• Use your water meter to check for hidden water leaks, read the house water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter does not read exactly the same, there is a leak.
• Check your toilets for leaks; put a little food colouring in your toilet tank. If, without flushing, the colour begins to appear in the bowl within 30 minutes, you have a leak that should be repaired immediately.
• Put plastic bottles or a float booster in your toilet tank to cut down on water waste. Put an inch or two of sand or pebbles inside each of two plastic bottles to weigh them down. Fill the bottles with water, screw the lids on, and put them in your toilet tank, safely away from operating mechanisms.
• Take shorter showers no longer than 15 minutes. Use water saving shower heads.
• Turn off the water after you have wet your toothbrush, do not let the water run while you brush.
• Use your dishwasher and clothes washer for only full loads.
• When washing by hand don’t leave the water running for rinsing.
• Keep a safe bottle of drinking water in the fridge, running tap water to cool it off is wasteful.
• After rinsing vegetables throw the dirty water into your garden.
• Water your garden only when it needs it; either early in the morning or late afternoon and not on windy days as the water easily evaporates.
• Use a broom and not a hose, to clean driveways and sidewalks.
• Wash your car when it is dirty and not more than once a week.
I hope this small piece of information helps and encourages individuals to be active citizens in participating in improving our environment.
Letrisha Arumugam
Environmental Student
