Water Saving Tips
Don't Let Your Money Go Down the Drain!
Saving water does more than help the environment - it also saves you money! Here's some helpful hints from the Michigan State University Extension website:
Saving water does more than help the environment - it also saves you money! Here's some helpful hints from the Michigan State University Extension website:
- Attach a pistol-type sprayer to the end of your garden hose. In addition to enabling you to adjust the rate of flow, this device keeps water from continuing to run out during those short periods when you put down the hose without turning it off (while you are washing your car, for example).
- Repair leaks in your faucets and toilets. A leaky faucet can waste 20 gallons or more per day. Leaky toilets can waste hundreds of gallons per day. To find out if your toilet has leaks, put a little food coloring in the tank. If, without flushing, color appears in the bowl, you have a leak that should be repaired. Repairing a faucet is usually as simple as changing an inexpensive washer. Leaky toilets can often be repaired by adjusting the float arm or plunger ball.
- Take short showers instead of baths. A four-minute shower can use as little as 8 gallons of water, while a bath needs 50 - 60 gallons.
- Turn off the faucet while you are shaving or brushing your teeth or hand washing dishes.
- Water your lawn only when necessary. It takes 660 gallons of water to supply 1,000 square feet of lawn with 1 inch of water. This is nearly the same amount of water as you use inside the house in an entire week! So only water when it begins to show signs of wilting - when the grass does not spring back when you step on it - rather than on a regular schedule.