Water Conservation Tips by North County Plumbing
San Diego, CA (PRWEB) December 31, 2013 -- Water conservation is a practice that can be implemented with the use of certain plumbing fixtures in your own home to not only save water, but also also conserve energy and save you money. Water is a precious resource, and with only about two percent of the planets water being fresh and usable it’s no wonder society is starting to take a more pro-active approach to its conservation.
The U.S. EPA has stated that if all U.S. households installed water-efficient fixtures and appliances, our country could save more than 3 trillion gallons of water and more than $18 billion dollars per year.
Protecting and preserving your community’s vital water supplies is quickly becoming an educated practice in most households. People are taking note of our planets depleting resources and doing their part to ensure its safeguarding for future generations.
So how can you implement some water conservancy in your home? Take note of some of these tips that can help you the planet with water and energy preservation, but also help you economize with some money-savings as well.
Water Saving Toilets:
Nearly 30 percent of an average home’s indoor water consumption is used up with the almighty toilet. If your toilet is older (circa early 1990′s or prior), it’s not saving you much where your water bill is concerned, not to mention the amount water waste that’s happening on a daily basis. Time for a replacement:
- Low Flush Toilets, older models can use up more than 1.6 gallons of water per flush. Newer models are designed to use a good amount less at about 1.3 gallons per flush.
- Dual Flush toilets are a top choice for water conservation-friendly countries such as Europe and Australia. This deluxe model offers two buttons – one low-flush buttons for liquid waste, and a second button that packs a little more of a punch for solid waste.
- For the ultra planet conscious enthusiasts, there’s even a composting toilet option which uses little to no water/flushing.
A new legislation in California has mandated that all new toilets sold or installed within the sate after 2014 must be high-efficiency toilets.
Shower Heads:
Jump back to the 1990′s when Seinfeld fans may recall the episode where the dreaded low-flow shower heads were installed throughout Jerry Seinfeld’s apartment building, leading to an undesirable flat hair on both Jerry and Kramer due to decreased water pressure. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a classic.
Fast forward to 2014 where high-efficiency shower heads are well equipped with substantial water pressure to give a solid and good overall rinse, and even better, offer water saving benefits. Up to 20 percent of an average households water usage is accounted for with showering. Switching to a low-flow shower head can conserve up to 70 percent of the water used over the standard shower head, which is a substantial overall savings.
And while they may be pretty and offer a waterfall-type luxury showering experience, be mindful that luxury shower fixtures such as moon shower heads, and dramatic multi-shower head systems aren’t going to offer any savings benefits where water conservation is concerned. It’s all a matter of preference but if you’re eco-conscious, these probably aren’t your best option.
Faucets:
Believe it or not, even your household faucets can be replaced for water conservation. Standard faucets can release a little over 2.5 gallons per minute (aka – gpm). If you really love the look of your faucet fixture (we know, some of them are lovely) you can try the discrete option of a flow restrictor, or even a water-saving aerator. However if you are in fact looking to replace your faucet, try a high efficiency model that offers a flow rate of less than 1.5 gpm.
NCP Staff, North County Plumbing, http://www.northcountyplumbing.com/, (760) 735-4900, [email protected]
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