Don't let water go down the drain
By Elizabeth Cernota Clark - Special to the Express-News
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Water-saving freebies
Changing showerheads and faucet aerators can cut water use almost invisibly, and for San Antonio Water System customers, it doesn't have to cost anything. Check out these freebies, available at SAWS service centers:
- Aerators: These screened devices that fit over the faucet mix air into the water as it flows through the spigot. Before an aerator, a bathroom faucet delivers 3-5 gallons per minute. Older aerators reduce that to as little as 2 gallons a minute, and new ones, free to SAWS customers, slow the flow to 1 gallon a minute. Potential savings: a couple thousand gallons a year, according to Karen Guz, conservation director for SAWS. The utility also gives out kitchen faucet aerators that cut the flow to 1.5 gallons per minute.
- Showerheads: The federal standard for showerheads is 2.5 gallons per minute, and older ones use 3 gallons a minute. Free showerheads from SAWS use 1.75 gallons per minute, and have adjustable flow patterns.
Service centers
- SAWS Main offices, 2800 U.S. 281 North
- Lone Oak Service Center, 915 S. W.W. White Road
- Westside Service Center, Las Palmas Shopping Center, 803 Castroville Road.
More information
- www.saws.org or 210-704-7283.
Wash fresh produce in a tub of water. Save the water and use it on your plants.
If you drop ice cubes when filling your glass, don't throw them in the sink; add them to your water-reclamation bucket or spread them around a houseplant.
Collect water from boiling eggs, pasta or potatoes to use in the garden. Let it cool, but don't let it stand for more than a few hours.
Keep a spray bottle of water handy for rinsing your hands while cooking.
In the bathroom
Keep a bucket in the shower and tub to catch water while you're waiting for water to get hot. Use this water to flush toilets or water plants.
Scoop as much bathwater as you can before draining the tub. Use it on plants.
Around the house
When you clean your fish tank, use the water, which is rich in nitrogen and phosphorus, to water and feed your plants.
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