Smarter Water Usage: Five Ways to Save Water Around Your Home

Water is, without a doubt, our planet's most precious resource. Unfortunately, it's also the one we take the most for granted.

The average American household (four people) uses about 250 gallons of water per day, according to the University of Minnesota Cooperative Extension. This number doesn't even reflect lawn and garden water usage. To put that in perspective, most of the rest of the world's families get by on about ten gallons per day. A lot of the water we use is wasted, and there are simple steps you can take to reduce your water use.

1. Eliminate Drips

First off, some statistics: a dripping faucet can waste up to 20 gallons of water per day, while a leaking toilet can use 3000 gallons per day. Regularly checking the faucets and fixtures around your home for leaks will go a long way toward preserving water. If you detect a leaking faucet, the best and easiest fix is to replace the washers. Washers break down over time, and when they do, water starts to leak through even when the faucet is turned off. If your toilet is leaking, try replacing the flange in the toilet tank that lifts when you flush the toilet. When flanges get worn out they don't fit as snugly as they're supposed to, and this may result in a leak. (You may also want to consider eliminating the use of drop-in tank cleaners. These cleaners can warp the flange, facilitating leaks. Most new toilet tanks include this warning, but some of the older ones do not.)

2. Upgrade Your Fixtures

There are three important, and relatively inexpensive, upgrades that you can make to your plumbing in order to save water:

• Install a low-volume toilet. These use less than half of the water per flush than do standard toilets, thus saving between 50 and 80 gallons per day in a typical household.
• Replace standard showerheads with low-flow models. There are several low-flow showerheads on the market in a variety of price ranges, and some even have handy 'pause' buttons so you can easily turn the water off while you shampoo.
• Install faucet aerators. Aerators mix the water with air, which means that water pressure stays strong even though you are using approximately 50 percent less water.

According to Treehugger.com, doing these three things alone can save 95 to 125 gallons of water per household per day. That's a 50 percent reduction in water use, just by upgrading your fixtures!

3. Find Simple Ways to Use Less Water

This can actually be kind of fun, if you decide to make it so. If you have kids, you can make it into a game - how can you use less water just by doing everyday things? Some ideas:

• Turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth or shaving.
• Do only full loads of laundry or dishes.
• Use a watering can to water outdoor plants rather than a hose.
• Use cooled water saved from boiling vegetables to water indoor or outdoor plants.
• Don't run the water while washing dishes by hand. Fill the sink with soapy water, wash the dishes, and then turn the water on to rinse them.
• Don't fill and boil a full kettle of water when all you want is one cup of tea or cocoa. Microwave a cup of water instead.

Come up with your own ideas throughout the day. Some will work for you, some may not. The point is to think differently about your water usage.

4. Collect Your Rainwater

Rain barrels hold the water that would normally run out of your gutters and downspouts - these are an obvious choice for collecting rainwater. Another smaller, but also useful, rainwater collection method involves setting a few watering cans outside when it's raining. They'll collect the rainwater, and you can use this free water to irrigate potted plants or gardens instead of using your hose. Just be sure to use the water within a couple of days so that it doesn't become a haven for mosquitoes.

5. Rethink Your Landscaping

Lawns have their place in the landscape, but the more lawn you have, the more water you are going to need to use in order to keep it green. Many turfgrass varieties naturally go dormant during the hottest part of the year, and it takes quite a bit of water to prevent them from doing so. Dormancy doesn't hurt the grass, and it greens up nicely again once temperatures cool and rainfall increases. If you can get rid of some of your lawn (perhaps by paving or using gravel) or if you are willing to let your lawn go dormant, this will save a tremendous amount of water.

Another landscaping idea for saving water is to use some of the principles of xeriscaping, a landscaping method focused on using as little water as possible. Some basic tenets of xeriscaping are to use native plants (as these are better able to handle your climate than are exotic plants), to group plants with like water needs together, and to mulch garden beds thoroughly in order to retain water and keep the soil cool. These simple ideas will help you save water in the landscape.