We know our customers, fans, and followers are aware that California is experiencing a serious water crisis. We think the age-old wisdom ‘turn a crisis into an opportunity’ applies. We want to share some tips on water conservation, because water savings are money savings and crisis averted. After all, we won’t just be saving California’s water resources for future generations; we’ll be saving it for our own.
Which wastes more water: The shower or the toilet?
If you answered the shower, you’re wrong. But don’t feel bad. Most people think the single biggest point of household water waste is the shower, but in reality it’s the toilet. While you use more water showering than flushing a toilet, you shower once or twice per day and flush five times 
per day.That’s why upgrading your conventional toilet to a high efficiency dual-flush toilet is so important.
I recently moved and installed a high efficiency toilet. Curious about how much water I was saving, I decided to do some calculations. To my surprise, I was saving about thirty gallons of water per day! That’s nine hundred gallons in water savings per month for one person, in one household. If all of Orange County’s three million residents made such a switch, we could save over three billion gallons of water per year. It’s also the easiest and least expensive water efficiency renovation project you could take on.
If taking on a renovation project isn’t in your budget, there are many other things you can do to save water.
Cut Back On Shower Time
Experts recommend keeping showers to five minutes. That is not a long time if you are showering, and if you are like me, your morning shower is your morning cup of coffee. A few years ago, I started setting a timer before getting into the shower, and I’ve cut my showering time almost in half. If you take two showers a day, consider cutting it back to one. It can also be romantic to share a shower with your special someone. Crisis, meet opportunity!
Washing Your Hands
The experts also recommend lathering your hands with soap for no less than twenty seconds to prevent the spread of infection, but twenty seconds is a lot of water and a long time when you are washing your hands. The secret? The water doesn’t need to be turned on while you are lathering. Get your hands wet, turn off the water, lather for twenty seconds, and rinse.
Getting the Most Out Of your Washers
Our last renovation-free water conservation tip is to always run the laundry machine or dishwasher with a full load. Waiting longer to fill up a full load will reduce the total number of loads over the same period of time, which translates to water saved.
Other Water Saving Renovations
What about other water-saving renovations? Rain barrels can be used for rainwater catchment, which can be used for irrigation of landscaping, but of course, we haven’t had much rain in recent memory. Larger systems, including cisterns, can be installed, but cost a pretty penny. There are other household grey water systems. A kit can be installed to capture water from the sink, which can then be used for flushing the toilet. Custom grey water systems can capture shower water, which can then be used for flushing toilets.
Of course, Fulkra can help you with integrating sprinkler systems, pool and spa systems, or smart water meters with your whole home control system. Being aware of your water consumption is the first step to reducing your water usage. For more information on water conservation tips, rebates and incentives available for water-saving renovations, check out bewaterwise.com.
A Quick Look: California Water Conservation Tips
- Switch to high efficiency dual-flush toilets
- Keep showers to 5 minutes, once a day
- Turn off water while lathering hands
- Only run the laundry machine or dishwasher with a full load
- Utilize rain barrels for rainwater catchment or other like systems
- Install a grey water system