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Water Saving in the Home

By some estimates, the average family of four will go through 400 gallons of water a day. Around 70 per cent of that is used on things like flushing the toilet, washing the dishes and taking showers. This is a massive loss of water and most of it doesn't even need to be lost. While there are a number of potential ways to reuse or limit waste-water, it makes more sense to simply use less water in the first place. Thankfully, there are a number of things that the average homeowner can do to help limit the amount of water they use.

Identifying Peak Water Loss

Different people use water in different ways. Some people take extremely fast showers while others tend to linger under the hot water. Some people water their lawns every day while others never water their lawns at all. The point is that no two homes will have identical water loss issues to address. It is very important for each individual homeowner to investigate their own water usage. This is the only way to come up with a real plan of action that can limit your water usage.

Start by keeping a log of times you turn on a faucet, flush a toilet or water your lawn in a week. This will give you a general idea of how often you use water throughout the day. To get a more accurate representation of the amount of water you actually use, you can use a water consumption monitor. These monitors are commercially available through a wide range of vendors. When you attach them to your water intake, these monitors can be instrumental in helping you keep track of how much water you go through.

Identify Potential Solutions

Chances are great that you can easily find a solution to any water loss issue you encounter in your home. The technology surrounding these advancements has been refined to the point where almost any loss can be countered. Despite this, it can still be difficult to find the best solutions for your specific issue without a little help. In this case, plumbers can become a vital resource for you.

Plumbers are arguably in the best position to help you understand your water usage and how you can make it more efficient. You can often hire a plumber to do an efficiency audit of your water system to see where you can do better. These audits look at everything from the type of toilet you use to the type of sprinkler systems you have installed.

It is especially important to consider the efficiency of sprinkler systems and any water-based lawn care system. Many older sprinkler systems were designed without much consideration for efficiency. In fact, most older systems simply spray water haphazardly all over your lawn. Not only is this an inefficient use of water, but it's not good for your lawn either.

Efficient sprinkler systems will use a mist instead of a spray and they will water deeply to the roots of your grass. You'll need to consider using different types of sprinklers depending on the type of soil your lawn is comprised of.

Efficient systems will also use digital timers to ensure you're watering at the right time of the day and that your system gets shut off. It's most efficient to water at dawn or dusk. Watering during the heat of the day is very inefficient because most of the water simply evaporates from the ground before it does anything useful for your lawn.

Water Savings are Simple

Common logic states that the most efficient ways to save water in your home are going to be the simplest. This is often due to the fact that the best way to save water is to just use less of it in the first place. You don't have to steadfastly monitor every drop of water you use when you're trying to save water. All you have to do is make some simple, common-sense adjustments to your lifestyle to have a major impact. Making small changes in how you live and upgrading your appliances could have a much more dramatic impact on your water use than you may think.