Working With Your Plumber To Save On Water And Prepare For Conservation During a Drought | Bedford, TX
Here in Tarrant County, we’ve been dealing with droughts in recent years, and water bills have been creeping higher as well. At Tioga Plumbing & Electric in Bedford, TX, we have some helpful answers. Good water use habits are important, but the plumbing and fixtures in your home could also do more than they have been, simply by getting needed repairs and upgrades. The EPA says that about 180 gallons per week, 9,400 gallons per year, slip through our homes’ plumbing as waste, giving us plenty of incentive to take logical steps to cut that number. Our plumbers have the skills, knowledge, and products to make a serious difference in your home’s water usage and waste without serious changes in your lifestyle. That’s a pretty good deal, we think, and a good deal for our dwindling water supply as well.
The first reaction many people have to the EPA’s estimates of water waste in the bathroom is astonishment. How can those small faucet leaks and the leaky toilet flapper valve add up to thousands of gallons wasted per year? That’s what the math says, and it makes sense. It also makes sense to take advantage of plumbing technologies that help you save water through efficient appliances, rather than just behavior changes. For example, our plumber can provide newer toilets that often offer a dual-flush system that provides a moderate flush for everyday use, and a higher-volume flush when needed. Some toilets also use a clever mechanism that builds up air pressure using pressure from the water line, then provides a boost when the commode is flushed, without consuming extra water. You may have used these devices in public bathrooms, where it seems more like you’ve suddenly pulled a trigger than released the toilet flushing mechanism, and it does a great job of keeping clean. Ask our plumber about the EPA’s WaterSense label, one way to identify plumbing fixtures that are innovatively saving water while enhancing your family’s lifestyle.
Showerheads and Sinks, Other Ways to Save Water in the Bathroom
Jet-style showerheads can get more cleaning out of less water in the shower, and innovative water distribution patterns help you get your morning routines done quickly even if you’re saving water. At the sink, the EPA claims that a family typically uses eight gallons of water per day just leaving the water on to brush their teeth, but having our plumber install easily operated manual faucets that you can turn on and off with your toothbrush-holding hand, also very helpful for those with disabilities, can help you cut way back on water down the drain while you brush. An even better solution might be a touchless faucet, which not only turns the water on and off as needed simply based on your hand coming near, but also helps avoid the hygiene issue of everyone touching the faucet controls right after they brush their teeth.
Plumbing Repairs Offer Cost-Saving Water Waste Solutions and Help Avoid Damage
While you’re thinking about upgrading to newer, more water-efficient fixtures, why not have our plumber locate and neutralize other water-wasting problems in your home? The flapper valve in the toilet, for example, is a bit source of water waste in many homes where it allows hundreds of gallons to slip by with only a quiet sound of the toilet running. Sink faucet washer replacement is a simple repair that not only saves water that drip drip drips away, but also saves energy when it cuts the hot water waste. Pipe leak repairs can save you on your water bill, and also help you avoid water damage internal to your walls that can lead to mold and mildew health hazards, and infestations from creatures seeking a water supply in a warm, dark location in your home. With our modern technology, we can provide an inspection of your plumbing for problems that include internal video checks and leak detection using ultrasonic equipment, both of which require little or no access inside your walls until it’s time to make a repair.
Kitchen Water Savings with Equipment Upgrades
Two areas that make a big difference in your kitchen water use are your dishwasher and your main sink faucet. Having our plumbers install a new, more efficient dishwasher and using it for mostly full loads of dishes can cut your water use considerably while providing nice, clean dishes. If you wash by hand, there are several options for reducing your rinse water use, since most people just leave the water running the whole time as they wash. Easier controls on your faucet so you can shut it off conveniently can help, and touchless controls that only turn the water on when you’re holding a dish nearby make a big difference. A cool new faucet responds to voice commands, which not only lets you talk to the faucet and even turn it off as you leave the room if you forget, but it also allows you to do things like dispense a measured amount of water into a pot by voice command while you’re busy elsewhere in the kitchen. There’s no more problem with multitasking and letting the water overflow in the pot, and you don’t even need a measuring cup.
Waiting for Hot Water to Come
In many homes, it takes gallons of cold water flowing out before hot water comes. Our plumbers can install local tankless water heaters for your kitchen, master bedroom, and other areas to provide quick hot water at the temperature you want. This can help you wash dishes scalding hot without having shower water to match.
Your Water Conservation and Plumbing Experts in Bedford, TX
We’re Tioga Plumbing & Electric, a skilled group of plumbers and other professionals that serve both residential and commercial customers in Bedford, TX. Our plumbers can provide you with services and products you need to cut back water use and improve your lifestyle at the same time. To find out more, give us a call.
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