Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Mon, Jul 26, 2010
Old Habits of Water Conservation
If you’re into water conservation, you’ve probably heard the eco-ditty: “If it’s yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down.” It refers, of course, to toilet flushing habits. The idea is that less flushing conserves more water. While an admirable sentiment, the practice can be startling to unprepared Lorain County homeowners or their visitors. The solution is to have your Lorain County plumbing professional install dual-flush toilets. Dual-flush toilets let you save water without offending your grandmother’s sensibilities when she raises the toilet lid.
New Water Conservation Habits
Newer, water-efficient toilets use 1.6 gallons of water per flush. Older toilets, however, use 4 to 6 gallons of water per flush. Dual-flush toilets are designed to use less water to flush waste. First developed in Australia in 1980, dual-flush toilets are just beginning to become popular with mainstream America. States where drought conditions are common were among the first to embrace and promote their use. Dual-flush toilets use a half flush for liquid waste and a full flush for solid waste, chopping water use in half. Users choose the amount of water to be used by pushing the toilet handle one way for a half flush or in the other direction for a full flush.
Results of Poor Water Conservation
By 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 36 states will be fighting serious water shortages brought on by drought, inefficient water management, increased consumer demand and aging water system infrastructures. The Southwest and portions of California have been struggling with water shortages and been forced to impose strict water rationing for years.
Current News On Water Conservation
Dual-flush toilets are now a standard feature in green building designs. When the U.S. National Park Service constructed a new visitors’ center at Denali National Park in Alaska, dual-flush toilets were installed in all the restrooms.
Conserve Water And Save Money
Installing dual-flush toilets decreases your water use (good for the environment) while decreasing your water and sewer bills (good for your bank account). Definitely a win-win choice!
Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Thu, Jul 08, 2010
How Much Water do You Use? Gauge Your Personal Water Consumption
Water conservation is becoming an increasingly important issue. In order to start saving water, it helps to know how much water you use for common tasks. Lorain County residents can use this handy guide to gauge their personal water consumption. We’ve also provided helpful suggestions for cutting water use.
- Shower. Letting the water run continuously during a 10-minute shower uses 50 gallons of water. Cutting shower time to 5 minutes decreases water use by 50% to 25 gallons. If you like long showers, install a low-flow shower head which decreases water use by 50%.
- Bath tub. Filling a standard-sized bath tub uses 36 gallons of water. Filling your tub only half full uses just 18 gallons, decreasing water use by 50%.
- Toilet flushing. Depending on tank size, standard toilets use 5 to 7 gallons of water per flush. Placing a displacement bag inside the tank reservoir cuts water use to 4 to 6 gallons. Replacing your toilet with a low-flow toilet that uses just 1.6 gallons of water decreases water use by 73%.
- Washing hands. Washing up while the tap runs uses 5 gallons of water. Filling the basin to wash your hands uses just 1 gallon of water, a water savings of 80%.
- Brushing teeth. Running the tap continuously while you brush your teeth uses 10 gallons of water. Turning on the water only to wet your brush and periodically rinse it uses just 1 gallon of water, a 90% savings.
- Dishwasher. Turning your dishwasher on for a full cycle uses 16 gallons of water. Using the short cycle uses only 7 gallons, a 56% savings.
- Hand wash dishes. Washing dishes by hand with the tap running continuously uses 30 gallons of water. Washing and rinsing dishes in a filled sink uses only 10 gallons of water, a savings of 66%.
Your Plumber Can Tell You About Water-Conserving Plumbing Products
See your local Lorain County plumbing professional for water-conserving plumbing products.
Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Wed, Jul 07, 2010
Don't Forget About Water Conservation
Located near the shore of Lake Erie, part of the largest fresh water lake system on the planet, people in Lorain County don’t spend much mental energy on dwindling fresh water supplies. We may suffer a few weeks of high temperatures and a touch of drought from time to time here in northern Ohio, but with millions of gallons of water sitting right in our backyard, Lorain County folks don’t get overly concerned. Perhaps we should.
Climate Change Plays A Big Role In Water Supply
Political analysts warn that the next great wars won’t be fought over ethnic or political boundaries but over water rights. The world’s population continues to grow. Global warming is melting the glaciers that hold the bulk of the world’s fresh water. Annual glacial melt fills the streams and rivers that supply drinking water to the majority of Earth’s peoples. When the glaciers dry up, so will their water supply. Climatologists say global warming is changing weather patterns, causing increasingly severe weather including long-term drought. A glimmer of what the future holds has been playing out in California and the U.S. Southwest for the past few years. Before this spring’s torrential rains, five years of unrelenting drought had forced California to shut off water to agricultural fields and ration water use in homes and businesses. California and Southwestern states already import most of their water from states east of the Rocky Mountains. In the last five years they came perilously close to running out of water. Another drought could be a death knell.
Help Conserve Water With Lorain County
Water conservation is a worldwide problem and must be a worldwide effort. Even people who live in areas like Lorain County where water is still plentiful need to start preparing for the future. Water conservation is everyone’s responsibility. Your Lorain County plumbing professional offers many state-of-the-art plumbing products that can help you start saving water today. Give us a call.
Next time: How much water do you use?
Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Wed, Apr 21, 2010
April 22 is Earth Day! Helpful Tips to Conserve Energy at Home.
Tomorrow is Earth Day which is a good time to take a close look at the way you and your family use our planet’s resources. Rather than a one-day effort, though, Earth Day should be just the first day of a life-long commitment to using the Earth’s natural resources more wisely and more sparingly. Environmentalists warn that energy consumption and water consumption are two of the biggest challenges we face as stewards of our planet. There are many things – some big, some small -- that you and your family can do to help conserve energy and water resources all year round. Some things are simple and you can do yourself. Bigger projects may require a little help from your trusted Lorain County plumbing, heating and cooling expert.
Here’s a list of conservation measures to get you started:
- A 5-minute shower uses 10 to 25 gallons of water. Save water by turning off the faucet while you suds up, turning it back on to rinse off.
- Water flows from faucets at a rate of 2 gallons per minute. Cut water use by turning the water off while brushing your teeth and saving.
- Install aerators in faucets and a low-flow shower head to decrease water flow. When combined with not letting the faucet run, you can decrease water usage by 50%.
- 1 drip a second from a faucet uses approximately 2700 gals of water a year. Fix leaking faucets and toilets
- Run the dishwasher only when it’s full.
- Hold off on the laundry until you have a full load.
- Park your car on the lawn when you wash it and you’ll water the lawn at the same time.
- Have your Lorain County cooling, heating and plumbing expert install energy efficient appliances. An energy efficient furnace, air conditioner and hot water heater will save you money on every bill and help protect the planet at the same time.
"Green" your home on Earth day by replacing energy-guzzling appliances with energy-efficient appliances. Schedule a Free estimate on all energy-efficient installation projects.
Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Thu, Jan 21, 2010
Prevent Frozen Water Pipes
Frozen pipes can create serious problems for Lorain County homeowners during extended cold spells. When water freezes it expands. Trapped inside a water pipe, water has nowhere to go. As frozen water continues expanding, ever-increasing pressure -- more than 2,000 pounds of pressure per square inch -- builds up inside water pipes. Eventually, the force of the pressure ruptures the pipe.
When a water pipe ruptures, there’s nothing left to hold back the flow of water into your home from the main water line out in the street. Your water meter will start spinning as hundreds of gallons of water per hour start flowing into your house. Not only will the water do thousands of dollars of damage to your home and possessions, you’ll be stuck with a whopping water bill!
There are several things you can do to help prevent frozen water pipes:
- If you’re traveling, it’s OK to lower the thermostat, just don’t lower it below about 50 degrees in Lorain County. Arrange for a neighbor to check on your home, particularly if the mercury dips or the power goes out.
- Pipes along outside walls are more apt to freeze. One of the biggest culprits in frozen pipe disasters is forgetting to disconnect hoses from outdoor faucets and neglecting to turn off water to those exterior faucets.
- Automatic sprinkler systems should be purged of water every fall using compressed air and the water lines shut down for the winter.
Despite precautions, extended cold weather can cause indoor water lines to freeze. Run faucets daily to promote water flow. If flow stops, turn off water into the house at the water main to minimize potential damage. Call a licensed Lorain County plumber immediately. An experienced plumber can locate and unthaw frozen pipes before they burst and damage your home.
Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Wed, Jan 20, 2010
Start Saving Water Now Before we are Forced to Choose Between Driking Water and Using it for Santitation
“No Loo? No I do.” is the catchy, chuckle-inducing jingle that is responsible for the construction of 1.4 million toilets in India. But a lot of young men aren’t chuckling. In rural India, new brides are refusing to walk down the aisle unless the groom promises them a toilet. “No Toilet, No Bride” is the slogan of a women’s rights campaign geared to bring indoor plumbing to rural India where half the population – nearly 665 million people – still lacks access to private toilets.
Community toilets and latrines or the open fields are often the only lavatory option in the small villages that dot India’s countryside. Lack of modern sanitary facilities is more than a lack of convenience. Poor sanitation can spread diseases like typhoid, diarrhea and malaria. Women are driving change with new-found social power. They want bathrooms with modern toilets and it looks like they’re going to get them. As one love-struck 22-year-old recently commented to The Washington Post, “I will have to work hard to afford a toilet. We won’t get any bride if we don’t have one now.”
India’s privy plight might bring a chuckle, but it should also make us appreciate what we have. Of course, climatologists warn that if we don’t start conserving our water supply, the day may come when we don’t have enough water to flush our nice, modern toilets. Last summer, severe drought in California, Georgia and the Southwest had some folks catching shower, bath and dirty dish water in buckets and using it to flush their toilets. Some fear that climate change will force us to eventually choose between drinking water and using it for sanitation. Scientists are urging people to start saving water now before we reach a crisis point.
Find out what you can do! Water conservation tips you can implement at home.
Water saving toilets qualify for the energy-efficient tax credit. Save substantially on your monthly energy bills and help the environment at the same time!
Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Fri, Dec 18, 2009
Save Water with an Energy-Efficient Energy Star Water Heater
With global warming, saving water has become a group effort. Having your plumbing professional install water-efficient low-flow and dual-flush toilets can cut a family’s water use by as much as one-third. Trading in your old hot water heater on an energy-efficient Energy Star water heater can also result in significant savings in both water and energy. But not all water-saving efforts need to be major changes. There are also plenty of things you can do around your home to save water. Most take little effort and will result in a nice savings on your water bill. Good for you and the planet!
Water Saving Tips at Home
- Install twist-on aerators on sink faucets to reduce water use.
- Install a low-flow shower head in the shower. Practice the art of the quick shower or turn off water while you suds up, turn on to rinse off.
- Turn off water while brushing your teeth or shaving.
- Wait until you have a full load to run dishwashers and clothes washers.
- Instead of washing fruits and veggies under a running tap, wash them in a pan of water.
- Buy a rain barrel and use collected rain water to irrigate your garden.
- When you wash your car, don’t let the hose run. Park your car on the grass so water soaks into your lawn.
- Use a broom, not a hose to clean your driveway.
- Turn off automatic lawn sprinklers when it rains and use a timer to regulate watering.
- Use a soaker hose to water plants. Overhead sprinklers waste water, but soakers direct water right to plant roots.
- Mulching garden beds will decrease evaporation and help soil retain moisture.
- Plant native plants that require less watering.
Contact your plumbing professional to install an energy-efficient Energy Star water heater or for more water saving advice.
Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Fri, Dec 04, 2009
Did you know that while 70% of our planet is covered by water, only 3% of it is fresh water, the kind we drink and use? And most of the Earth’s fresh water is frozen in the polar ice caps or in mountain glaciers. Only 1% of the fresh water on our planet is available for human use. With more than 6 billion of us competing for every drop, there’s just not enough water to go around. By 2025, the United Nations estimates that two-thirds of the world’s people will live in areas without enough potable water to meet their needs. Water is such a vital component of human survival – we die without it -- that many politicians believe the world’s next great war will be fought over water rights. “Blue gold” is quickly becoming the planet’s most valuable commodity.
Environmentalists believe that the long-term droughts being experienced in California, Australia and parts of Africa are a harbinger of even more severe weather conditions that will plague the planet in the not so distant future. People are being urged to start saving water now in the hope of averting a major disaster. Flushing your toilet is the single greatest water consumer in most homes. Asking your plumber to replace out-dated water-guzzling toilets with modern low-flow and dual-flush toilets can save the average U.S. family of three at least 21 gallons of water a day and more than 7,000 gallons of water a year. With most folks paying premium prices for water service these days, installing more efficient toilets in your home can significantly decrease those expensive water bills.
The experienced professional plumbers at Raymond Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning can guide you in selecting water-efficient toilets appropriate for your family’s needs and provide expert professional installation.
If you want to cut your family’s water usage, give the plumbing experts at Raymond a call.
Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Thu, Jul 16, 2009
Nowadays we need to become more active in saving as much money as possible, so why not take heed to these simple water conservation tips to lower the cost of your water bill?
1. Check for leaks! This is the most important tip on preventing high water bills. According to the National Sanitation Foundation, a leaky toilet can waste as much as 500 gallons of water per day!
2. Use a dishwasher. Contrary to popular belief, dishwashers actually use less water than cleaning dishes manually.
3. Take Shorter Showers. A five-minute shower averages about 10 gallons of water, whereas a 15-minute shower triples that amount. Trying to stay within the five-minute range for a shower can cut down water usage tremendously.
4. Turn off water when brushing your teeth/shaving. A simple twist of the knob prevents wasted water.
5. Install an adjustable flapper. This popular trend is catching on among many manufacturers. These adjustable flappers are convenient because they allow you to adjust your preferred flush volume, which can save up to three gallons per flush.
6. Re-wear clothes. It sounds unhygienic, but articles of clothes like pants and jackets usually don’t acquire much dirtiness after wearing them once, so why not wear your jeans twice? It’ll reduce the amount of clothes you need to wash! The same concept applies to bath towels.
7. Utilize Unwanted Water. Put your half full water bottles aside and save them for later when you need to water your garden. Other examples of “greywater” include cooking water and excess water from faucets.
8. Add Mulch! Incorporating mulch into your garden can help contain moisture for your plants, which, in effect, means your plants require less water.
9. Wash your car later. It is said that washing a car uses 100-500 gallons of water, so do yourself a favor and wash your car once a month instead of every other week. If you insist on washing your car, it is recommended to go to an actual car wash where you can save a minimum of 100 gallons of water.
10. Insulate pipes. If you hate standing next to your sink and just waiting for the water to become warmer, perhaps you should consider covering your hot water pipes with foam insulation. This will not only give you hot water quicker, but it’ll cut down water use too.
11. Appliances. Change to appliances that have earned Energy Star ratings. Qualified clothes washers and dishwashers will use 10-50% less energy and water than standard models.
These 11 tips are easy, everyday tasks that that won’t cause much trouble in your daily schedule. We hope you take note of these simple ways to benefit your pocket and the environment.