A quick monthly read that helps you take small steps to lessen your environmental impact - SIMPLY

~A quick monthly read that helps you take small steps to lessen your environmental impact - SIMPLY~

Thursday, May 1, 2008

MAY TIP: Water Saver Phase I



Hello readers! For the next 4 months we will be providing Water saving tips. An issue we feel is very important to everyone, especially our Georgia friends. During the summer people seem to use more water then usual and we want to help you avoid that - simply.

Here's what were going to do. Each Month we will focus on an area in the inside or outside of the home. From there give you simple tips to apply in your daily routine. We are so excited about doing this and hope it will help you save water for our Eco-system, water supply, and water management (we're trying too!).

For May we will be focusing on the lovely Bathroom. Yep, the place where the most water is used each day.

Here are the TIPS and FACTS about water savings in the bathroom:

TIPS:

  • When brushing your teeth turn off the water. There is no reason you need to have the water running while brushing your teeth. When you do need to turn it on, have it on low just enough to finish your daily dental hygiene!
  • This may sound kind of gross, BUT regarding using the potty "If it's yellow keep it mellow, if it's brown flush it down!" Let it stay mellow for about two to three visits. The ladies of the home may be able to apply this more then the men folk, since many of us seem to go more often.
  • Fill a plastic, quart-sized milk container with water and put it in your pre-1994 toilet tank, safely away from the operating mechanism. The jug can displace 10 gallons or more of water a day. We do not recommend you use a brick to displace the water. Bricks eventually disintegrate in water and can jam plumbing lines.
  • Use the minimum amount of water needed for a bath by closing the drain first and filling the tub only 1/3 full.
  • Limit the length of your shower to 5 minutes or less. Turn off the water while soaping up or shampooing.
  • Ladies, when shaving either turn off the water until your ready to rinse OR put it on a simple drip using only cold water, to save energy.
  • When warming your shower water place a bucket or plastic basin in the shower to collect excess water. This water can then be used to water plants outdoors.

FACTS:

  • A family of four uses 400 gallons of water every day
  • A faucet drip or invisible toilet leak that totals only two tablespoons a minute comes to 15 gallons a day. That’s 105 gallons a week or 5,460 wasted gallons of water a year.
  • The most effective and inexpensive way to reduce your faucet use is by installing a low-flow faucet aerator on all your household faucets. Some aerators can restrict flow to less than 1.0 gpm.
  • A typical bath takes about 40 gallons of water.
  • Reducing showering time by 1 minute can save 1,000 gallons of water a year.

Please leave BATHROOM tips you have applied in your own daily routine.
Other's read and benefit!

Thank you for reading, enjoy the rest of spring, and we hope you enjoyed our simple May Water saver TIP!




source: www.h2ouse.org

1 comment:

GOING GREEN! Newsletter said...

My friend Vanessa from Australia wrote me sharing:
"Australia has been in a drought for over 11 years now. There are water metres in some towns which time your shower and make sure you are not watering your garden/lawn. You don't see much green grass around. In the towns where there are total bans on watering, many people use grey water (water from washing machine, etc.) to grow gardens.

In my parents town they are allowed to water on certain days at certain times. Lawns/gardens should only ever be watered at night or super early in the morning. Otherwise you are just wasting water as the sun soaks it up before it can penetrate. My parents drain water from their washing machine to their garden. They shower with buckets at their feet and use the water to flush the toilet or water the garden. If there is ever rain they have lots of water catches around. They also have a rain water tank. They have plastic containers under every faucet in the house to catch excess water. It is such an eye opener when we go home, especially for Kevin who has never known about water conservation.

It is mandatory in Australia to have duel flush toilets and the motto "if it's yellow it mellow, if it's brown flush it down" is known by all"
-from your bloggers C&B