Use Water Wisely In Your Home

From the kitchen to the bathroom and the laundry room, changing your habits can save money on your water bill and help conserve a vital resource. Water consumption can be reduced easily at little or no cost. Water conservation not only saves you money by using less water, but it saves energy too, energy needed to heat water and run appliances.

Looking to cut down on your indoor water use?

General Tips

• Locate your master water shut-off valve in case a pipe bursts and you need to shut if off to avoid flooding.
• Repair Leaks. Even small leaks can waste 100 gallons of water each week or more than 5000 gallons each year.
• Insulate your water pipes. You'll get hot water faster.
• The City of Cornelius “Leak Adjustment Policy” (explains procedures and adjustments customers may receive after repairing a leak), a City of Cornelius “Leak Adjustment Request Form” (used to apply for a water loss adjustment). Contact City Hall for a "Leak Adjustment" form 503-357-9112

Kitchen Tips

• Install an instant water heater on the kitchen sink so you don't have to let water run while it heats.
• Garbage disposals require a lot of water to operate properly. Start a compost pile instead.
• Keep a pitcher of water in the refrigerator instead of running the tap for cold drinks.
• Wash fruits and vegetables in a pan filled with water or a partly filled sink, instead of under running water.
• Soak your pots and pans instead of letting the water run while you scrape them.
• Run the dishwasher only when full.
• When washing dishes by hand, fill one sink with wash water and the other with rinse water.

Laundry Tips

• Run the washing machine only when full.
• When doing laundry, match the water level to the size of the load.
• Invest in new water-saving appliances, like high efficiency washing machines that can save up to 50% on water use.

Bathroom

• Invest in low flow and high-efficiency toilets.
• Invest in high-efficiency showerheads and faucets.

Did you recently install a new toilet? Wondering what to do with your old one? If you would like to recycle your old toilet, contact Environmentally Conscious Recycling in Portland at (503) 253-0867.

• Turn off the water while brushing your teeth.
• Keep showers under 5 minutes.
• Turn off the water while you shave.
• Don’t flush tissue, cigarettes, or small bits of trash down the toilet.
• Toilet tank leaks can be silent -- but costly! At least once a year, use a dye tablet in the tank to check for leaks. You may save 200 gallons a month if you find and repair a leak!  The Regional Water Providers Consortium also has some great videos on how to detect and fix a toilet leak.
• Are you shopping for a toilet? The MaP Testing of Popular Toilet Models will give you performance ratings for most toilets to help you make an informed decision.