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3699 Wilshire Blvd. Ste 700, Los Angeles, CA 90010 Mon-Fri 9am-6pm +1-213-387-4508

Ways to Save Water in Your Home Today

save water california

Ok, so you’re wondering why a divorce lawyer is blogging about conserving water? In case you’ve been living under a rock you would know that California is in an intense drought. Water is the source of life for us humans and I think it extremely important that we are mindful of our most precious gift and resource- water.

So, you understand the severity of the drought we Californian’s are in but are not exactly sure what to do?

Whether you own your home or not the good news is that conserving water does not have to be a financial or material burden. Some of these water saving tips involve having a yard but it’s approximated that indoor water use makes up about 40% of most resident’s water use. So while many folks that live in apartment settings might not have a yard to be concerned about, you can still do your part to save indoor water.

 

Toilets

Toilets use a substantial amount of indoor water so this would be a good place to start. For those who can afford it, replacing your standard 5-gallons per flush toilet with a modern water conserving toilet of 1.5 gallons per flush would be great. However if your budget is a little tight you may opt to purchase a water-saving insert for the approximate thrifty price of $5 at most hardware stores.

To conserve additional water usage from your toilet you can also just flush less. I’m sure you can think of options for your home that can reduce the amount of times you flip the flush lever.

 

Plant Native and Drought Tolerant Plants

In this new age fad of being “green” (or really just finally listening to Native Americans) many people promote planting trees, medicinal plants, and the like. However noble that intention may be, most imported plants can often be water resource hogs. The water-conserving advantage of having indigenous plants or trees is that they do not require any special care or attention—as plants native to Los Angeles they are able to easily thrive in this climactic zone.

 

Do the Dishes Differently

Switching your dish-washing habits conserves the least amount of water on this list, but it is still worth considering. Refraining from pre-washing dishes before putting them in the dishwasher can result in a savings of 0.5% of total indoor water use. Replacing a standard dishwasher with an Energy Star-labeled dishwasher can save you an additional 0.5%. Also,  if you put dirty dishes directly in an Energy Star-labeled dishwasher rather than hand-washing them, you may expect an average savings of 2.1%.

 

Take Shorter Showers

I think this one is a no brainer and probably the first thing people think of doing when they hear the request to conserve water. But really, how long do you spend in the shower? I’m sure expediting your shower sessions and sacrificing about 20% of your time in there to save water is not too hard to do right?

Also, depending on the type of house you live in, it might take your hot water some time to heat up. When I was in my twenty’s I used to rent out an old house in which that was the case. For anyone in this type of water saving concern just do what I did. Purchase a simple bucket from the local hardware store for about $4 and place it in the shower while the water is running. My shower usually took three minutes to warm up which left me with two gallons of water (yes, water adds up fast doesn’t it?) From there I would water all my inside and outside plants & trees with water I collected from the shower. I’m sure you can think of creative ways to be resourceful with any saved water.

 

More Water Conservation Tips

Here are some additional resources and advice about conserving our precious water sources.

Charles M. Green is Certified as a California Family Law Specialist through the Board of Legal Specialization of the State Bar of California. He has worked extensively in both financial accounting fields and as a litigation attorney specializing in Family Law Cases. He is also diversely experienced in a number of other legal practice areas of importance to individuals, families, and businesses.

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