7 Water Saving Ideas for Your House
February 14, 2011 by Duane Jones
Filed under Sustainability
There are many things we can all do right in our own houses to minimize our use of our water resources and do our part for water conservation. There are many new product innovations that allow us to save money and water while still achieving our comfortable lifestyles that we are accustomed to. Using less water does not mean giving up a better life. It just means taking a hard look at the way we consume water to accomplish the daily tasks that fill out daily lives. Here are seven great product ideas that go a long way towards eliminating a hugh amount of waste including outdoor water use.
1. Eco friendly low flow shower heads!
Change you old gushing shower heads to new low flow shower heads with output as low as 1.25 gpm. saving thousands of gallons a year.
2. Rainwater water harvesting rain barrels!
Collecting the water that falls on your roof and property and storing it for use in your own landscape is a great way to minimize your outdoor water use requirements.
3. Low gallon dual flush toilets!
Change your old water wasting toilets to high efficiency toilets that use less than a gallon and a half of water per flush saving potentially thousands of gallons a year.
4. Landscape soil moisture sensors!
Soil moisture sensors are the future of measuring and managing the application of irrigation water to your landscape while still maintaining healthy plant material.
5. Irrigation system rain sensors!
Rain sensors are a great way to manage the programming of your irrigation water cycles by making sure your landscape is not getting watered during or shortly after storms and rain showers.
6.Gray water collection systems!
Collection systems can collect water diverted from your shower, bath, kitchen and laundry and sent to your garden or landscaped areas saving thousands of gallons a year.
7. Water pipe insulation!
Insulating the water pipes saves water by allowing you to get hot water sooner at the faucet because the heat does not dissipate on it way throught the system.
Duane,
What great water-saving ideas. I hadn’t thought of gray water collection or water pipe insulation. And how do you properly store rain water? I know it is time to become painfully aware of water conservation. You’ve pointed me in the right direction. Thanks!
Thanks for the great ideas Duane! I’m already doing a few of these (including the rain barrel), but learned a few more tips! Thanks for sharing!
Duane, these are some really good water saving tips. I only have three of the 7, so it looks like I have some work to do. Love saving money anywhere I can!
Hi Duane,
Great tips on water conservation. Thanks so much for sharing with us all.
I have heard of some of them before and believe that it is a great opportunity for all of us to consider them and take more responsibility on how we use this precious resource as well as our money towards it.
Make it a great day!
God Bless,
-ed
Hi Duane,
Great practical tips on saving on water. A lot of things I’m already doing but there’s always room for improvement. I’m liking the rain barrel idea and plan to try that out – if spring ever gets here!
Interesting…I never even knew that “Gray water collection” was an option. I like the sounds of that! I only have 2 of your ideas incorporated, I don’t have pipe insulation but I do have a tankless water heater which is the best thing I ever had installed! The water bill went down and because we don’t have to run the water for an extended period while it warms up, we are conserving water too. Thanks so much for some enlightening information. Is there a special system that needs to be installed for gray water collection?