In my past life on California’s Central Coast, drought was a constant specter on the horizon. Our daily habits revolved around conserving water in small ways, and major purchases always took water efficiency into account. Even today, when we visit my friends and family back there, we easily transition into wise water use mode. We are also very careful to behave similarly in places that we visit that have water supply issues.
Since Houston’s average annual rainfall is about 51” (compared to 18” in Santa Barbara), and drenching rain rather than drought is typical, we tend to be a little more lax here at home. However, with Houston’s drought predicted to continue until September and cities asking for volunteer rationing, we have reverted to our California lifestyle in an effort to do our part to preserve local water supplies.
 |
| Food coloring can help detect toilet leaks. |
The kids have had a great time looking for ways we could save water around the house and they enjoy coming up with new schemes for reusing water when they can. Their current favorite is to take a bath and then use the water for our indoor and outdoor plants. And our floors are cleaner than ever, since I get to mop each time we practice this particular water saving activity.
- Reduce the amount of time you spend in the shower.
- Check your toilet for leaks. (Put a few drops of food coloring or toilet tablets in the tank and wait for 15 minutes. If the water in the bowl changes color, then you have a leak)
- Turn off the water while brushing your teeth.
- Reuse bath and beach towels to reduce the need for laundry.
- Keep a bucket or plastic tub in sinks, the tub and shower to reuse the water that runs through the faucet while you are waiting for hot water.
 |
| Reusing towels at home and in hotels helps conserve water. |
No comments:
Post a Comment