Conserving With Water Saving Fixtures

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, we’ve all heard about the droughts in other parts of the country. This has affected water usage in many states for household functions and food production on farms. Fortunately, North Carolina has been experiencing record-breaking rainfall so we haven’t had to mandate any water usage. That being said it can still benefit many residents to be conservative with your water if you’re trying to keep your water bill low. It can also be helpful to not overwork your septic system. Here’s a list of water-saving fixtures that can add value to your home while saving water at the same time.

HET (high-efficiency toilets) – with the Environmental Protection Agency “water sense” label. Over 40% of us are still using older toilets that flush with about 3.5 gallons per flush. There are newer high-efficiency toilets use less than 1.3 gpf by using flushing systems like “Class 6″technology. With this new standard, the EPA “water sense” shows that the HET was tested for maximum flushing power while saving over 1000 gallons of water a year over older toilets.

PRV (pressure-reducing valves) – can be installed on your main water line. Most houses will work fine with water pressure in the range of 35psi. However, many homes are unknowingly using water pressure in the upper range of 70psi. Your plumber can check your water pressure and, if needed, have a PRV installed and save water as well as your pipes.

Performance Shower Heads –  Standard shower heads use about 2.5 gpm (gallons per minute), and performance showerheads use about 1.75 gpm. That’s a savings of 30% for all your showering water. What’s interesting is with the new performance pressure head design you’ll probably not even realize you’re saving all that water.

Water Saving Faucets – By lowering the gallons used per minute from about 2.2 gpm to about 1.5 gpm, new water savings faucets are also saving about 30% of your faucet water without sacrificing good pressure. Obviously this wouldn’t save water if you’re filling pots and bottles, but a lot of water flow is used during washing your hands or items in the sink, which can greatly reduce the amount of water used in a whole year.

Hot Water Recirculation Pump – Often seen in hotels, new residential recirculating hot water pumps work with your present hot-water tank to deliver hot water quickly to showers and faucets. The point of this is it limits the waste of all that cold water down the drain while waiting for the hot water to kick in. This can also help saving a lot of time on your morning routine.

Using any one of these upgrades will not only will you see your own water and sewer bills go down, but you’ll be able to help out the environment without lifting a finger.

South End Plumbing specializes all plumbing services, so remember, we are just a click away. We also specialize in leak detection – give us a call! South End Plumbing is one of the only companies that will give you a free estimate. Call us at 704-919-1722 or fill out the form online to schedule a visit.