Plumber Tips: 12 Smart Ways For Conserving Water At Home | Harvey, LA
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Water is a precious resource and we all need it to survive. Conserving it not only helps with the utility bills but it also can help preserve the environment. Less energy is used for processing water and delivering water in your homes. So as much as possible, take small actions into conserving water. The best way would be to start at home.
If your plumbing system is not efficient at conserving water, talk to a plumber so they can do something about this.
Read below for some helpful tips on how to conserve water.
Toilets and Pipes
Check Pipes and Faucets for Leaks
Major leaks waste hundreds of gallons of water. You not only spend more money on repairs but your bills will most likely skyrocket. As a homeowner, it’s your responsibility to regularly check your faucets and pipes for any leaks. Sometimes, it is so easy to spot them. Other times, you may need the services of a plumber. Fixing these leaks could save you several gallons of water.
Check Your Toilets
What you can do is try to put a little food coloring in the toilet tank. Never flush the toilet for at least 30 minutes. When you see color appearing in the toilet bowl, that means that you have a leak.
Use the Water Meter
If there are no visible leaks, consider using the house meter. Check for the meter and do not use the water for about 2 hours. If it reads just the same after 2 hours, you do not have any leak problems. Otherwise, call a professional so they can thoroughly check the plumbing system. They know what to do to check for pipe leaks. Talk to a plumber in Harvey, LA if you need help with this.
Laundry
Buy a Highly Efficient Washing Machine
Traditional washers may be cheaper but they use up several gallons of water whereas high-efficient washing machines use only 7 gallons per load. They also can help you save more energy over time as they use about 30-50 percent less water and energy compared to the traditional washers.
Use it Only for Full Loads
As much as possible, use your washing machine for full loads only to conserve more water. Also, avoid the permanent press cycle as that will only add 5 more gallons when rinsing. Should you decide to just have partial loads, do make sure that you adjust the water levels. Ensure you are only using enough water for the partial load.
Shower
Consider Installing Low-Flow Faucet and Efficient Showerheads
These are easy to install but it’s always better to hire the services of a plumber just to make sure that they are properly installed. Regular flow showerheads let you use up to 10 gallons of water per minute whereas, with the low-flow, you will only use 2.5 gallons of water in a minute. Another option would be to install a ShowerStart. This will automatically pause the shower when it gets warm. Call a professional if you need help installing these fixtures.
Take Shorter Showers
Taking a 4-minute continuous shower lets you use up to 40 gallons of water. What you can do is turn off the shower when you are shampooing or when you’re not really using it. Also, try installing a shower timer. Talk to a plumber on how to go about it.
Toilets
Install a Low Flush or Dual Flush Toilet
It may be a little expensive but you can save about 70% of water when you replace a regular toilet with a low flush model. This is because it only uses 1.6 gallons of water per flush. With the dual flush toilet, you can save about 15k gallons of water annually. Call a professional if you need help replacing your toilets.
Use Plastic Bottles for the Toilet Tank
Get two plastic water bottles and fill them with either pebbles or sand. Make sure you fill only about 2 inches and the rest would be water. Put these two bottles in the tank. Doing this lets you save about 10 gallons of water per day. Do make sure that you have enough water in the tank for flushing. Otherwise, you may end up flushing your toilet twice.
Sinks and Faucets
Minimize Using your Garbage Disposals
Garbage disposals require a lot of water. You can save more when you don’t always use it. Consider an alternative way of disposing of your food waste through a compost pile.
Do Not Hand Wash Dishes
Do you know that washing dishes by hand uses a lot of water? Consider using the dishwasher instead. Better yet, call a plumber and install a high-efficiency dishwasher. This would help you conserve more water. Also, you may want to scrape the dishes instead of rinsing them to save up to 10 gallons of water. Never run your dishwasher on partial load. For the smaller loads, you may want to buy a double-drawer model. Talk to your plumber about this. The latter uses less water, energy and it can work independently.
Turn Off Faucet When not in Use
Avoid the bad habit of continuously running the faucet water when you are shaving, rinsing or washing the dishes. Bathroom faucets use up 2 gallons of water per minute. When you use it only when needed, you can save hundreds of gallons of water per month.
Call bluefrog Plumbing + Drain of New Orleans for your Plumbing Needs
For repairs and installations, you can rely on bluefrog Plumbing + Drain of New Orleans. Our plumbers are experienced enough to give you the best solutions to your plumbing problems. We specialize in drain cleaning, water heaters, fixtures, leaks detention and other plumbing services. We are available 24/7.
If you need plumbers in Harvey, LA, call us today for an appointment!