+ Indoors

Around The House

Identify hidden water leaks. A small drip from a worn faucet washer can waste 20 gallons of water per day. Check your water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter does not read exactly the same, there is a leak. Insulate your water pipes with pre-slit foam pipe insulation. You will not waste water waiting for it to heat up, and you will save energy too. Reuse water from your pet’s bowl or tank to water plants rather than dumping it. Reuse your drinking glasses. At home, instead of using a new cup each time you pour a drink, use the same one all day to reduce the need for washing. At a restaurant, only get water if you plan to drink it. It could take up to two additional cups of water to clean the glass you use.

Tips in the Bathroom

Quick Tips

• Take short showers. Use a timer to help keep your shower to five minutes or less or even turn off water while soaping up. A shower generally uses less water than a full bath.
• Don’t waste water when brushing your teeth, shaving, or washing your hands. Shut off the water until it is time to rinse.
• Put a bucket in the shower to catch water while it is still warming up. That water can be used for watering plants inside or out.
• Use the trash can, not the toilet to dispose of trash. With each flush, five or more gallons of water are wasted.
• Check your toilets for leaks. Put a little food coloring in your toilet tank. If, without flushing, the color begins to appear in the bowl within 30 minutes, you have a leak that should be repaired immediately. Most replacement parts are inexpensive and easy to install.

Next Steps

• Replace your fixtures with water-efficient models. Low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators are relatively inexpensive, easy to install, and have the potential to cut water flow by half.
• Put plastic bottles or float boosters in your toilet tank. This simple displacement technique may save ten or more gallons of water per day. Note: be sure at least three gallons of water remain in the tank so it will flush properly. If there is not enough water to get a proper flush, you may have to use multiple flushes to get rid of waste. Install an adjustable toilet flapper to help find the balance to achieve a single good flush.
• For new installations, consider buying “low flush” toilets, which use one to two gallons per flush instead of the usual three to five gallons.

Tips in the Kitchen

Quick Tips

• Keep a container of drinking water in the refrigerator. It will be cool and you will not have to waste water waiting for the tap to cool down.
• Soak fruits and vegetables in a pan rather than letting the water run to clean them.
• Use garbage disposals sparingly. They require a lot of water to function properly. Consider starting a compost pile to dispose of food waste.
• Dry scrape dishes into the trash instead of rinsing. Your dishwasher will take care of the rest.
• If you must wash dishes by hand, soak them in soapy water first to reduce the amount of time needed to rinse.
• Run automatic dishwashers only when fully loaded for optimum conservation. Use a light wash cycle when possible.

Next Steps

• Install faucet aerators. You will not notice the difference, but you can cut your sink water flow by half.

Tips in the Laundry Room

Quick Tips

• Run only full loads of laundry. For partial loads, adjust water levels to match the size of the load.
• Avoid the permanent press cycle, which uses an extra five gallons for the second rinse.

Next Steps

• When it is time to replace your washing machine consider energy-efficient options. Energy Star rated washers use up to 50% less water and 50% less energy per load. Frontload washers use about a third of the water of water of conventional washing machines.

+ Outdoors

Landscaping

Take time to plan your landscaping incorporating plants and practices that will require little water once established. Consider applying the principles of xeriscape or Texas SmartScape planning, limiting turf areas, selecting and zoning plants appropriately, improving the soil, using mulch, irrigating efficiently and maintaining the landscape. To search what plants do best in your zip code, visit Texas AgriLife for descriptions, along with photos.

Planning

• Plant drought-resistant, adapted and native grasses, shrubs and plants that use less water and are most resistant to diseases. For more information on what plants thrive in Montgomery County, visit: the Earth Kind Plant Selector.
• Group plants according to their watering needs.
• Replace grass with artificial turf where possible and incorporate rock beds into your yard. You will save time and money in the long run because there is no need mow or water to keep the yard looking good.
• Incorporate organic material into your soil and top with a layer of mulch two to four inches thick around trees and plants to help soil to retain moisture.

Low Impact Development

Low Impact Development (LID) is based on the principle to model landscaping after nature by managing rainfall at the source, mimicking a site’s pre-development hydrology by using design techniques that infiltrate, filter, store, evaporate and detain runoff close to its source. Want to know more? Take a look at this presentation to see real-life examples of LID in the Houston-Galveston Region (courtesy of EHRA Engineering): Introduction to Low Impact Development

Watering

• Water your lawn only when it needs it. Letting the grass grow to about three inches will also promote water retention in the soil.
• Utilize water saving tools like drip-irrigation systems, rain barrels, soaker hoses, and variable spray nozzles.
• Use sprinkler systems wisely. Install rain shutoff devices and adjust sprinklers to eliminate overspray on driveways and other pavement. Try to avoid watering on windy days.
• Water lawns early in the morning or in the evening to prevent the evaporation of water. Some communities have ordinances that dictate when watering is allowed so check the guidelines near you.
• Most Texas lawns only need about one inch of water each week. Deep soak the lawn to let the water reach the roots. To determine how long you should run your sprinklers, place straight-edged cans at different distances away from the sprinkler and time how long it takes to fill an average of one inch of water in each can.
• If you wash your car at home, turn off the hose between rinses. Find local car washes that either recycle the water or have waterless systems.
• Use a broom, not a hose, to clean driveways, patios, and sidewalks.
• Keep couplings, hoses, faucets and pipes drip-free.
• Consider installing a rain barrel to maximize rain water.