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Conserving Our Water - Getting into the Habit!
To get into the habit of conserving water:
*Check
your toilet for leaks. A leak in your toilet may be wasting more than 100
gallons of water a day.
*Don’t
use your toilet as an ashtray or wastebasket. Every time you flush a cigarette
butt or facial tissue down the
toilet, you waster five to seven gallons of water.
*Take
shorter showers. Long hot showers waste five to 10 gallons of water every
unneeded minute.
*Install
water-saving shower heads or flow restrictors. Most shower heads put out five to
10 gallons of water a minute.
*Turn
off the water after you wet your toothbrush. After you have wet your toothbrush
fill a glass for rinsing your mouth.
*Rinse
your razor in the sink. Before shaving, partially fill your sink with a few
inches of warm water.
*Check
faucets and pipes for leaks. Even the smallest drip from a worn washer can waste
50 or more gallons a water a day.
Use
your automatic dishwasher only for full loads. Every time you run your
dishwasher, you use about 25 gallons of water.
*If
you wash dishes by hand, don't leave the water running for rinsing.
*Keep
a bottle of drinking water in the refrigerator.
*Use
your automatic washing machine only for full loads. Your automatic washer uses
30-35 gallons of water in a cycle!
*Plant
drought resistant trees and plants.
*Put
a layer of mulch around trees and plants. Mulch slows the evaporation of
moisture.
*Use
a broom to clean driveways, sidewalks, and steps. Using a hose wastes hundreds
of gallons of water.
*Don’t
run the hose while washing your car. Soap down your car with a pail of soapy
water. Then use a hose just to rinse it off.
*Water
your lawn only when it needs it. A good way to see if your lawn needs watering
is to step on some grass. If the grass springs back when you move, it doesn't
need water.
*Water
during the cool parts of the day. Early morning is better than dusk since it
helps prevent the growth of fungus.
*Don’t
water the gutter. Position the sprinklers in such a way that water lands on your
lawn or garden, not on concrete.
The Brewer Beacon, Spring 2002. |
