Water. There’s about 326 million trillion gallons of it on Earth, but only 3% of it is the freshwater we need to use for everything from cleaning to cooking to watering the lawn. It’s crucial to conserve as much water as you can to ensure there’s always enough to go around in your community.
Luckily, there are lots of things you can do to save water!
For example:
1. Shower instead of taking a bath with a full tub. You can time your showers to keep them a little bit shorter. If you really want a bath, fill the tub about 25% of the way.
2. Install low-flow fixtures, like a low-flow shower head and toilet and a shower aerator.
3. Reduce your energy and water usage all in one with new pipe insulation to keep water warm longer.
4. Check your flapper valve to be sure your toilet isn’t leaking. If you hear “filling” even though you haven’t flushed lately, you might have an issue. Drip a small amount of food colouring into the toilet’s water tank to test. If the toilet water shows colour within 15 minutes, replace your valve.
5. Keep your laundry loads balanced: That means a full load without overfilling your washer. With your washer 75% full, the unit works at peak efficiency and the agitator has room to get your clothes clean.
6. For loads with serious staining or caked-on dirt, use the pre-soak setting before you do your washer load. Pre-soak will get your load cleaner and uses less water than running the same load at full power twice.
7. Make time to repair those dripping faucets and valves. A single faucet dripping at a moderate pace can waste as much as 21 liters of water every day.
8. Check your water meter occasionally to spot evidence of hidden leaks. Dial movement while no water is running suggests a leak somewhere in your pipes.
9. Work to make your lawn care more efficient. For example, see whether you can water your plants at the end of the day, when heat is low and less water will be lost to evaporation.
10. Collect rain water by setting up a barrel at the bottom of your downspout. This water can be used for shrubs, flowers, trees, and veggies.
For more information on water conservation and advice direct from the pros, just contact Syles Mechanical today.