Ways To Conserve Water In Your Home

Recently while sharing a house with 8 girls on the East Coast, I came face to face with some of my biggest pet peeves. For example, I loathed when my housemates played loud music early in the morning or let the trash overflow, but my biggest pet peeve was when people left the water on. Whether it was forgetting to turn off the sink faucet or not making sure that the shower didn’t dribble, water was always going to waste in that house. As a California native, water conservation has always been important to me, and living with these other girls, I learned that not everyone is as aware as they need to be about this issue, much less doing their part. So here are some quick tips and tricks on how to save that precious H2O.

 How to Conserve Water in The Bathroom

 

• Equipped with all things water oriented, the bathroom is a water-wasting haven. For the toilet, a great and effective product to get is the Toilet Tank Bank. This product is a plastic bag that you fill with water and hang in the toilet tank. It will displace an amount of water equivalent to 0.8 of a gallon, which means that every time the toilet flushes it is done with less water. This eco-friendly gadget can be purchased on eBay or Amazon.

• You can also save water the old fashion way in the bathroom. While waiting for your shower/bath water to get warm, you can stick a bucket under the water stream to capture the cold water. Next time you need to flush the toilet just pour the cold water into the toilet and watch it flush.

• Look for WaterSense® labeled toilets, sink faucets, and shower heads, instead of regular ones. These are certified, high-performance water appliances that are water efficient. WaterSense appliances save water as well as your piggy bank.

**How to Conserve Water in **The Laundry Room

• Laundry. We all have to do it, right? Why not do it in a way that is better for our Earth? Energy Star washing machines and dryers save up to 20 gallons of water per load. They are easy to find as well. Just go to HomeDepot.com and make sure to use a Home Depot Coupon while ordering appliances online.

• Wash your darks clothes in cold water. It saves water and helps the clothing retain its color better.

• Wash full loads of laundry rather than medium or small loads. If it is necessary though, usually a washing machine will come with a dial to fluctuate the amount of water per load. Make sure you use less water if it's a lighter load.

**How to Conserve Water in **The Kitchen

• There is only one way to clean your dishes: water. But there are multiple ways to use that water wisely. So instead of hand washing your dishes with the water constantly running, fill one basin with wash water and the other with rinse water. Naturally you will use less.

• An common alternative to hand washing dishes is to use a dishwasher...who has the time to hand wash dishes anyway? This will use less water. Even better, buy an Energy Star dishwasher that, like the clothing washer, saves water and energy, which simultaneously saves you bank. The Energy Star dishwasher can also be bought at Home Depot.

General Tips and Best Practices For Water Conservation

• Avoid buying recreational water toys, which require water (crazy, I know). It may hurt your inner child, but Mother Earth will be happy!

• Monitor your water bill. Trust me, nothing will inspire change in your routine like seeing how much unnecessary water use taps into your piggy bank.

• Wash your four-legged friends outdoors in a part of your lawn that needs some H2O TLC. 

• Bring your car to a car wash instead of washing it yourself. Believe it or not, car washes typically use less water per car. Even better, use a car wash that cleans and recycles their water.

• Hire a GreenPlumber to help you decrease your water, energy and chemical use.

• Lastly, pass it on! Educate your kids, friends, student and neighbors on how they can cut down on water and save money while doing it too.

Whether you’re in California or Colorado, Maine or Montana, water conservation is something we all have a part in. Not only can we help our planet, but we can also help our bank accounts. So let’s try to keep Mother Earth happy and hydrated.