Thursday, March 17, 2011

Fix a faucet, save a few

This week, Public Utilities Commission of Ohio is promoting “Fix a Leak Week.”
Sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense® program, it is meant as an annual reminder to check household plumbing fixtures and irrigation systems for leaks.
If you're not doing so, you may want to start.
Across the country, household leaks are wasting more than 1 trillion gallons of water per year, the PUCO says.
“Many households can have leaks without the homeowner even realizing leaks exist,” said PUCO Chairman Todd A. Snitchler.
 To help consumers save water, the PUCO, EPA and WaterSense are promoting ways to identify and repair dripping faucets, running toilets and leaky showerheads. In most cases, fixture replacement parts pay for themselves quickly, they say.
Introduced in 2006, WaterSense is a partnership program sponsored by EPA that identifies water-efficient products, services and soon, new homes. The WaterSense label can be found on toilets and bathroom faucets. Products that have earned the WaterSense label have been independently tested to meet water-efficiency specifications set by EPA.
 Below are a few water-saving tips:
•    Reduce faucet leaks by checking faucet and showerhead washers and gaskets for wear and, if necessary, replace the faucet with a WaterSense-labeled model.
•    Silent toilet leaks can be found by placing a few drops of food coloring in the tank and checking the bowl for color after a few minutes or before flushing. Replacing a worn rubber flapper is a quick, affordable fix.
•    For a leaky garden hose, replace the nylon or rubber hose washer and ensure a tight connection to the spigot using pipe tape and a wrench.
For more information, visit www.epa.gov/watersense/fixaleak.
-- Betsy Scott, BScott@News-Herald.com

1 Comments:

Anonymous plumbing said...

How about the importance of water in shaping the Earth? At some point or another it is likely that where you are sitting right now was covered in water. It may have been under the vast oceans that once spread further than they do today, or they may have been buried under as much as a mile of glacier.

March 25, 2011 at 9:41 PM 

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