Helpful Hints

• Banging water pipes

Do your water pipes bang when you turn off the water or when your washer turns off? Not only is this annoyingly noisy, but it stirs up rust in the pipes which can come out in your drinking water, bath or washing machine.

There is an easy way to prevent banging pipes, and that is to install an inexpensive device called a water hammer arrestor.

•  Water Quality Copper water piping joints may contain lead solder. We recommend the flow of water for approximately two (2) minutes to purge the standing water out of the pipes to minimize the ingestion of lead which may have leached into the drinking water.

Tips on Water Saving

• Put a stopper in the sink or use a dishpan when washing dishes-washing with running water can use 30 gallons per meal.

• Keep a bottle of drinking water in the refrigerator-running water from the faucet until cold can waste a gallon.

• Wait until you have a full nine pound wash before running the washing machine. The average machine uses 50 gallons per load.

• Turn the hot water off while shaving, and turn the cold water off while brushing teeth. Shaving with a running faucet uses about 20 gallons.

• Take showers instead of baths. The usual bath requires 36 gallons, the usual shower only 25. Ten gallons is enough for a shower if water is turned off while washing.

• Do not use the toilet bowl to dispose of cigarette ashes, facial tissues and other materials. A normal flush requires 5 to 8 gallons.

• Use the dishwasher only when it is completely full.

• Fix dripping faucets promptly. Nearly 2 gallons can be wasted per day due to dripping. Running toilets can waste 4 gallons per hour. Keep them in good repair.

• Above all, THINK before turning on the tap.

• Do not over water lawn and gardens. An irrigation system generally helps to save water, however, automatic systems must have time settings adjusted to respond to the season.

Excerpt from Watts ® Regulator public service pamphlet, © Watts Regulator Co., 1998