Which of today’s indoor conveniences would you find most difficult to live without:  heating & cooling, plumbing, or electricity.

Who even wants to make a choice like that?! Well, assuming you don’t have to and is equal in importance to the others, let’s give a tip of the hat to indoor plumbing…without which, life as we know it would be impossible.

Here in the United States, plumbing is so ingrained in our culture that we barely give it a second thought. If only that were the case everywhere else.  Instead, an estimated 750 million people around the globe don’t have access to safe drinking water, while 2.6 billion don’t have even a simple latrine.

These are the kind of problems that don’t get solved overnight.  It’s more of a “one step at a time” process. As such, here are some steps you can take to conserve water in honor of World Plumbing Day, an annual observance that takes place in March.

    1. Check your toilets, fixtures, and water-using appliances for leaks and repair them as needed. A simple faucet leak can waste up to 3,000 gallons of water per year.
    2. Monitor your water bill for unusually high use. Your water bill and water meter are tools that can help you discover leaks.
    3. Wash your pets outdoors, in an area of your lawn that needs water.
    4. Have an annual water heater checkup. Just because your water temperature feels right doesn’t mean problems aren’t brewing inside the tank. Internal tank corrosion, for example, can cause your tank to leak. With proper care, that problem can be avoided.
    5. Replace your showerhead with a low-flow model. You’ll still have a great shower but use significantly less water with no loss of pressure.
    6. If you have a pre-1992 toilet, it uses a minimum of 3 gallons per flush. Today’s low-flow toilets have the same flushing power but use a maximum of only 1.6 gallons per flush.
    7. Insulate your water pipes so water can heat up faster, thus conserving even more water.
    8. Don’t let the faucet run while shaving, brushing teeth, or washing dishes.
    9. Run the dishwasher or washing machine only when you have full loads.
    10. Fix or replace broken sprinklers. According to the EPA, “One broken sprinkler head can waste 25,000 gallons in just 6 months.”

 

If you want help in putting even greater amounts of water conservation into practice, contact Burton today:  your local green plumbing professionals.