10 easy tips for conserving water

A household may waste many gallons of water through leaking pipes, toilets and faucets, and we often use more water than necessary for bathing and household chores. This wasted water can drive up your utility bills, too.

Save water with these easy tips

Here are ten common-sense tips to both help you reduce the amount of water your family wastes and also to save money on your water bill:

1. Don't let the water run in the sink while you're brushing your teeth, washing your face and hands, or washing dishes. Lather up and shut the water off, turning it back on when it's time to rinse. Wash several dishes at a time before turning the water on and rinsing the lot.

2. Check your water meter. If it still runs while all the water is shut off in the house (check after 20 minutes to see if it's moved), you have a leak somewhere. Find it and fix it. Some repairs are DIY projects, but some jobs may require a professional plumber.

3. Run the dishwasher only when it is full, and use the least number of cycles needed to get the dishes clean.

4. Only wash full loads of laundry whenever possible, or reduce the water level according to the size of the load. Use the regular cycle when you can; the permanent press cycle uses more water.

5. Don't use the kitchen garbage disposal, which uses a great deal of water. Start a compost pile instead, and you won't overload your septic system or sewer with solids.

6. Install a water-conserving showerhead, and take short showers instead of baths. A bath can use from 20 to 30 gallons of water.

7. Grow the natural turf grass for your climate, which will require less watering than non-native varieties, and keep it mowed high. Water your lawn in the cool morning or evening, when less water will be lost to evaporation.

8. Check the faucets in the kitchen, bathroom, basement, and outdoors for drips, and repair or replace them if necessary. In the meantime, put a bucket under the drip and use the water for watering houseplants or garden plants, or filling the dog's water dish.

9. Check your toilet tank for leaks by putting a few drops of food coloring in the tank and observing the water in the bowl below (without flushing). If the water in the bowl turns color in less than 30 minutes, you have leak. The stopper, float, or handle could be the culprit. Small toilet fixes can be easy do-it-yourself projects.

10. Replace your old water-guzzling toilet with a newer, water-conserving model. This step can save you many gallons of water and the new toilet can pay for itself in just a few months. An alternative is to put water-filled jugs in the tank of older models to displace the amount used during a flush.

Conserve for the future

Water is a precious natural resource that many of us have taken for granted from time to time. Life may cease to exist without a clean water supply, and it's important that each of us do our part to conserve this valuable asset for future generations.