Tip of the Week: 

If you don't have a low flow toilet, use plastic bottles filled with water and pebbles to replace water in the tank. Don't obstruct the float and don't use a brick.  Standard toilets can use as much as seven gallons of water per flush. Low-flows? A mere 16 gallons. If you want the water savings of a low-flow toilet, but aren't ready to shell out for a new toilet, you're in luck. With a few simple modifications, you can turn your water-guzzling toilet into a water-sipping low-flow just by using some simple household items. You can even purchase a tank bag, fill it with water and hand it in your toilet tank, this will also reduce the amount of water needed to refill the tank after each flush.

Tip of the Week

Use a broom instead of a hose to clean your driveway or sidewalk and save water every time.

An outdoor hose can use about 20-30 gallons of water per minute. Often a broom can clean a driveway or sidewalk just as well as a hose. If it takes 10-20 minutes to clean your driveway, you can save several hundred gallons of water each time. In addition, you reduce storm water run off which, combined with chemicals on your driveway, impacts water quality. Using less water allows more to stay in the ground or in a surface reservoir, which helps to maintain a natural water balance.

Tip of the Week

If the side of your water heater feels warm near the top, install an insulation blanket.  Insulating water heaters should be done to reduce heat loss and save money on standby energy losses. Generally, insulating kits for water heaters cost around $20 and pay for themselves in reduced energy costs in less than a year. Always make sure to use the appropriate type of blanket for your water heater, whether it's electric or gas. Follow the manufacturer's installation instructions carefully. If you are uncomfortable insulating a water heater it is best left to a qualifed contractor.

Tip of the Week

Attach low flow aerators to kitchen and bathroom faucets. The faucet will flow stronger while using much less water.  Its inexpensive and simple to install, low-flow faucet aerators can reduce your home water consumption as much as 50%, and reduce your energy cost of heating the water also by as much as 50%. This conservation of water and energy is not only good for the environment, but the savings in your utility bills will pay for the cost of the aerators within a few months. From then on, you enjoy continued savings.

Tip of the Week

Winterize outdoor spigots (hose bibs) when temperatures dip to prevent pipes from bursting or freezin. 

A frozen pipe can lead to a burst pipe, and a burst pipe means costly repairs and potential structural damage. Prevention is the key to avoiding burst pipes during the winter. Winterize your home's hose bibs as an annual maintenance task before it gets cold and you could save yourself a lot of headache.

 Tip of the Week

Contact a qualifed contractor to fix that leaky faucet. Tired of seeing your money go down the drain? A leaky faucet can cost you a significant amount of money if it is not taken care of right away because it will not be long until those drops have accumulated gallons of water that have gone to waste, not to mention the annoying sound of the drip, drip, drip. It's simple, inexpensive and can save 140 gallons of water a week.

Put food coloring in your toilet tank to check for leaks.  If you have a slow leak in your toilet tank, hundreds of gallons are just slowly and silently cascading down the side of your toilet bowl every month. Fortunately you can easily detect if the uptick in your water bill is from a slow leak or not. Simply put the food coloring into the toilet tank and wait for about a half hour, if seeps into the toilet bowl, you have a leak. Fortunately its an easy fix and can save hundreds of gallons of water a month.

Contact a qualified contractor to fix that leaky faucet.

Tired of seeing your money go down the drain? A leaky faucet can cost you a significant amount of money if it is not taken care of right away because it will not be long until those drops have accumulated gallons of water that have gone to waste, not to mention the annoying sound of the drip, drip, drip. It's simple, inexpensive and can save 140 gallons of water a week.

Winterize outdoor spigots (hose bibs) when temperatures dip to prevent pipes from bursting or freezing.  A frozen pipe can lead to a burst pipe, and a burst pipe means costly repairs and potential structural damage. Prevention is the key to avoiding burst pipes during the winter. Winterize your home's hose bibs as an annual maintenance task before it gets cold and you could save yourself a lot of headache.