| There are simple ways that you can save water in | | | | Limit the amount of water used during bath time for |
| your home. One way you can start saving water is | | | | your children. You can save hundreds of gallons of |
| by changing your water usage habits. Changing habits | | | | water each week by teaching your children how to |
| can be challenging and it won't happen overnight. At | | | | take a shower. Children over the age of 6 can easily |
| first, change only a few of your water usage habits | | | | maneuver a hand held shower head. A quick shower |
| and water conserving techniques. Change some more | | | | for a child uses less water than a quick bath. |
| habits after you get more comfortable with | | | | There are other ways which you can conserve |
| conserving water in your home. | | | | water in your home, including installing water saving |
| Ways to Change Your Water Usage Habits: | | | | devices. Water saving devices can be installed in |
| Brushing Teeth | | | | toilets, shower heads and faucets. If you are not a |
| Turn off the faucet while you brush your teeth. Most | | | | do-it-yourselfer, then you may want to find a |
| standard bathroom faucets use 2.5 gallons of water, | | | | professional plumber to help install these devices. |
| per minute. Turning of the faucet while you brush | | | | Water Saving Plumbing Devices: |
| your teeth could save hundreds of gallons of water | | | | Low Flow Shower Heads |
| each week. | | | | Low flow shower heads deliver 1.6 gallons per minute |
| Washing Dishes | | | | of water. This is much less than the 4-5 |
| Turn off the faucet while scrubbing dishes. A water | | | | gallons-per-minute, which is the amount of water that |
| conscious way to wash dishes is to do it in two | | | | conventional shower heads deliver. |
| steps. First, scrub the dishes (the faucet should be | | | | Dual-Flush Toilet or Dual-Flush Toilet Switch |
| off) and rinse off the sponge as necessary. Second, | | | | Dual-flush toilets are available from most toilet |
| turn on the faucet and rinse the dishes. | | | | manufacturers. Dual-flush toilets provide two flushing |
| Dishwasher | | | | options: full flush or half flush. If you do not want to |
| Only run the dishwasher when it is fully loaded with | | | | replace your toilet, then you can purchase a flush |
| dishes. Avoid using the pre-wash cycle, as this uses | | | | adapter, which gets installed into the toilet tank. |
| additional water. If you need a new dishwasher, | | | | These cost about $100. |
| purchase an Energy Star qualified dishwasher. Energy | | | | Faucet Aerators |
| Star dishwashers use 5.8 gallons of water per cycle. | | | | Faucet aerators look like tiny screens and cost about |
| Older dishwashers (those purchased before 1994), | | | | $10. They decrease the amount of water flowing out |
| use about 8 additional gallons of water. | | | | from the faucet. Without an aerator, the water |
| Washing Machine | | | | comes out in a gushing-type flow. An aerator spreads |
| Use your washing machine only when you have full | | | | the flow, which saves water. |
| loads. If your washing machine has water level | | | | Additional Water Saving Ideas: |
| settings, then choose the most appropriate water | | | | Plumbing Maintenance |
| level. | | | | Checking your pipes for leaks can prevent plumbing |
| Showers | | | | problems. Leaks often go undetected and could lead |
| Take shorter showers. Cutting down your shower | | | | to damage to vanities, floors and ceilings throughout |
| time, by just a minute or two, will decrease the | | | | your home. |
| amount of water wasted and certainly save you | | | | Sprinklers |
| money. Additionally, consider turning off the water | | | | Limit the amount of time you water your grass. |
| while you shave. | | | | Running a sprinkler for just one hour can use up to |
| Baths | | | | 250 gallons of water. |