Do you make any attempts to conserve water?

I turn off the tap while I’m brushing my teeth, but that is common sense, not water saving. I also wash my car from a bucket, but I’m particular with that for other reasons. I don’t really do much, but then water is plentiful at the moment.

A few years back, we had a really bad drought across Australia. Some towns were down to less than 10% reserves. I did a lot of water saving then, such as catching water from washing machines for the lawn, watering plants only after dark, and taking very short showers.

Yes. Right now my toilet’s water tank is leaking ever so slightly. But just enough to start filling up when I have not flushed it. It only lasts about 11 to 15 seconds, but it is happening every couple of hours.
I checked and it is leaking at the flap. Hardware store was closed today so tomorrow I am going to buy a new flap and try to install it myself.
It doesn’t look too difficult.

I conserve a little. Living betweenthe Finger Lakes and the Great Lakes we have more fresh water than just about anywhere on the planet. I even have a well and Town Water.

Here’s how I conserve. I usually take 2 showers per day. That sounds wasteful, but while in the shower, I wash my hair, shave, brush my teeth, and pee – sometimes all at once. :-) I turn the water on and off many times during the operation.

One of the problems with water conservation here is the criminally low price of water. We only pay $2.57 for 1000 gallons. Read that again. It is not a typo. Putting it another way we get 4 gallons ~15 liters for $0.01, a penny! Now wonder people waste it!
Some people even have water powered sump pumps! They take 2 gallons of line water to pump out one gallon of sump water! That means they are throwing away 2 gallons of clean, fresh, drinking water for every gallon of sump water. It kills me to see the waste.

(I also pee outdoors occasionally but understand that is not for everyone – and can probably get you arrested for indecent exposure in a few states.)

Not much but I try to use it judiciously to the extent possible.

No. Because the idea of “wasting” water is ridiculous.

^^Not if you live in drought-stricken California and fire season never really ended from last year.

I use a rain barrel and plan to add another soon.

I only flush the toilet when I have contributed solids. Urine can sit for the day.

I have gadgets on all spigots and shower heads except kitchen sink that slow the flow. I also only flush solids.I turn off the tap while brushing. I take very short showers, not daily, and have a French bath on the non-shower days.

I do water the pots (tomatoes, basil, dill, cilantro) on my deck but use gray water when possible from kitchen. I sometimes put out a large stock pot during a heavy rain to collect some for that purpose also.

It’s been a part of my routine for so long that it’s automatic. When I refill MIlo’s water dishes, I dump the used water on my indoor plants. Small potatoes, but it adds up.

My grass does what it does with no help from me. In dry times, it browns up. Who cares?

-My showers are less than five minutes
-I shower about 4/7 days of the week
-I always drink from the tap
-I wash my dishes with a low stream of water coming from the faucet (minus the initial max-run to blast away any stains)
-I asked someone at a fast food place various times to turn of a faucet that they keep constantly running
-If one of my roommates leaves the water faucet dripping, I turn it off.=
-I “half-flush” my toilet when only liquids enter the bowl
-I have never kept the water on while brushing or doing anything at the sink
I don’t know whether or not water is scarce, but I have respect for nature. I certainly don’t want to take it for granted, either, after I’ve been informed about people in other areas who don’t have access to clean water.

I am not growing a garden this year because of the drought here in CA.
I’m bummed out, especially because I have a lot of volunteer flowers coming up in the garden, but can’t justify the water use, and also, we are on a 2 day a week watering restriction, to go up to 3 days a week in mid-June, but…that is still not enough to keep a garden going.
I also wait til there is a full load of laundry and try to keep showering and dish washing to low usage.

almost ashamed to say other than using water saver faucets and stuff I am not doing a whole lot to conserve water. The water table is pretty high here where my house is, so I have a well to water the garden with and city water for the house (at a ridiculous amount of pressure. over 120 psi) but being only two left at the house, we naturally don’t use a lot of water.

@LuckyGuy One of the reasons that I was prompted to ask this question is that they just voted to increase my town’s water bills by a whopping 50%. On top of that they sell my water down the line. Maybe they raised my bill so I will conserve so they have more to sell, I don’t know.

The other reason I asked is because California is looking at a very scary summer.

@GloPro Do you know what they are charging for 1000 gallons? I suspect it is much more than $2.57. That number is ridiculous. Too cheap. 10 times that would be reasonable.
OTOH I put a Kill-a-Watt meter on my pump and measured that it only cost me about $1.50 per 1000 gallons to pump water from my own well. I am such a cheapskate that I water the outdoor garden and plants with well water and only use Town water for inside the house. Actually, well water is probably better for the plants and garden so it is a win-win.

I only flush for solids. And I am stingy on usage when washing dishes.

I would say I don’t waste water, but I would not go as far to say I conserve it. If I lived in a place where water conservation was needed I would comply as much as possible, I would be willing to change how I use water whether government ordered or not. Some water saving things ordered by the government piss me off if drought does not apply to a particular region. Low water usage toilets can clog more easily (not a problem for me, but a problem when certain relatives visit) and I want decent water pressure in my shower. I also want to be able to soak my clothes in a washing machine if the clothes are especially sweaty or dirty. I just want the option, I don’t need it for every load.

I live in an area which has far too much water. So no, I don’t try to conserve water at home. I do when I visit my parents though, as they live in the area that’s driest and most prone to water shortage.

My water bill only averages around twenty dollars a month, so I think I’m conservative with water use. I do take longer showers than normal (I love soaking in the heat on sore muscles from work), but I make up for it in other ways. I try to wash clothes in one load, but living by yourself helps a bit I think.

Yes. Short showers, no letting the water run, dishwasher used for all but pots and pans. I also use eco-modes on the appliances which have them.

@gailcalled What’s “gray water”?

Used water, such as the water in the tub after the bath and run-off from shower and bathroom sinks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greywater

@gailcalled Ah, thank you. Interesting. There seem to be caveats, though – from your link, I’d say the grey water may not be safe to use for watering plants. Does it get purified automatically?

We have:
1) 2 ultralow flow toilets, 1 low flow toilet.
2) low flow shower heads and sink faucets in every bathroom.
3) drought-tolerant plantings for our front yard (took out the grass).
4) a barrel to collect waste water from our reverse osmosis water system. It spits out 3 gallons of waste water for every gallon of drinking water. Our plants love the mineral-filled waste water.
5) front-loading washer, Energy Star dishwasher

@RocketGuy 3) drought-tolerant plantings for our front yard (took out the grass).
What’s this?

Xeriscaping or drought-tolerant plantings;

http://www.houselogic.com/photos/gardens/drought-resistant-plants/slide/four-oclocks/

That’s pretty cool. I wish I could plant my cacti in the ground and let them grow bigger.

Where do you live? You can custom plant flowers that like dry soil.

Boston, MA. I’d also need a yard to do it.

A yard would help. In some parts of Boston (and Cambridge) there are community gardens where you can cultivate a small plot.

I put a brick in the swimming pool.