Conserving Water
- Turn the water off after wetting your toothbrush. By leaving the water running while brushing your teeth you waste as much as three gallons of water. Simply wet your toothbrush and fill a glass with water to rinse your mouth.
- While shaving rinse your razor in the sink. Instead of running water to rinse your razor, fill your sink with just a few inches of warm water. This will waste much less water than rinsing your razor with running water.
- Faucets and pipes should be checked for leaks. If you have a leaking faucet or pipe you could be wasting as many as 20 gallons of water per day. Larger leaks can waste hundreds of gallons per day.
- Check your toilets for leaks. To check a toilet for leaks, simply place a few drops of food coloring in the toilet tank. If the color begins to show in the bowl, without flushing, you have a leak and should attempt to repair it immediately.
- Stop using your toilet as a wastebasket. Each time you flush your toilet you use five to seven gallons of water. Every time you flush a cigarette butt, facial tissue, or other piece of small trash you waste water.
- Place a plastic bottle in your toilet. To cut down on water waste, place a few small pebbles or sand in two small plastic bottle to weigh them down. Finish filling the two bottles with water and place them in the toilet tank away from any operating mechanisms. This could save you and your family as many as ten gallons of water per day.
- Take shorter showers. Every unnecessary minute spent in the shower can waste as many as ten gallons of water. Limit your time in the shower to the time it takes to lather up, wash down, and rinse off.
- Install a water-saving showerhead or flow restrictor. Local hardware stores and plumbing supply stores carry water-saving showerheads and flow restrictors. These items are easily installed once purchased.
- Take bathes. Taking a bath in a partially filled tub will use less water than all but the shortest showers.