Why Conserve Water?

Does it really make any difference if you individually try to conserve water?  After all, most of the fresh water falling from the sky, aka rain, goes to maintain the environment, recharge aquifers, runs into the ocean, or simply evaporates. (percentages vary with geography)

Forty percent in California goes to agriculture. Farmers are actually getting pretty good at conserving water; their livelihood depends on it!

That leaves 10% to supply the needs of people living in cities. Los Angeles (LA for short) is one of those cities and it’s hurting for water.

When we say Los Angeles, we are really saying Los Angeles County. It’s all one giant over-populated blight on the ecosystem with no logical reason to exist. But it’s an incredibly powerful economic magnet.   That’s why people flock there and have made LA the second largest city in the U.S. after New York City. The reason people have to conserve water in LA is simple. LA has already appropriated (some say stole) all the water it can from surrounding valleys and mountains.  With the current drought going into its third year, people, agriculture, and industry have to conserve for the common good and sometimes just to survive.

The best way to make people act responsibly is economic incentive, or disincentive as the case may be.  Under emergency regulations, wasteful users are paying a lot more for their water. The super rich won’t care, although some may be swayed by their sense of social responsibility.

We will give you as an individual person a reason to conserve water that no one talks about – saving time. We know it sounds crazy at first, but think about how much time you can save by not taking a shower every day.

It’s totally unnecessary to bathe frequently if you use deodorme^TM!

Water Use in an Efficient Home

The Water Research Foundation published their estimates of residential water use in a modern “efficient” home.  Such a home has efficient toilets and washing machines. Those are the two major improvements over older homes. When those fixtures become more efficient, shower use as a percentage of total use goes from 17% in the older home to 31% in a more efficient home.

Think about it.  An efficient home has a low volume toilet, a modern clothes washing machine, low-volume dish washing machine, and low volume shower heads. Still 31% of water use goes to taking showers.

Just like double flushing an efficient toilet, people stay in the shower longer with low volume shower heads. (That’s our opinion. There are no controlled studies that we know about)

Low Volume Shower Heads

Low volume shower heads are touted as an answer to water conservation.

The math is simple.

A typical 2-1/2 gallon per minute instead of an older 5-8 gallon per minute shower head saves 5-1/2 gallons per minute on the high side. This times the 7 minute shower the government thinks you take, times 365 days means you save 19,163 gallons of water. The put it into perspective, 19,000 gallons is a 16 X 32, 5 foot deep swimming pool.

Now about the unpredictable human factor.

A cold shower is often suggested for health reasons. But forget about that. No one takes a cold shower.

A low volume shower head, with low water pressure, flows at less that 2 gallons per minute. How long does it run before the water is warm enough for a nice warm shower? You can answer that if you know the pressure, volume of water, and have extra time on your hands. But why bother? You just let the water run, drink your morning coffee, take a long break on the toilet to read texts and email, and then when the whole room is full of steam, you take your 15 minute shower.

Extra time in the low-flow shower is needed to rinse off excess amounts of shampoo or body wash that almost everyone uses. You don’t notice it but the finer shower spray evaporates faster so it’s actually cooler. To compensate, you crank up the temperature a bit. Now you are using more energy, whether gas or electric.  You have made your morning contribution to climate change.

If this does not describe you, congratulations. You are highly disciplined and socially responsible.

Showering for Pleasure

We won’t argue that you should not shower for pleasure. Do it on the weekend.

In the meantime, skip the shower, apply deodoreme as we have suggested here, and use the time for more profitable activities.

Some other advantages of skipping the shower in addition to saving time are:

• • Sleep in for an extra ten or twenty minutes.
  • Save on the power bill. Use less hot water.
  • Improve skin and hair health by avoiding harsh soaps, shampoo and body wash.
  • Reduce the amount of laundry by not using as many bath towels.

Other Ways to Conserve Water

If water conservation is at a critical point where you live, you may have to follow Los Angeles’ or Phoenix, Arizona’s examples. Phoenix calls it adopting a water conservation lifestyle. They say Phoenix has all the water it needs but none to waste.

Here are  a few suggestions from folks in Phoenix and LA.

Outside and Landscape.

Plant gardens of shrubs and flowers that require less water that a lawn, apply mulch around plants to conserve water, and reduce or eliminate grass.

Automatic sprinklers should be used in conjunction with moisture sensor to know when grass actually needs water. Then water at night to reduce evaporation.

Use a broom to sweep a sidewalk or driveway, not a steam of water. Electric blowers are good to move debris into another place where it doesn’t belong, like your neighbors yard or into the street. Use a broom and put it in the trash. Besides the exercise is very healthy.

Don’t wash vehicles at home. Support a commercial car wash that recycles and filters all their water.

If you have a pool, cover it to reduce evaporation. Covering it reduces need for the filter to run as much, saving on energy too.

Indoor Water Saving Tips

If you have old wasteful appliances and can afford a new washing machine, or dishwasher, you will be amazed at what a good job they do with reduced water consumption – better than the old machines with less detergent.

Remember when you used to put a full cup of detergent in the washer? Then the washer took a few minutes to fill up with 22 gallons of water if it filled to the 3 cubic foot line. Now an efficient machine weighs the clothes, adds just the right amount of water, and chooses the correct time to complete the cycle.

Don’t waste money on a new toilet. If you want to reduce the volume per flush, put an upright quart glass bottle full of water in the tank. No lid necessary unless you have to turn it on its side to make if fit.

Teach children to not overload it with paper. An extra flush is better than a stopped up drain.

Sometimes it’s not necessary to flush after use but you will have to let your nose dictate that. Some people overcome an odor problem with a toilet deodorant sprayed on top of the water.

Now from toilet to brushing teeth: Don’t brush your teeth in the shower. It takes too long while you waste water.  Besides if you are doing the Phoenix Lifestyle and use deodorme^TM instead of showering.  You have already learned that you can brush your teeth without the water running. By the way, a tip from the dentist: electric tooth brushes do a better job in a short amount of time.

For you guys who still shave, don’t run water in the sink. Put a little water in the basin and rinse the razor with a quick swoosh. It’s faster that rinsing under a meager stream.

For you meticulous ladies with slick armpits, legs, and bikini patch, keep doing what you are doing even if its in an occasional shower. It’s not that often. Nevertheless, some of our deodormeTM ladies use an electric razor

Don’t let the water run for a cooler drink of fresh water. Filtered water tastes better and you can keep in cool in the refrigerator.

Maintenance

Leaks account for 17.5% of water waste, second only to showers.

Modern faucets rarely leak but of you have old faucets with washers, consider replacing the whole faucet.

The leaky culprit is usually the toilet. It can drip continually unnoticed. The main problem is the antiquated flush mechanism that has not changed in over a century. The reason it has lasted so long is it works. Just replace the flapper valve periodically. It’s easy.

The second leaky part of a toilet is the float valve that turns the water off when it reached the correct height. You can often hear it leaking.

It’s usually easier to replace the whole valve instead of repairing it. It’s not hard if you are mechanically inclined. Everybody has a friend that can do it. If not, your friendly licensed, bonded plumber will can do it, but it may be cheaper to replace the whole toilet with the latest low volume model from Costco.

We do not get paid for mentioning Costco but unlike Amazon you can actually touch the toilet at Costco before you buy it.