Water Efficiency

Water efficiency is important because water takes a lot of energy to clean, to transport, and then to heat.  Saving water is saving energy.

Measure the curent flow of your shower heads and aerators:

Get a water flow bag for free from Mass Water Resources Author.  Just email Elaine (elaine.donahue@mwra.state.ma.us) and she will send you several.  You can give them out to your friends.

Put the flow bag around the fixture so it catches all the water, then turn the water on high for 5 seconds.  Use a watch or count 1-Mississippi, 2-Mississippi, because most people count wayyyy to fast and then believe they have a low flow fixture.

The bag will then show you how many gallons per minute (GPM) of water your fixture uses.

If your shower head uses more than 1.5 gpm, replace it with a low flow one.  See below to learn how to.

If your bathroom sink uses more than 1 gpm, replace the aerator with a low flow one.

If your kitchen sink uses more than 2.2 gpm, replace the aerator with a low flow one.

Install Toilet Tank Banks in All the Toilets:

Toilet tank banks cost $1. The tank bank is basically a water balloon that hangs on the side of the tank and displaces water with each flush. If you assume the toilet gets flushed 6 times a day and uses 1/2 gallon less each time then inside of a decade you have save over 10,000 gallons of water.

Don’t fill the tank bank too much if the toilets are 1.6 GPF (gallons per flush). Show the homemaker and volunteers how the bank can have water added to it to displace more water with each flush, or water taken out if stuff isn’t getting flushed properly, so they can adjust their own tank banks.

See photo or purchase tank banks at EFI.

Low-flow Faucet Aerators:

These aerators have male and female threading to fit on most any fixture and cost just $1. They use only 1.5 gallon per minute and cost just a few dollars.  Here are some good ones.

Simply use twist the old aerator off with your hand (wrap a rubber band around it if you have trouble getting a grip)  and then put the new one on with your hand.  Don't tighten further than you need to.  Turn on water and make sure it doesn't spray out anywhere it's not supposed to.  If it does, tighten it a bit more.

If the old aerator was using 1.5 gpm and the new faucet is 1 gpm and used about 3 minutes a day, you will save $100 over the next decade.

Low-flow Shower Head:

If there is not GPM shown on the side, show people how to use the water flow measurement bag to measure the flow.  

If you switch from a 2.5 GPM to a 1.5 GPM, you’ll earn back the money you spent on the aerator through the savings on heat alone within two months.

Use a wrench to loosen the shower head.  If the showerhead doesn’t come off easily, DON’T FORCE IT.  Just give up.  Whatever happens you don’t want to break the pipe.

If you do get the shower head off, then before you put the new one on, wrap plumbers' tape around the threads to decrease chance of leaks.  Then screw the new one on.  Don't over tighten it.  Tighten it just enough so it doesn't spray out everywhere.  Turn the water on to check it works.

If there are 3 adults using the shower and they take 7-minute daily showers, and you switch the showerhead from a 2.5 to a 1.5 gpm then you will have saved 76,650 gallons in a decade and a lot of fossil fuels that would have been used to heat that water.

We like the Niagara low flow showerhead. 

Replacing a Toilet Flapper:

If the toilet is constantly running (leaking water) it can waste up to 80,000 gallons of water a year. It could be the flapper is leaking (the flap that shuts off the water from going into the toilet bowl.  If the refill valve is leaking, it looses the water down the overfill tube into the toilet bowl.

You can check for a leaky flush valve by shutting off the water supply to the toilet. The shutoff valve is located beneath the tank on the left side as you face the toilet. Remember, lefty loosie, rightie tightie. Crank it shut to the right.

Mark the water level with a pencil on the inside of the tank, then check it again in 20 minutes. If the water level has fallen below your mark, the flush valve is leaking. If not, the flush valve did not leak, and you know that the refill valve is causing any leaks.

To replace the flapper, turn off the water to the toilet; then disengage the flapper at the bottom of the tank.  Be careful not to damage the old one, in case the new one doesn't fit.  Put the new one on.  Turn the water back on and flush a few times to see if it works.

For more info check:
VIDEO: http://www.ehow.com/video_4419072_replace-toilet-flapper.html