Something as simple and seemingly plentiful as water is one of the most important natural resources we have today. Whether you live in Wisconsin, California, New York, Florida and have special water meter fittings or not, it’s in your best interest to save water. The biggest water user in most households is the bathroom, so why not start there? Here are some helpful tips for creating a water efficient bathroom.
Showers and Bathtubs
Do you own a handheld shower sprayer with a hose? This is a very useful shower tool, but once you finish taking a shower, water may drip out of the spout for some time. There is a simple solution to this problem: keep a plastic bucket in the bathroom and once your shower is over, let the hose drain into the bucket. This can provide free water for your plants.
Are your shower or tub faucets dripping? You wouldn’t think a tiny drip every few seconds would amount to much water but you could be wrong. You can go to the US Geological Society website and use their drip calculator to find out. Here is an example:
Suppose your shower faucet is dripping every three seconds. This comes to 20 drips of water per minute and two gallons of water every day. If this went on for a year, you would waste enough water for 18 baths for a total of 925 gallons per year. All from a tiny drip problem. Even smart technology with the best water meter fittings will not usually detect leaks happening this slowly. The best thing you can do for leaky faucets is to replace or repair them. As you can see, the repairs will pay for themselves over time.
Toilets
Did you know you are literally flushing money down the toilet each time you flush an inefficient toilet? Older toilets typically flush at least 5 gallons of water or more with each use. If you install a water efficient toilet, you can cut water usage by more than 50 percent. But how much can this save? Let’s crunch the numbers:
A typical toilet is flushed about 10 times per day. At 5 gallons, a flush this comes to 50 gallons daily or 18,250 gallons in a year’s time. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, a typical household uses around 400 gallons of water a day. This is 12,000 gallons monthly. Now, if you install a toilet using 1.6 gallons each flush, you can save 3.4 gallons per flush or 34 gallons a day. This comes to a savings of over 12,000 gallons a year which is equivalent to an entire month of typical water usage.
ABT offers a wide range of water management solutions for landlords including water meter fittings. Visit us on the Web today at http://abtwater.com/ for more information.