Simple water conservation tips for home, work and school

Despite the bountiful rains the summer of 2021 has produced, water conservation is still something everyone need to be aware of and practice.

Water – Use It Wisely offers more than 100 ways to conserve water indoors and outdoors at home, work, and school.

To get you started, here are 20 recommendations that may surprise you, yet are easy to implement. They are numbered based on where they fall on Water – Use It Wisely’s list.

Indoors

No. 12 — Reuse leftover water from cooked or steamed foods to start a nutritious soup; it’s one more way to get eight glasses of water a day.

No. 36 — Turn off the water while washing your hair and save up to 150 gallons a month.

No. 27 — Put food coloring in your toilet tank. If it seeps into the bowl without flushing, there’s a leak. Fix it and start saving gallons.

No. 50 — Learn how to use your water meter to check for leaks.

No. 60 — Run your washer and dishwasher only when they are full. You can save up to 1,000 gallons a month.

Outdoors

No. 79 — Collect water from your roof by installing gutters and downspouts. Direct the runoff to plants and trees.

No. 80 — For automatic water savings, direct water from rain gutters and HVAC systems to water-loving plants in your landscape.

No. 109 — Don’t water your lawn on windy days when most of the water blows away or evaporates.

No. 113 — Use a rain barrel to harvest rainwater from gutters for watering gardens and landscapes.

No. 114 — For hanging baskets, planters, and pots, put ice cubes on top of the soil to give your plants a cool drink of water without overflow.

For kids and pets

No. 44 — Teach children to turn off faucets tightly after each use.

No. 46 — When the kids want to cool off, use the sprinkler in an area where your lawn needs it most.

No. 132 — Wash your pets outdoors in an area of your lawn that needs water.

No. 133 — When cleaning out fish tanks, give the nutrient-rich water to your non-edible plants.

No. 134 — When you give your pet fresh water, don’t throw the old water down the drain. Use it to water your trees or shrubs.

In the workplace

No. 144 — Post a hotline in bathrooms and kitchens to report leaks or water waste to facility managers or maintenance personnel.

No. 162 — Shut off water to unused areas of your facility to eliminate waste from leaks or unmonitored use.

No. 174 — Scrape dishes rather than rinsing them before washing.

No. 185 — Wash company vehicles at commercial car washers that recycle water.

No. 190 — When ice cubes are left over from your drink, don’t throw them out. Pour them on a plant.

Review all of their tips and select a few that you can easily implement. In time, add more water conservation techniques to your home, workplace, and school.

All of us should be making water conservation a lifestyle, not just a habit. Small behavioral changes add up to large water savings.

Embracing this lifestyle now can nourish our state for generations to come.

Water – Use It Wisely’s comprehensive community awareness campaign stars ordinary household objects as unexpected, but highly effective, water-saving devices. The program demonstrates how changing a few simple habits can have a significant impact on water consumption through a bright, colorful, and fun approach that encourages everyone to be mindful of when and how they use water. Find water-saving ideas for outside and inside your home at www.wateruseitwisely.com.

Join Rosie on the House every Saturday morning from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on KTAR News 92.3 FM. If you’d like to send us questions or comments, email mailto:info@rosieonthehouse.com. Follow us on Twitter and “Like” us on Facebook. For more do-it-yourself tips, go to rosieonthehouse.com. An Arizona home building and remodeling industry expert since 1988, Rosie Romero is the host of the syndicated Saturday morning Rosie on the House radio program. Call 888-767-4348 with questions and comments.