Green Plants and Fat Wallets: Water Conservation Tips for the Summer

After all the hard work during the spring, proper watering can help relieve some of summer’s challenges to a flourishing outdoor lawn and garden.  However, outdoor watering can easily turn into wasted watering if not done properly. Residential outdoor water use in the United States accounts for more than 7 billion gallons of water each day, and it is estimated that up to 50% of this water is wasted due to overwatering. That is 3.5 billion gallons of water down the drain every day, along with money spent for the water bill.

Overwatering draws down our water resources and your wallet, and it may also affect your beautiful plants. Overwatering may also lead to drooping or wilting plants and stunted growth.  Plants need a very specific amount of water for the best growth results, depending on weather and soil conditions.

There are lots of ways to save money and water when using water outside.  Always make sure that the water you are using is going towards the plants, not your house walls or sidewalks. Also, water your plants earlier in the morning or later in the evening; if done in the early afternoon, most of the water is lost to evaporation.  You can also think about rainwater harvesting like rain barrels as a source of water for your plants.  Check out our new video about rain barrels on youtube!

Do you know just how much water to give your plants? It can be hard to track what’s going on with the weather and soil. But, now it can be a lot easier. There are technologies out there that can handle all of the effort.

Some of these technologies include irrigation controllers that, with proper programming, can do wonders for your garden and your water bill. Instead of using a clock or preset schedule, they work like a thermostat for your sprinkler system. There are access points that can be plugged into either an Internet router or personal computer which communicates wirelessly with the controllers.

Click for more about WaterSense Labeled Irrigation Controllers

Click for more about WaterSense Labeled Irrigation Controllers

So, the controllers are able to use the Internet to check local weather and landscape conditions to adjust the watering schedule. These controllers are designed to make sprinkler systems more efficient. With them, you can enjoy a beautiful outdoor lawn and garden while keeping some money in your pocket. In fact, it is estimated that they can help you save up to 40% on your water bills.

Source: blog.epa.gov

10 Energy and Water-Saving Laundry Tips

Laundry day doesn’t have to be the same old routine. Switch things up by dropping wasteful energy and water consuming habits and bringing in the green, energy and water saving tips. Here are some simple things you can do to make the transition.

Washing

Fill the washing machine to capacity whenever possible. Washing a full load will save more energy and water than washing several smaller loads.

Use energy saving features on your washing machine. Switch the setting to accommodate lightly or heavily soiled clothing.  Sort your lightly soiled clothing from your heavily soiled ones. For lightly soiled clothing, use the sud-saving feature if it’s available on your washing machine. This feature saves any wastewater for use on the next load. Use this feature only if you’ll be washing the second load straight away.

Use lower temperature settings. Hot water requires more energy to be heated. Try using warm or cold water instead. Some detergents are perfect for cold water use, so the next time you shop for detergent, look for those that work best in warm to cold temperatures. Pre-soaking heavily soiled clothing may also help when washing with lower temperatures.

Reduce the temperature on your thermostat. Adjusting the thermostat temperature to an adequate 120 F helps you save energy as well as protect your little ones from possible scalding.

Drying

Sort all lightweight and heavyweight clothing and dry two loads in a row. Lightweight clothing takes less time to dry and uses less energy. When the lightweight items dry, the dryer will be warm enough to dry the heavyweight clothing without using more energy than necessary to reheat the dryer. Air-dry clothing whenever possible.

Time your washing and drying. If you time your loads so that the next load follows right after the last one, the dryer will be hot and would not use additional electricity or gas to heat up.

Use energy saving features. Settings such as auto-dry avoids wasting energy and prevents over drying, which may cause static, shrinkage, and even shorten the life of clothing.

Avoid over drying clothes. Remove clothing from the dryer when still lightly damp to reduce wrinkling and the need for ironing—another energy guzzler.

Avoid adding wet clothing to a partially dry load. Your dryer saps more energy when it takes longer to dry newly added damper clothing.

Clean dryer filter after every load. A lint-free filter creates better airflow and shortens drying time.

Source: greensolutionsmag.com

Saving Water When You Wash Your Car – Do It by Hand at Home Read more at Suite101: Saving Water When You Wash Your Car – Do It by Hand at Home

Fill a Bucket at Home and Use the Hose Very Sparingly

When it comes time to give your vehicular significant other its periodic spiffing up, take a moment and plan a water-stingy strategy that will keep you dry and won’t leave water running down the street. Grab your old bucket you know that’s there, somewhere, and put about two gallons of precious H2O into this bucket. An ounce or two dollop of eco-friendly soap provides plenty of suds. Get that grungy sponge/scrubber-no steel wool obviously-and some rags. Put on those funky sneakers, or better yet, those crumbling flipflops and get ready to put a shine on your baby.

Source: suite101.com

Tips for watering conservation

The best way to water the plants is to let Mother Nature do it. Unfortunately it doesn’t rain as often as we’d like in mid-summer, so when it’s hot and dry, your gardens need constant watering. The ideal time of day to water is early in the morning. Temperatures are cooler, and there’s usually less wind, reducing evaporation. It also gives plants the chance to quickly dry off. Leaves that stay wet all night are more susceptible to disease.

If you have to water on windy days, closely watch your sprinkler patterns so you’re not dousing something that shouldn’t be. Kansas State Extension Horticulture Agent Dennis Patton says one way to get around wind issues is to keep the water on the ground by using flood-type irrigation or soaker hoses.

“You can put those right at the base of the plants, under the mulch, so all your water is efficiently used,” says Patton. “And then the rules as far as air temperature, wind speed, watering night versus day, is all thrown out the window because the water’s going directly on the soil. Not into the air, not onto the leaves, and it benefits the plant.”

In general, plants need about an-inch of water per-week. It’s best delivered with deep, infrequent applications. If you water lightly every day, it will evaporate before it gets down to the roots in the soil.

Another efficient way to save on water is to group your plants by their moisture needs. Then you’ll avoid running the sprinkler over the entire area.

Don’t forget to put down a layer of mulch. It keeps the sun rays from drying out the soil, and the soil stays cooler.

Source: livingthecountrylife.com