Water is one of our most needed natural resources and one of the most at danger around the world. Fortunately we can control our water usage utilizing the growing popularity of green plumbing and responsible practices. Green plumbing is the use of energy saving appliances, low flowing fixtures and responsible practices for using the least amount of water to get the job done.
What Does The Future Look Like?
40 of our 50 great states are concerned they will have a water shortage in the next 10 years, so it’s important to adjust our lifestyles and turn to greener products moving forward as soon as possible. There are so many ways to make our lives impact the earth less in a negative way, whether you can afford the best technology or just make better habits and teach your children the valuable lesson of caring for our home, Earth.
What Can I Do Today?
With a plumber who offers green plumbing services, you can walk-through your home and discuss the potential devices and replacements that can be made to reduce your water use according to you and your family’s needs. Scheduling an inspection of your home will allow your plumber to find any needed repairs or low efficiency fixtures and hopefully restore the 14% of water loss due only to leaks! Water is used in toilets (26%), showers (17%), baths (2%), faucets (16%), washing machines (22%), and dishwashers (1%), so all of these points of entry are potential ways to make your water usage more efficient. Already planning a bathroom or kitchen remodel? Plan on updating your home’s efficiency and conservation as well as its aesthetics one room at a time! Replacing old fixtures with new, efficient fixtures will reduce the carbon footprint for the next generations and save you money, by using less but also by possibly qualifying you for a government tax break or rebate.
How Much Water Is Saved?
Since the largest amount of water is literally flushed down the toilet, let’s look at the alternative: a low-flush toilet. A low-flush toilet can save you half the water used per flush, up to 1300 gallons of water per MONTH! That’s 15,600 gallons per year! Each 12,000 gallons of water saved per year (1,000 gallons per month) equals about $140.00 per year in your water bill. This can be achieved by replacing just one of your inefficient fixtures, so replacing more than one can double or triple your savings. Toilets made after 2002 were all manufactured with this conservation feature, something a layperson probably wouldn’t know, so it’s important to get your trusted plumber to your house to tell you what you’ve got and what you should get! Low-flow faucets and shower heads are also available replacements, as well as energy-star efficient dishwashers and clothing washers.
What Changes Can I Implement Without Replacing Everything?
A great start is to prevent that 14% of water from being lost due to leaks by having a plumber inspect and repair any leaks on your property. It’s then that he or she can educate you on the changes you can make to your home in the future to be greener and save money. Otherwise there are too many helpful habits you can begin to tell you them all in this article. Some of the best habits are taking short showers instead of baths, letting your lawn grow longer to retain its water more, wash only full loads of dishes and laundry (and in cold water if possible), and do not let water run longer than 5 minutes. You can achieve this by lathering your hands long before turning on the faucet, washing your car with a bucket of water rather than a hose, and sweeping your decks and driveway with a broom rather than the hose.
Each person and family is responsible for so much waste, you can imagine how helpful it can be to reverse some of the effects you and your family are making. It’s inevitable that you will tell the next person what you’ve done, how much you’ve saved and how great your kids are taking to new, responsible practices and then they will make the first steps toward a greener mindset too!
