Easy Ways to Conserve Water in Your Building
A business can go through hundreds of gallons of water every day, so even small changes to conserve water can make a difference in your bills. In addition to saving you money, these changes also save a valuable natural resource. Best of all, most of the tactics that can reduce your water use won’t interfere with your normal activities.
Use Less Per Flush
In many business, the bathroom toilets are the biggest source of water waste. If you have older toilets, replacing them with modern WaterSense-labeled toilets can cut your toilets’ water use by 20 percent.
Older toilets use as much as 6 gallons per flush (GPF). The maximum allowed by law for toilets manufactured today is 1.6 GPF, but WaterSense-labeled models cut that even further to 1.28 GPF. Unlike the clog-prone low-flow toilets of the past, these toilets are tested to perform as well as the standard toilets on the market.
Dual-flush toilets can also help you cut back on your water use. These toilets are equipped with one button that releases a full flush of water to remove solid waste, and another button that releases half a flush to remove liquid waste. With proper use, these toilets consume 23 to 32 percent less water than standard 1.6 GPF models.
Improve Your Faucet Flow
Faucets in bathrooms and food preparation areas, such as kitchens and break rooms, can use up a lot of water throughout the day. To stem the flow, consider upgrading to WaterSense-labeled faucets. These use just 1.5 gallons per minute (GPM), whereas standard models use 2.2 GPM.
Check around the building for faucets without aerators. Simply adding aerators to these faucets will reduce their flow while also helping to direct the flow so the faucet is easier to use.
While sensor-activated faucets may seem like a practical way too conserve water, they’ve been show to increase water use in some public applications. Before you choose these faucets, consult with a plumber to see if they’re right for your building.
If you’re washing a large amount of dishes, install a dishwasher. These use less water than hand washing and sanitize your dishes more effectively.
Conserve Water in Your Landscape
The healthy, well maintained landscape around your building plays an important role in your visitors’ first impression of your business. By relying on sprinklers or watering with a hose, you risk overwatering, which can make your landscape look less appealing while also raising your water bills. For ensuring optimal amounts of water for healthy plants and low bills, there’s no substitute for a properly designed irrigation.
If you’re already using an irrigation system, consider installing a WaterSense-labeled irrigation controller. These systems take in data about the weather and soil conditions, and use this information to decide when and how much to water.
Keep Your Plumbing in Shape
Repair any dripping or leaky faucets. Two faucets in your building dripping just once a minute can waste nearly 70 gallons of water a year. If ignored, drips only worsen and can eventually irreparably damage the faucet. Most leaks are caused by worn washers or other minor issues that are inexpensive to repair if caught early.
Check exposed pipes for leaks. These not only waste water, but also contribute to rot and mold problems.
Once a year, schedule a professional inspection for your plumbing system. Your plumbing technician will check for problems such as developing sewer line clogs, hidden leaks, deteriorating pipes at risk for breaking, and blocked vents.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about Plumbing, HVACR, Fire Protection, and Alarm Systems in Mechanical, Commercial, and Residential settings. For more information about conserve water and to view projects we’ve worked on, visit our website!
Photo Credit: Skitterphoto
