How to Save Water ... and Money

jchatraw — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 02:01:10 -0400

In our house when I was growing up, The Cosby Show was must-see TV on Thursday nights before NBC's marketing execs ever dreamed up that tag line. It's where I learned such great life-long lessons like how to hold a proper funeral for a goldfish or how to mop ("shovel, turn, splat"). It's also where I learned a la Cliff Huxtable (played by the Cos himself) that if you're not good at fixing things, don't try--and call someone who is. Cliff always made a bigger mess of things.

However, over the years I've also learned that said handymen can be expensive--and that there are a few things even I can do. Despite all I know about fixing things could fit into one of Bob Villa's arm hair follicles, I managed to fix our bathroom ventilation a few months ago much to my loving wife's surprise.

When it comes to the living an eco-friendly lifestyle, there are a few things we can all easily fix or at least investigate to see if something even needs fixing ... like our toilets and faucets.

In Stu Campbell's classic The Home Water Supply (classic mostly because it even pre-dates The Cosby Show), he explains a few ways you can check to make sure you're not losing water at home:

"Leaks in a faucet can amount to a loss of twenty gallons a day. A runny toilet can lose 200 gallons a day! A dye tablet, free for the asking at health agencies nearly anywhere in California, can be dropped in a toilet tank to demonstrate, almost immediately, if there’s a leak. Over time the dye will detect even the slightest wasteful seep. Food coloring will do the same job. So will turning off the water supply line to the toilet tank and watching the water level inside for several hours.

"People in metered water systems have a quick and easy way to check for leaks. Make sure everything in the house is turned off, so the system theoretically is using no water. If the meter still shows some water input, water has to be leaking somewhere. In an individual water system, finding leaks becomes a more painful trial-and-error search."

Go Green ... and Get Rich Trying

jchatraw — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 06:00:00 -0400

One morning as I opened a kitchen cabinet door, four water bottles came tumbling out onto the floor. If I was on the TV show Heroes, my talent would be collecting water bottles, ensuring that no one on our superhero team would ever be parched. It's like water bottles seek me out--and I have my entire collection without ever filling out a credit card application to get one.

However, I started reflecting upon my eco-friendly lifestyle and wondering if a) the plastic was actually good and b) buying products made in China that needed to be transported here using gallons of petroleum was actually necessary. That's when I discovered SIGG water bottles. Our Riverwired editor Susan Seliger actually featured SIGG and plastic products that are BPA free in a recent post.

So, when I stumbled upon David Bach and Hillary Rosner's book, Go Green, Live Rich: 50 simple ways to save the earth and get rich trying, I was elated to find out I was one step ahead of the curve: Bach recommends buying SIGG water bottles. This book has some great tips, seamless weaving together eco-living with saving money.

Here's a snippet from one of their tips:

Find your Litter Factor. Maybe you have heard of "The Latte Factor." It is a phrase I created as a metaphor for all the little things we spend money on over the course of a day without giving it much thought. The phrase applies to buying not only fancy coffee but also fast food, cigarettes, bottled water—you name it. I have long encouraged my readers to identify their "Latte Factor" and eliminate it to start saving money. But small changes such as not buying coffee in a disposable cup or water in a plastic bottle not only are good for your wallet, they actually better the planet. In the same way that "little things" add up to drain your wealth, "small things" add up to make a big difference for the Earth.

Go Green Action Steps

Get a reusable water bottle and fill it with water from your tap. The newest generation of reusable water bottles, like those from SIGG are made of lightweight aluminum.

If you have concerns about your tap water, it can easily and cheaply be filtered and purified. Visit www.waterfiltercomparisons.com to compare the leading brands and find one that's right for you.

tips to save money

How to Save Water ... and Money

Go Green ... and Get Rich Trying