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Check for leaks in all faucets.
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Do not run the water while brushing your teeth, shaving or washing your face.
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Older toilets use three to seven gallons of water per flush, but the newer ones use only 1.6 gallons. If a toilet is 10 years old or more, consider replacing it with a newer, more efficient one, and if replacing the toilet is not feasible, then try displacing some of the water in the tank.
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Use low-flow showerheads and toilets. Look for the Water Sense label on bathroom fixtures.
The drought can affect more than just farmers. The lack of rain causes problems for everyone. The average Texan’s day starts and ends with water: wake up, use the bathroom, take a shower. Teeth need brushing, and perhaps today is laundry day. Hands get washed as many times as needed, bedtime requires brushing teeth and washing that face before bed. Sleep comes after tuning out the annoying drip-drip-drip from a leaky showerhead.Here are some helpful tips on what you can do to help get through a severe drought.
Kitchen
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Check for leaks in all faucets.
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Fill the dishwasher completely, or if washing by hand, use a pan of soapy water for washing and a pan of hot water for rinsing.
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Scrape, don’t rinse, the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. With modern dishwashers and detergents, there is no need to do a "pre-clean.
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Use the smallest amount of water necessary to cook foods.Use leftover vegetable juices for soups and the water used to cook chicken for cooking rice, pasta or vegetables.
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Limit the use of the garbage disposal. Save the scraps to run the disposal once or place them in a compost pile.
Bathroom
Helpful Tips
Laundry
Lawn & Garden
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Check for leaks in all faucets.
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When replacing washing machines, front-loading options are ideal.They use less water, plus they are easier on your clothes, because they don’t have as much agitation. Front-loading machines also spin more water out during the spin cycle. Your clothes will have less water when you put them in the dryer, and thus will take less time to dry, saving you money not only in water, but also in electricity or gas from the dryer.
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Check for leaks in outside faucets.
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Water the lawn early in the morning or late in the evening. This diminishes water lost to evaporation.
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Water less frequently, but for a longer period. This allows the water to better penetrate the ground.
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Consider lawns "low priority" when it comes to watering. Keeping the grass green during hot weather wastes a lot of water. Instead, use the water for trees and shrubs, which are more susceptible to drought damage.
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If remodeling a lawn or garden, consider using native plants and grasses. Native plants need less water and fertilizer and often live longer than nonnative species. Native buffalo grass, for example, is very tolerant to drought and heat and is becoming the turf of choice in places that get less than 20 inches of water a year.
