Water-saving

Tips to help reduce your water usage when washing clothes.Since over 20% of the average family's water use comes from doing laundry, reducing water usage in the laundry room can have a big impact on your total household water consumption. Here are a couple of tips to save water and save money in the laundry room.Wash full loads.Whenever possible washing a full load is far more efficient and saves water over partial loads. It will also save electricity or gas when drying clothes.Wash less frequently.Nobody's suggesting that we should wear dirty clothes, but really how often do we need to wash those denims when we only wear them for light day to day use? Remember Grandma talking about Monday laundry day, and that was the only day laundry got done? The next time we're loading the washer, let's take a good look at the clothes. If a high percentage of the laundry looks like it might be just fine to use another day or two, then seriously think about saving the time, the work, the energy, and water usage by laundering less frequently.Use Energy-Saving WashersSuprisingly, there is not much else we can do to save water in clothes washing except to use a high-efficiency front-load or top-load washer. Basically, that means if we're really concerned about saving water we should not be using a traditional top-load washer with an agitator post in the middle. Agitator type top-load machines will use up to 3X the amount of water that a high-efficiency

Save water when washing dishes We've previously written about ways to save water in your home during this drought. Click on the link below: Saving Water In Your Home Now, we'd like to specifically call your attention to saving water with your dishwasher. Here are three simple ways to save water when washing dishes. 1. Use your dishwasher. Research has shown a surprising number of households who have dishwashers do not use them. Sometimes residents believe that by hand washing they'll get their dishes cleaner, that it's more sanitary, and they'll use less water. Of course, none of this is true. Hand washing dishes uses far more water, is likely to not do as good a job getting dishes clean, and is definitely less sanitary than using a dishwasher. 2. Don't pre-wash dishes. For decades dishwasher manufacturers have been imploring homemakers to forego pre-washing dishes before they put them in the dishwasher. There are two important reasons that we should not pre-wash dishes. First, it's a huge waste of water. You're bound to use as much water pre-washing the dishes as your dishwasher uses for the entire cycle. Also, pre-washing your dishes can actually cause your dishes to come out of the dishwasher dirty, and in some cases it may even damage your dishes (especially glassware). Dishwasher detergent removes dirt molecules from the dishes and suspends them in the water where they get flushed out of the dishwasher. When the dishes are pre-washed, the dishwasher is unable to capture dirt

Water Saving Tips Mark Twain is usually credited with saying, "Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it." Today, we might say the same thing about the drought. There's lots of talk about saving water, but as individuals we could be doing a lot more. Here is some data from the EPA about our water usage Each American uses an average of 100 gallons of water a day at home. We can all use 30 percent less water by installing water-efficient fixtures and appliances. The average household spends as much as $500 per year on their water and sewer bill and can save about $170 per year by installing water-efficient fixtures and appliances. Here are a few things you and I could do today to save water today inside our homes. Easy Ways to Save Water at Home Install low-flow water faucetsThe average person loses 10 gallons each day to household leaks (14% of indoor water usage). Installing new low-flow aerators is the best single thing that can be done to save water inside the house, and it requires no behavior change. At a minimum, we should at least repair leaky faucets and toilets. Take showers rather than bathsFilling a bathtub will take 20 gallons of water or more, but taking a 5 minute shower using a low-flow shower head will use about half the water of the bath. Don't leave the water runningWhen standing at the sink engaged in grooming, shaving, washing hands,or brushing teeth turn