Ken's Plumbing | Blog

You already know the most basic water saving tips — "Turn the water off while you brush your teeth," and "Do larger loads of laundry."

These tips help, but there are a lot of other things you could be doing to aid in the conservation effort. We've pulled together a list of plumbing hacks you can adopt in order to save water as well as save yourself a little cash!

How to Save Water in the Bathroom

• Have you ever had someone tell you to put a brick in your toilet tank in order to take up space that would otherwise be filled with water? This idea is better in theory than in practice. Over time, sediments from the brick can find their way into your pipes. Instead of a brick, we suggest using a filled water bottle which will take up about the same volume as a brick but won't break down and cause damage.
• Low flow shower heads are an excellent water saver. Traditional shower heads dispense 5-8 gallons of water per minute while newer low flow or ultra low flow models dispense only 2-2.5 gallons of water per minute.
• Don't flush unnecessarily. For example, if you grab a tissue to kill a bug then go to dispose of it, opt for tossing it into the trashcan instead of the toilet.

How to Save Water in the Kitchen

• If you wash dishes by hand, fill the sink with some soapy water to keep the faucet from constantly running. When you're done, rinse with a gentle stream of water rather than turning on the faucet full blast.
• Fit your sink with an aerator to mix air with your water. This lessens your water usage by making the stream of water a touch more misty.
• You've heard that you should wash only full loads of laundry. The same rule applies to your dishwasher. Running a full cycle saves more water than hand washing dishes.
• A lot of water is wasted on a daily basis by simply running it and waiting for it to reach the proper temperature. You can omit this wasteful process by keeping a pitcher of cold water in the fridge for drinking rather than waiting for the water to get cold every time you're thirsty.

Other Water Saving Tips

• If you have a leak, fix it as soon as possible. This seems obvious, but if it was something people did like they should, we wouldn't bother to mention it.
• Insulate your pipes. This will allow your water to heat up faster so there is less waste as you wait for the temperature you need.
• Only water your lawn every 5-7 days in the summer and every 2 weeks in the winter. Watering in the morning eliminates the risk of wasting water due to evaporation.
• Switch to a high efficiency washing machine. They use only 15 gallons of water instead of the traditional 23 gallons.
• Go to a carwash that recycles water rather than washing your car at home.

It may take some time to make these habits a natural part of your daily life, but once you start, we promise you'll experience the payoff. Fitting your home to be more water-friendly will make a big difference in your life and in the life of this planet.

If you have any plumbing questions or need help making any of these plumbing updates, give Ken's Plumbing a call at (864) 242-5511. You can also just click the banner below to contact us online. We're the Picky People's Plumber, and we'd love to help you out!

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