Conserving water is easy as 1-2-3

And it isn’t that tough. You can still bathe. You can still water your lawn. You can still pour yourself a glass of water when you want.

But every bit you conserve helps.

Here are some ways to save that may not have occurred to you.

Indoors

Just because water has been used once doesn’t mean you can’t use it again. Spaghetti water? Bath water? Dish water? Don’t pour it down the drain and then go outside to turn on the sprinkler system. Dump it on your plants.

It’s fine to use “gray” water like this on your plants, said Nancy Anderson, a horticultural agent with the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service.

Lots of homes have hidden leaks. So, if they’re hidden, how do you know if you have one? It’s a lead-pipe cinch. Pick a 30-minute period that you won’t be using water at all. Read your water meter at the start and the end. If it’s moved, you’ve got a leak.

So you have a leak. Could it be the toilet? Here’s a plumber-free way to find out: Add food coloring to the tank. If the toilet is leaking, you’ll see the color in the bowl within 15 minutes.

If you do have a leak, check for worn out, corroded or bent parts. Most parts are easy and inexpensive to replace.

Note: Twenty percent of all toilets leak, according to the American Water Works Association.

Don’t flush unnecessarily. No, you can flush that stuff. But, instead of flushing bugs, tissues, bits of trash and the like, throw them in the trash.

Note: Toilets account for almost 30 percent of all indoor water use, more than any other fixture or appliance, according to the American Water Works Association.

Know you have a faucet leak? Replace the washer, pronto. A single itty-bitty drip might not look like much, but, if it drips at a rate of one per second, you’re wasting 2,700 gallons in a year, or 54 filled-to-the-brim baths.

Don’t run the faucet the whole time that you’re brushing your teeth or shaving your face. You can save more than five gallons a day doing this.

Consider a short shower instead of a filled-to-the-brim bath. Showers use five gallons of water a minute -- less if a flow constrictor is installed -- while baths can use 30 to 50 gallons.

Wash clothes only when the washer is full and set the water level for the size load you are using.

Note: A washer can use as much as 30 to 35 gallons per cycle.

If you have a dishwasher, wait until it’s full to run it. If you wash dishes by hand, fill one sink with soapy water and rinse quickly under a slow-moving stream from the faucet.

Note: Don’t feel guilty about using a dishwasher. If it’s full, it will probably use less water than you would to wash the same load by hand.

If your faucet or showerhead has to run a while before the water gets hot, consider having an empty bucket or pot or plastic jug or two on hand to catch some or all of that water instead of letting it wash uselessly down the drain. Then you have some extra water on hand for, say, pouring on your flowers .

Outside

Put mulch around your plants. That will reduce evaporation and help them grow. It will also discourage weeds.

Raise your mower blade to at least three inches. Taller grass usually means deeper roots. It also shades the roots and holds moisture better than does a closely cut lawn.

Be smart about watering your lawn. Make sure you’re watering just the grass, not the house, the sidewalk and the street, too. Don’t water if it’s windy. And water during the coolest time of day -- before 8 a.m. or after 6 p.m. -- to minimize evaporation.

Note: If you water at noon on a hot, sunny day, you may lose more than 30 percent of your water to evaporation.

Water only every other day at most. And you really don’t need to water more than three times a week, said Terry Kaiser of Rain Forest Irrigation of Fayetteville.

If you want to conserve , cut back to two days a week. Your grass in bright sun might not look quite as good, but it will still be alive.

If you can stand the bother, you’ll get more water to your grass and other plants if you water in several short sessions rather than one long one -- say, three 10-minute sessions spaced 30 minutes to an hour apart versus one 30-minute session.

So how much water is enough? A half-inch of water will moisten sandy soil four to six inches down. An inch of water will moisten clay soil that far.

How do you know when you’ve put down an inch of water? Easy. Put out a couple of old cans on your lawn the next time you water. When they fill up an inch, you’re done. Note the amount of time that took and, next time, turn on your sprinkler just that amount of time.

Staff writer Catherine Pritchard can be reached at 486-3517 or pritchardc@fayettevillenc.com

Source: National Park Service, Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Prograin.
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