Tips to Reduce Water Use During the California Drought
Although it has rained a little in the past few days, the effects of this drought on California cannot be understated. Even if the drought ends soon, it has served as a sobering reminder of how important it is not to waste water – and unfortunately the drought doesn’t appear to be near ending yet.
So as a resident on Northern California, where the drought has hit very hard, it’s important to make sure that you find any way you can to reduce water. The following are several easy strategies to reduce water use during the California drought.
Read these great tips to reduce water use during the California drought:
- Don’t Wash Your Car
Your car is an investment, and obviously you want to make sure that you are not hurting that investment by letting the acids from dirt and grime eat away at your paint. But there is a difference between washing your car to save your investment and washing your car simply because it’s a little dirty. If your car isn’t massively dirty, consider washing it less. Car washers and hoses use gallons upon gallons of freshwater, all to simply wipe some dirt off of your window. This is a very easy way to save a lot of water with little cost to you.
If you insist on washing your car, consider doing so with a bucket and rag. That way you are limited to the amount of water in the bucket, and not wasting excess water in the process.
- Use the Dishwasher
Your parents may have taught you that you should rinse your dishes and/or wash them by hand because a dishwasher isn’t as effective. But most dishwashers have advanced substantially, as have the detergents that go inside. You don’t need to rinse very often anymore. Soak the few things that have stuck on food, and put everything else in the dishwasher. Dishwashers are a much more efficient way to use water than letting a sink run as you wash things by hand, and since you don’t need to rinse either you should be able to save many, many gallons.
- Drought Tolerant Landscaping
We are a Sacramento landscaping company, so of course we need to talk about your landscape design. Thousands of gallons of water are spend on lawns every year, and while you definitely deserve a beautiful landscape, there is simply no denying that a lot of water is being spent on grass during a time when some cities do not have enough water to drink.
The solution is re-landscaping your yard to be drought tolerant, also known as “xeriscaping.” You can have a landscape that uses no water or little water, and thus save countless gallons that are then saved for the rest of the community.
- Don’t Water Your Lawn
Of course, what if you don’t want to redo your landscape? Well, consider not watering your lawn as often. Yes, that means that your lawn won’t look its best. But someday the drought will be over and you can have that amazing lawn back again. Unless required by your HOA, your lawn can probably wait to be watered until the drought is over. At the very least, make sure you’re using healthy watering practices to decrease the amount of water you use on your lawn.
- Fill Your Washing Machine
Just like dishwashers, washing machines can now handle a lot more clothes than they could in the past. Make sure you’re filling yours to the brim. The amount of water you use will be roughly the same each time, but you’ll be much more efficient with it and drastically decrease the number of loads you need to run. You should also consider using some items more than ones – like towels, which can be used many times before they “need” to be washed, thus also decreasing the number of loads you run.
Save Money, Reduce Water Use
As a Sacramento landscaper, we can only help with drought-tolerant landscaping. But there are so many strategies that can decrease water use during a drought. Something as small as turning off the water when you’re brushing your teeth can be huge, but the ideas above will save thousands of gallons of water every year for each homeowner, and that will definitely help control the effects of the California drought and put less of a dent in your wallet as well. We hope that you will put these tips to reduce water use during the California drought to good use! To save even more money, check out our Cash for Grass Rebate Program!
