Water Saving Tips for Everyone in the Family

Whether you’re from Santa Clarita, CA or Chicago, saving water can be good for the environment. It can also cut down on your utility bills. With the unpredictability of Mother Nature, the fall season may have some drought-stricken weather forecasts in store for consumers. In addition to the water conservation mandates that exist in Santa Clarita to assist with our severe drought, homeowners can do their part to conserve water with the following additional tips.

Better Performing Toilets

One of the biggest wastes of water in the home is your toilet. Over the course of a year, consumers could waste approximately 30 percent of their indoor water usage. This is especially true in toilets that were produced before 1992. Because homeowners are looking for environmentally-friendly ways to use less water, switching regular toilets for the water saving variety can reduce your water usage by as much as 60 percent. Many of the brands on the market today provide a separate flushing mechanism for liquid and solid waste. The costs are typically minimal for the equipment and a licensed plumber can help set up your home to be more efficient.

Limiting Your Water Usage

The warm weather can cause health concerns, especially when the heat levels are excessive. Hot temperatures and a lack of rain can also harm the environment. Fortunately, homeowners can do their part to conserve water, especially when it comes to showering. If you typically leave the shower running long, you could be wasting a lot of water every time you turn it on. To save water, you may want to turn off your shower head while you’re shampooing and lathering your body. You also want to avoid shaving in the shower. Low-flow shower head systems when installed can save you up to 3,000 gallons of water every year. However, some can provide consumers with a wimpy trickle that makes it difficult to rinse the soap off. Try to look for the single nozzle variety that packs quite the punch in a simple stream. In addition to conserving water, the low-flow systems can also save homeowners significantly in utility costs.

Irrigation Systems

Even with outdoor water rationing in our Valley, watering the lawn and garden is another waste when it comes to conserving water. Homeowners can misuse as much as 50 percent of their outdoor water supply. If you’re looking for a method that eliminates wasting this precious liquid resource, you may want to consider an irrigation system. The EPA recommends the variety that can be programmed and automated based on the information generated by their local utility company. If you go the Wi-Fi connection route, you could even set up your system to water your lawn and garden based on the weather conditions. With the right system, you could save up to 75,000 gallons annually.

Appliances

Running the washing machine when it’s fully loaded is much better for the environment than smaller loads. In addition to common sense, washers have also come a long way in regards to helping the environment. Look for special rebates that offer certain credits to the consumer when purchased. Ultra-efficient machines are also equipped to clean your clothes and use 40 percent less water and 60 percent less energy. Washing machines of the future hope to utilize polymer beads to clean clothes. Because they do the job by eliminating stains using humidity, consumers will be able to use less water, detergent and heating costs. The beads can also be reused time and time again. If you’re in need of other water using appliances such as a dishwasher, you may want to look for the Energy Star listed manufacturers. When used to wash your dishes, they typically only use approximately 4 gallons of water per usage. Hand washing can use as much as 20 gallons every time you do the dishes.

For more info on proper water usage and other improvements you can make in your home,

visit the 2016 KHTS Home and Garden Show, here.