See how effectively you're using water & learn more ways to save it. For best results, concentrate on the big water uses first.

• Inspect the plumbing system to see there are no leaks.
  
• Install flow control devices in showers. Or, limit the amount of shower water by the way you use the controls for the hot & cold water faucets, or a mixer faucet.
  
• Turn off all water if you are going to be away from home on a vacation or trip, keeping children from turning on outside faucets while you are away.
  
• Check how often your home water softening equipment regenerates & backwashes. It uses as much as 100 gallons of water each time it does this. You may want to cut down on the use of such equipment. Reserve softened water for kitchen use, bathing, & laundry. Use unsoftened water for all other purposes. (This may require a bypass line but this is advisable under any circumstances).
  
• Insulate hot water pipes. Having to clear the "hot" line of cooled water is wasteful.
  
• Check all faucets, inside & out, for drips. Make repairs promptly. These problems get worse---never better.
  
• Teach children to turn water faucets off quickly & tightly after each use.
  
• A toilet leak can waste lots of water. Put a small amount of food coloring into the tank. If the color trickles into the bowl, there is a leak & repairs are needed.
  
• Water required to flush some toilets can be reduced. Experiment by placing a quart plastic (not glass) bottle filled w/ water in the flush tank to save 1 quart of water per flush. (Don't use a brick to fill space in your toilet flush tank, its particles could damage the valve).
  
• Never use the toilet as a trash basket for facial tissues, etc. Each flush uses 5 to 7 gallons of water. Items carelessly thrown in could clog the system & adds to the sewage disposal problems.

Plumbing Tools & Materials • food coloring & rags • quart plastic (not glass) bottle filled w/ water • alarm clock or timer

Difficulty: beginner

Repair Time: 10-15min

Advice by Friendly Plumber ® • wear rubber gloves

food preparation

• Use a pan of water when peeling & cleaning vegetables & fruits rather than letting the sink tap run.
  
• Limit use of a garbage disposal. Save food scraps & run the disposal once to conserve water. You can use the disposal even less by saving food scraps for a compost pile.
  
  

dishwashing

• Cut down on the number of utensils used in food preparation, & on the plates & glassware used w/ meals. This will save on dishwashing water used to clean them.
  
• Wash only full loads of dishes in dishwasher. A dishwasher uses about 9 to 13 gallons of water per cycle.
  
• Avoid unnecessary rinsing of dishes that go into the dishwasher for immediate washing. Scrape if necessary.
  
• When washing dishes by hand, use one pan of soapy water for washing & a second pan of hot water for rinsing. Rinsing in a pan requires less water than rinsing under a running faucet.
  
  

garden & lawn

• Try "trickle" or "drip" irrigation systems in outdoor gardens. These methods use 25-50% less water than hose or sprinkler methods. The tube for the trickle system has many tiny holes to water closely spaced plants. The drip system tubing contains holes or openings at strategic places for tomatoes & other plants that are more widely spaced.
  
• Lawns should be watered during hours when the water system experiences the least demand---usually avoid watering when windy or in heat of day---& keep track of the time. Set an alarm clock or timer as a reminder. A sprinkler left on overtime in one spot wastes water.