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Indoor Conservation

The average Californian uses 196 gallons of water per day. Here is how you can start doing better:

Fix leaks

  • Toilets are one of the biggest indoor water wasters. Do the dye test: Put food coloring in your toilet tank and come back later to see if the coloring has seeped into the toilet bowl. Replace the flapper if leaking!

  • Inspect your faucets, indoor and out, for drips and leaks

  • See how much water you are wasting with this Drip Calculator

 

Efficient Applicances

 

Tips

  • Take shorter showers (<5 minutes)

  • Turn off your lights when you don't need them and save energy (Do you know how much water it takes to produce electricity?)

  • If a meat-eater, go without meat one day a week. It takes about 500 gallons of water to produce 1 lb. of chicken meat and 4000-18,000 gallons of water to produce one 1/3 lb. hamburger!  Source: http://www2.worldwater.org/data.html

The tips and tools are everywhere. It doesn't take much to find ways to Make the Cut in your water use. What's important is getting started, doing what you can and learning more as you go. 

(Credit: EPA Watersense)

(Credit: EPA Watersense)

Soaps shown: Ecover, Dr. Bronner's, BioPac Oasis

Why 'Biocompatible'?  

Biodegradable soaps can be good, but there's no guarantee they'll biodegrade quickly.They may contain amounts of sodium, chlorine and boron that can be toxic to your plants and affect the pH of your soil. Biocompatible soaps break down into components that actually benefit your plants and feed your soil. So whether you're a gardener or looking to build a grey-water system, look into biocompatible cleaning products.

 

Step 1:

Obtain natural, biodegradable/biocompatible soap. Obtain bucket.

Step 2: 
Place bucket in shower to catch water, as it warms and as you bathe.
Step 3:

Get dressed.
Step 4:

Dump nature-friendly soapy water onto a dry patch of your outdoor landscaping.

Step 5: 
Catch a neighbor's eye and share the tip.

 

*Bonus: If you do dishes by hand, rather than let used water slip down the drain, fill a bucket & use natural, biocompatable soap.  Repeat steps 3-5.

 

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