It isn’t a secret how vital water is to our everyday lives, and it also isn’t a secret that water is a commodity that gets scarcer by the day. Our business here at Harris Main and Water Sewer Contractors may be about the plumbing that gets you the water you use every day, but we are just as concerned about overall water consumption as you are. Even with modern measures to reduce our water consumption, we are still consuming more than we need to and wasting a lot of water all the time.
If water as a dwindling commodity is stuck on your mind as well and you want to do everything you can to combat wasting it, we want to help you out however we can. A lot of water gets wasted without people even knowing it happened, so a lot of reducing water consumption is about raising your awareness of the water that you use on a regular basis. Here are a few effective ways to reduce your water consumption to help protect our city, our planet, and all the people who inhabit it. When we all work together to do these things, we can save a lot of water for the future with just a few small changes.
Examine All Fixtures for Leaks
You might be surprised to find out how much water one house can waste without even having any faucets or showers running. A lot of this wasted water comes from fixtures inside of the house that leak without the occupants realizing it. Unfortunately, even very small, seemingly harmless leaks can waste a lot of water when left alone for enough time. To prevent this, you need to keep a close eye on your various water fixtures. When was the last time you inspected where your showerhead meets the wall? It could have a leak that is barely perceptible. Slowly leaking faucets can also be a big problem if left unchecked for too long. Fixing these small leaks can go a long way to preventing water waste.
Reduce Your Food Waste
The connection between food waste and water waste is a long one, but one that makes sense when you consider how your food grows or gets made. Every piece of produce that you throw away represents a lot of water that just went to waste for nothing. You may not be the one wasting the water yourself, but a farmer used a lot of water to grow that produce and by wasting that food, you’re also wasting the water that it needed to grow in the first place. Even manufactured food uses a lot of water in its creation, so be very careful about what you buy and make sure you will actually consume it before it goes bad.
Don’t Use the Toilet for Garbage
A very effective way to reduce your water consumption is to rethink how you look at your home’s toilets. The toilets in an average home use a lot of water every single time you flush them, so you should endeavor to do that as infrequently as possible. Many people see their toilets as a free garbage can that get rid of anything they don’t want to deal with, such as cigarette butts or paper towels. Not only is this a terrible idea for the health of your plumbing, as these things can clog up your pipes in a major way, but it also wastes a ton of water every time you do it. Try to stick to flushing your toilet only when you need to, and don’t use it as a stand-in for a trash can.
Use Water-Consuming Appliances With Full Loads
Dishwashers and washing machines are another large source of water consumption inside your home. While these appliances usually use less water than trying to clean things by hand, you can do more to ensure they don’t waste water unnecessarily. The best way to do this is to always run these machines with as full of a load as they can manage. The more dishes or clothes you put in them, the more efficiently they use each drop of water to do their job.
Get Your Pipes Examined
Just like with the fixtures that you can see every day in your home, you need to be aware of the possibility of leaks in the pipes that are hidden from you as well. Pipes inside of your walls can spring leaks seemingly out of nowhere, but not all of these leaks start to gush gallons of water and break down entire walls. Your pipes can also have subtle leaks that waste a lot of water over enough time. That’s why it’s so important to have your plumbing examined on a regular basis. A professional plumber will be able to tell you if your pipes have any damage that needs to be repaired to protect your water consumption level.
Upgrade Bathroom Fixtures
While you inspect your various fixtures, you may find that the best thing to do is give them an upgrade to a new fixture that uses water more efficiently. From showerheads to faucets to toilets, there are a lot of modern water fixtures that don’t’ waste as much water as the old versions do. Your outdated showerhead or decades-old faucet could waste much less water with a simple upgrade that you can get at any hardware or home goods store.
Insulate Pipes for Faster Hot Water
Especially in places like New York that get extremely cold in the winter months, having insulating pipes is a must. If you haven’t done this yet, you can get the added benefit of more efficient water use by insulating your pipes to improve the rate at which you receive hot water. The more insulated your pipes are, the faster water can heat up. This means you don’t have to waste as much water as you wait for your water to get to the temperature you prefer.
As a sewer and water contractor, Harris cares about the way that our city and its citizens use their water. We are dedicated to improving water usage throughout New York City, and we hope that you will join us in protecting our planet’s most important resource.
