Water Conservation Tips

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Water Conservation | Rita and Pinkie's page | Enhanced Version

Why do I have a separate water conservation page?
The main reason is that I live in Lakeland, Florida, where the year-to-date rainfall is lower than it has been since 1898. Even if you are not in the middle of a drought, water conservation is still important. So, since I haven't done anything to this site in a million years, and we are in the middle of a drought, I decided to add this page. Some items on this page might seem obvious, but I've included them too.

Fix any leaky faucets.

If your toilet tank leaks, fix it. To detect a leaky tank, there are "leak detection tablets" which you can get for free at any Central Florida Home Depot. You can probably get them other places, too, but the Home Depot ad that I saw didn't mention them. I wonder why?

If you have water restrictions, follow them. Don't water in the middle of the day, when much of the water evaporates. You can also use a water-saving watering system, such as a soaker hose.

If you have an older toilet, it probably uses a lot of water. To reduce its water use, you can buy water-saving replacement valves or put something, such as a container filled with water, in the tank. I have heard that you can put a brick in the tank, but I've also heard that you shouldn't, since it can disintegrate and clog the toilet. If you want to spend some money, you can replace the toilet with a newer 1.6-gallon model. Apparently, although early 1.6-gallon toilets worked poorly, the technology has improved.

If you need a new washing machine, consider a front-loading model. Although there must be some reason why these are not as popular as the traditional top-loading washer, they do use less water.

Minimize your faucet use. Don't leave the faucet running while you brush your teeth or perform other tasks.

Instead of running the water until it cools off, put a jug of water in the refrigerator.

Plant drought-resistant (xeric) plants and native species instead of a huge expanse of boring, thirsty grass. If you live in Florida, coonties, palmettos, scorpion-tail, or partridge-pea would be good choices. Once established, perennials require less watering than annuals.

Avoid washing your car in drought conditions. You can buy some sort of substance which you can use to wash your car without water.

Work to preserve wetlands, aquifers, and important water sources. An example is the Green Swamp in Florida, which is the head of the Florida aquifer.

Take shorter showers. You can turn the water off when you soap up. (Some shower heads have valves which allow you to do this while maintaining the water temperature.)

Instead of using a dryer, hang your clothes on a clothesline. This will make it rain.

Don't forget to give your pets plenty of water!

If you have any ideas for this page, you can submit them here!