Center for the Advancement of Sustainable Living
Easy Ways to Save Water
Easy Water Saving Techniques (that are low cost or free)
- Buy AAA showerheads. They cost about the same as a regular showerhead but use less water and less hot water, making your hot water heater work less.
- Wash your car on or next to a lawn so that the grass gets watered at the same time.
- Sweep paths instead of hosing them down.
- Place a plastic milk carton into the tank of you toilet to displace water.
- Install an aerator in sink taps to decrease the amount of water flow.
- Install mixer taps in showers. They can reduce the potential for scalding and save large amounts of hot water.
- There are a number of things that can be done with washing machines:
- Adjust the water level on the machine to the size of the load.
- Front loading machines will save approximately 50 liters of water per load, are gentler on clothes and use less soap.
- There are a number of things that can be done to reduce water use for dishwashing:
- Don't wash dishes before washing them in the dishwasher. Scrape food off of the dishes to throw away, rather than rinsing it down the sink.
- Use a plug in the sink rather than letting the tap run continuously.
Electricity Comparisons
| Lifetime (hours) | Efficiency (lumens/watt) | |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Incandescent | 1000 | 13 |
| Long-life Incandescent | 3000 | 12 |
| Quartz-Halogen | 2500 | 24 |
| Compact Fluorescent | 7500 | 60 |
Outdoor Use
- A lightly fertilized lawn uses up to 30% less water than an unfertilized lawn of the same grass type.
- Water early in the morning or late in the evening so that the water will be used b y the plants as energy throughout the day or overnight.
- Less frequent, deep soakings are better for plants and grass so that the roots grow deeper.
- Fertilize plants with organic liquid fertilizers. Dry fertilizers take water from the soil and can raise salt levels.
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