At Your Service Plumbing, Heating & Air Blog: Archive for August, 2020

Plumbing and Other Tips for Water Conservation, Part 2

Tuesday, August 11th, 2020

In part one of this two-part blog series, we went over some general tips in plumbing and related areas for conserving water in your home. Whether to save on monthly water costs, improve your environmental footprint or some combination therein, there are several benefits of conserving water – and several simple methods for doing so without impacting your comfort or convenience.

With At Your Service Plumbing, Heating & Air, we’re happy to provide a wide variety of plumbing services to assist with water conservation, from basic plumbing repair and maintenance to water heater replacement, drain cleaning and numerous other distinct areas. In today’s part two of our series, we’ll look into a few additional home water conservation tips to consider for several areas of the house.

plumbing tips water conservation

Use the Dishwasher

Some may think of the dishwasher as a big waste of water, but this is actually generally the opposite of the truth in homes where regular dishes need to be cleaned. When comparing the amount of water used to properly clean dishes in the dishwasher compared to by hand in the sink, the former comes out far superior in terms of water conservation.

If you have an Energy Star rated dishwasher, which is tested for efficiency, you will only be using roughly five gallons per full load of dishes – and the average dishwasher holds over 200 different dishes. Comparably, hand-washing the same load of dishes will generally use over 25 gallons of water. Not only is the dishwasher more convenient by a long shot, it’s also the best water-saving method.

Running Water or Toilet Issues

A couple areas to watch out for when it comes to running water:

  • Faucets: When washing your hands, brushing your teeth or using the faucet in any other way, never let it run for long periods of time. Instead, turn it off and back on.
  • Toilet: If your toilet is running consistently, its flapper may require replacement or a flush to drain the tank. If you’re familiar with these themes you can attempt them on your own, but if not you should contact our plumbers right away.

Pipe Insulation

One major water-waster, especially in the cold months: Non-insulated pipes that cause the water inside them to take much longer to heat up (or cool down during summer). If pipes are insulated, however, water will not take as long to heat and you won’t waste as much running various fixtures while waiting for a temperature change.

Sprinkler Timing

Finally, did you know there’s a big difference in the impact on your lawn and garden plants depending on when you water them? The ideal time here will be early in the morning, avoiding the heat of the afternoon and requiring less water to adequately feed the lawn. In addition, ensure all your sprinklers are working properly and not wasting any water.

For more on how to conserve water in your home, or to learn about any of our plumbing or HVAC services, speak to the staff with At Your Service Plumbing, Heating & Air today.

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