.

-Using a watering can in the garden instead of a sprinkler or hose. Garden sprinklers and hoses left running can use about 150 to 200 gallons of water an hour.

-Think about collecting rainwater off your roof. Using rainwater in the garden reduces the amount of treated water you use.

-Check your property regularly for leaks on your internal plumbing.