The Best Ways to Save Water

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

27 Dec 2006 05:28 PM

Want to save some cash? Try saving your water. Here are some easy ways to save, drop by drop.

Run the dishwasher and clothes washing machine with full loads only, unless you can adjust the water level to the size of your load.

Reuse water when you can for watering plants, the garden and your lawn.

Find and repair hidden water leaks. Here is a simple test to see if you have any hidden water leaks. First read your water meter. Then read it again in two hours, when you are sure no water is being used. If there is a change in the meter, then you have a water leak. You can contact your water company for help in locating and repairing the leak. If you have a well and a pump, check to see if you hear the pump kick on when you know you aren't using water.

Replace your toilets with low-flush ones, or add a brick to the tank. The brick will make the tank fill with less water, and you will use less water per flush. Listen to hear if the toilet tank is filling when you haven't flushed. This was my clue that our upstairs toilet had a leak. An inexpensive part solved the problem. For a more extreme way to save on water in toilets, click here.

Replace your shower head with a low-flow version. Taking shorter showers is an obvious way to save, but that just doesn't seem to be an option in our house. Hot showers are one of the ways we relax after a long, tense day.

Rather than just running water to warm it up, use the initial cold water. For example, brush your teeth while waiting for the water to warm up. Then wash your face with the warm water. Fill up pet bowls or your tea kettle with water as you wait for it to warm up to wash dishes. You can also install an instant-hot water heater on your kitchen sink.

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Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat.

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Lisa P (24013) 28 Dec 2006 02:18 PM

Here's a little trick I use:

If you don't have a brick handy to pop in the toilet tank, fill a 2 liter pop bottle with water and set it in there. It will stay in place since it is full of water, your toilet will still flush fine and you'll be saving over a gallon of water with every two flushes!

Mary Ann Romans (26876) 28 Dec 2006 02:30 PM

Wow Lisa, thanks for sharing that tip. two-liter pop bottles are always so easy to find around the house. Of course here, we call them "soda" bottles :)

KristyC4 (44) 10 Feb 2007 09:07 AM

You can also not flush every time you use the toilet. My grandmother lives in the country and uses well water. In the summer especially, she really has to worry about conserving water. She has a sign over her toilet that reads "If it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down." Personally, I don't go to that extreme. But when there aren't any guests in the house, I do try to only flush every other use (with liquids, of course).

Mary Ann Romans (26876) 29 Oct 2007 09:57 AM

I have heard that a good rule of thumb is to only flush it when the water changes color. :)