Tell me ways to conserve water?

Question

I live in NC and we are in a severe drought. Can you tell me some ways to conserve water? Unique ones- not like turn the water off when you're brushing your teeth.

Answer 1

use high pressure shower heads..you can save a lot of water that way.
If you have an air conditioner you can put a bucket under it to catch the condensation...you can use this water for all kind of stuff(put a piece of window screen over it to keep bugs out)
You can take sponge baths and save the water for washing your hair
Water your lawn and garden after the sun goes down you'll loose less water to evaporation.
This is an old millitary trick..when in the shower water down well..then shut the water off and soap up..then turn the water back on to rinse.
You can catch rain water in a barrle or bucket.
You can also melt snow and ice for water.

Answer 2

I have a valve that is on my shower head that I can turn off after I get myself wet. I soap up all over, then turn it on just long enough to rinse off. I can shower with about 2 1/2 gallons of water.

I really don't like the idea of leaving urine sitting in my toilet for long periods of time. I have tried that and it made my whole house smell like urine. I think the brick idea is much better. 2 or 3 bricks works even better.

One other thing... recently we noticed that one of our outside spigots was leaking. I checked the water bill and we were using almost 10,000 more gallons a month than last year. I went to The Home Depot and bought a brass valve that goes between the spigot and the hose. This stopped the leak. Check all your outdoor spigots for leaks.

Answer 3

Take scattered showers; turn them on to get wet, turn off while lathering, turn on to rinse. It actually will save hundreds of liters.

Put a toilet dam in your toilets tank; fill an empty peanut butter jar with rocks or something that will keep it in place in the tank. Basically, what this does is displace approx. 1 liter of water per flush... which adds up to a lot!

Use a recyclable water bottle rather than constantly buying bottled water.

Answer 4

we only flush the toilet when it is NOT urine.

we only do the dishwasher when it is so full that nothing else can possibly get in there.

we have low flow shower shower heads and sink faucets/spigots.

we do not let the water run when brushing teeth or shaving or anything else. we wash with cold water as it becomes warm/hot in the shower/sink and in colorado now it is g.d. COLD...

we do NOT have a lawn that we water. period.

we use grey water for all sorts of things like flushing the toilet (the kids bath water and the washing machine is grey water)

our town has a strict and careful water reclamation unit. it stinks down there but the water that comes out is great and the solid waste is burned for energy.

we dont drink the city water as it has synthetic flouride in it and chlorine. POISON. so we have well water delivered twice a month and we drink that.

we collect snow in the winter in 800 gallon containers to water our garden from in the summer. it is melted, filtered and carefully stored.

and on and on.

Answer 5

Only wash dishes when the dish washer is full, use rain water to water plants (keep a bucket outside to catch it)
Try not to shower during peek times like 7:00 in the morning. Take a shower at night. Water the grass late at night too.

Answer 6

A good number of the ways to conserve water are fairly obvious (showers, toilets...) - to see ones that aren't you have to look at products that you consume which require a lot of water to produce. For instance - in the southeastern portion of the US a majority of the electrcity that is produced comes from coal, nuclear and gas plants. To produce a kWh of electricity from a baseload coal plant takes ~25 gallons, from a nuclear plant is ~ 30 gallons, and from a gas CC plant ~10 gallons of water per kWh. During the process of producing a kWh of electricity most of that water is returned to the reservoir/lake/river but some evaporates. Therefore - my recommendation for you for ways to reduce the amount of water that you consume (directly or indirectly) is to reduce the amount of electricity that you consume. Change you lightbulbs to CFL's or LED's, unplug your TV/DVR when not in use, turn off lights when not in the room, if you have electric heat - turn the temp in your house down. If you have christmas lights up - limit the amount of hours that you have the lights on (if a christmas tree has 4 strings of lights each consuming 50 watts it only takes 5 hours to get to a kWh).

Hope this helps.

Answer 7

i live in NC also and i have been practicing the "navy shower" where you cut the water on and wet yourself and cut it off to use soap and shampoo. then, cut the water back on to rinse off. you can save several gallons of water a day this way, and its not as uncomfortable as it seems.

Answer 8

Never put water down the drain when there may be another use for it such as watering a plant or garden, or cleaning.
Verify that your home is leak-free, because many homes have hidden water leaks. Read your water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter does not read exactly the same, there is a leak.
Repair dripping faucets by replacing washers. If your faucet is dripping at the rate of one drop per second, you can expect to waste 2,700 gallons per year which will add to the cost of water and sewer utilities, or strain your septic system.
Check for toilet tank leaks by adding food coloring to the tank. If the toilet is leaking, color will appear within 30 minutes. Check the toilet for worn out, corroded or bent parts. Most replacement parts are inexpensive, readily available and easily installed. (Flush as soon as test is done, since food coloring may stain tank.)
Avoid flushing the toilet unnecessarily. Dispose of tissues, insects and other such waste in the trash rather than the toilet.
Take shorter showers. Replace you showerhead with an ultra-low-flow version. Some units are available that allow you to cut off the flow without adjusting the water temperature knobs.
Use the minimum amount of water needed for a bath by closing the drain first and filling the tub only 1/3 full. Stopper tub before turning water. The initial burst of cold water can be warmed by adding hot water later.
Don't let water run while shaving or washing your face. Brush your teeth first while waiting for water to get hot, then wash or shave after filling the basin.
Retrofit all wasteful household faucets by installing aerators with flow restrictors.
Operate automatic dishwashers and clothes washers only when they are fully loaded or properly set the water level for the size of load you are using.
When washing dishes by hand, fill one sink or basin with soapy water. Quickly rinse under a slow-moving stream from the faucet.
Store drinking water in the refrigerator rather than letting the tap run every time you want a cool glass of water.
Do not use running water to thaw meat or other frozen foods. Defrost food overnight in the refrigerator or by using the defrost setting on your microwave.
Kitchen sink disposals require lots of water to operate properly. Start a compost pile as an alternate method of disposing food waste instead of using a garbage disposal. Garbage disposals also can add 50% to the volume of solids in a septic tank which can lead to malfunctions and maintenance problems.
Consider installing an instant water heater on your kitchen sink so you don't have to let the water run while it heats up. This will reduce heating costs for your household.
. Insulate your water pipes. You'll get hot water faster plus avoid wasting water while it heats up.
Never install a water-to-air heat pump or air-conditioning system. Air-to-air models are just as efficient and do not waste water.
Install water softening systems only when necessary. Save water and salt by running the minimum amount of regenerations necessary to maintain water softness. Turn softeners off while on vacation.
Check your pump. If you have a well at your home, listen to see if the pump kicks on and off while the water is not in use. If it does, you have a leak.
When adjusting water temperatures, instead of turning water flow up, try turning it down. If the water is too hot or cold, turn the offender down rather than increasing water flow to balance the temperatures.
If the toilet flush handle frequently sticks in the flush position, letting water run constantly, replace or adjust it.

Answer 9

i live in NC to
I have been using spring water to stop running water to brush my teeth and to drink.
maybe a filter pitcher could work for drinking water
the rain was good on saturday and sunday but we still need much more

Answer 10

When you are going to bathe fill a bucket.

Wet your toothbrush and clean your teeth, then
use a bowl to pour water over yourself.
Cleanse yourself and then rinse.

You will have literally saved gallons of water
each time you do this.

You can also use the left over water to flush
the toilet.