Fix a Leak Week
Did you know that an American home can waste, on average, more than 10,000 gallons of water every year due to running toilets, dripping faucets and other household leaks?
Nationwide, more than 1 trillion gallons of water leak from US homes each year. The City of Redmond, as a proud member of the EPA’s WaterSense Program, is promoting Fix a Leak Week, from March 15 to 21. This special week reminds us to check our home and office plumbing fixtures and irrigation systems for leaks.
Visit www.epa.gov/watersense for more information.
Leak Detection Mailer
The 2010 Cascade Leak Detection Mailer is coming to your home! The City of Redmond and its Cascade Water Alliance partners will send the annual toilet leak detection dye strips to all single family residences starting March 15. The leak detection dye allows you to easily check your toilets for costly leaks.
A leaky toilet can waste thousands of gallons of water per year – water you pay for! In addition, Cascade is partnering with local hardware stores to offer special discounts on replacement flappers and free classes on toilet repair. Watch your mailbox for the Cascade Leak Detection Mailer and visit www.cascadewater.org/conservation.php for more details and rebate opportunities, or call Redmond Water Conservation Office at 425-556-2845.
They save energy too! Check out the up to date list of qualifying washers at the Cascade Water Alliance www.cascadewater.org. Don’t forget to check other water and energy saving opportunities at www.pse.com.
Leaking faucets
A leaking faucet is often the result of a worn or bad rubber washer. The washer on a sink is typically located under the handle. A washer is relatively easy to replace – if you have the right tools. It does require shutting off the water under the faucet and removing the handle. Local home centers can provide instruction on faucet repairs – or check the internet under “repairing leaky faucets”, such as www.h2ouse.org.
School and Teacher Resources
Take a virtual tour of the Tolt Watershed -
the source of 65 % of Redmond’s drinking water
or go to www.epa.gov/epawaste/education/teens/ for more water information and games.
- Wash only full loads of laundry in your washing machine or full loads of dishes in your dishwasher.
- Turn the water off. Minimize water use when shaving, brushing teeth and washing dishes. Replace older bathroom faucet nozzles (aerators) with new ones that are rated at one gallon per minute, or less.
- Shorten your shower by one minute. Cut back on your shower time and you will rack up big savings in water and energy. To really save water, limit your shower time to five minutes or less. Also, install a water-saving showerhead that uses 2.0 gallons per minute.
- Avoid flushing the toilet unnecessarily. Dispose of tissues and other similar waste in the trash rather than the toilet.
- Take showers instead of baths. A bathtub holds up to 50 gallons of water - much more than a normal shower would use. (A typical shower uses less than 15 gallons.)
- Don't pre-rinse dishes. Check to see if your dishwasher can clean dishes without pre-rinsing them. Most new dishwashers don't require pre-rinsing.
- Find and tag the master water valve into the house – in case you need to turn off all the water into the house.
- Wrap outdoor exposed water faucets with foam covers to protect against winter freezes.
- Check hoses for leaks before the next watering season.
- Include your home on your holiday gift list. Make it a goal to save water each day.
- Fix leaking faucets and toilets. Research has shown that an average of 8% (or more) of all home water use is wasted through leaks. Dripping faucets can be quickly identified (and repaired) but other leaks are less obvious.