The Three Rs of Water Conservation

Water is a precious resource – too precious to waste. Here are some ways to save water and money with a few simple and inexpensive steps. Just remember the 3 Rs of conservation: Repair, Replace, Retrofit.

Savings: The Fourth R

If you've repaired all the leaks, replaced the old inefficient fixtures and appliances with highly efficient ones, and retrofitted everything possible, there is still one more way to save. This last way is the least expensive of all. You can reduce water use by

For more ideas on the fourth "R", please see the web site for the Water Saver House, sponsored by the California Urban Water Conservation Council.

Water is too precious to waste!

To Fix a Leaky Faucet
 

Index Cap

  
 

Screw

  
 

Handle

 

Bonnet Nut

 

Stem

 

Washer

 

Spring

 
 

Repair a leaky faucet

Even a small leak can waste lots of water over time. A leak of just 10 drops per minute will waste almost 300 gallons in a year, while a constant flow of 1/10 gallon per minute will waste over 52,000 gallons a year! For more information on leaks, visit www.denverwater.org, click on "Search" and search for "water waste".

To fix a leaky faucet,
just follow these steps:

Step 1: The type of repair needed will depend on which type and brand of faucet you have. There are two basic types. Yours will either be a compression faucet with washers, or a washerless faucet with either a single or double control. For either type of faucet, the first step is to shut off the cold and hot water supply valves. (These valves are usually below the sink. If not, then shut off the master water supply for the whole house.)

Compression
Faucet:

Step 2: Remove the decorative index cap from the handle. Then remove the handle screw and carefully pry under the handles to remove them.

Step 3: With the handle removed, use an adjustable wrench to loosen the bonnet nut that holds the stem in place. Thread the stem out of the faucet and loosen the screw that holds the washer to the stem.

Step 4: Find an exact replacement washer and fasten it to the stem with a new washer screw, if necessary. Then reinstall the stem, bonnet nut and handle.

2-handle
Washerless Faucet:

Step 2: With a 2-handle washerless faucet, access the cartridge just as described above for a compression faucet - start at the valve handle and work your way down.

Step 3: Remove the cartridge and replace it with a like unit. Then reinstall the stem, bonnet nut and handle.

Single-handle
Washerless Faucet:

Step 2: With a single-handle faucet, the exact procedure to remove the valve cartridge will vary by manufacturer. Start by removing the handle screw, typically located under the handle or on top of the handle under a hood. Remove the faucet handle screw and remove the handle.

Step 3: Once the handle is off, loosen the nut that conceals the valve cartridge.

Step 4: Remove the clip which holds the valve cartridge in place. Pull out the valve cartridge and replace it with a new unit. Then reinstall the din. nut and handle.

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Repair a leaky toilet

Flush Handle

  

Flush Lever Arms

  
 

Diaphragm
(Inside
Housing)

  
 

Refill Tube

  
 

Inlet
Float
Valve

  

Overflow
Refill
Tube
 

Chain Pull
 

Flapper Valve

It's not always easy to tell if your toilet is leaking. To check for a slow leak, add some food coloring or dye tablets to the water in the tank and wait thirty minutes. If the color seeps into the toilet bowl, you have a leak. To repair the leak, follow these steps:

Step 1: Remove the tank lid and check the float arm. Reach in and lift it up. If the water stops running, you've found the problem. Adjust the screws or bolts to the inlet float valve until the water stops flowing.

Step 2: If the toilet continues to leak, turn off the water supply valve to the tank, and flush the toilet to drain out the water. Examine the inlet float valve by removing the two screws or bolts and lifting the top of the valve housing out. Check the diaphragm. If it is even slightly damaged or worn, replace it.

Step 3: If the toilet periodically refills without flushing, examine the ball stopper or flapper valve. It should fit flush in its seat. If not, look at the lever and guide rods that operate the ball stopper. If they are crooked, gently straighten them. For toilets having a chain pull attached to the flapper valve, make sure the chain is slack when the valve is seated to insure a snug fit. If the ball or flapper valve itself is worn out, replace it. Check for corrosion or deposits on the seat and the ball stopper or flapper valve. Use steel wool to remove this buildup.

Step 4: Inspect the small refill tube that connects the fill valve to the refill-overflow tube to be sure the smaller tube ends slightly above the standing water level of the completely filled tank. If necessary, gently pull the small tube upward until its end is correctly placed.

Step 5: If the toilet is still leaking, you may have a problem fill valve. In this case a steady trickle of water will run constantly, flowing into the overflow tube in the toilet tank. If the water level in the tank is right up to the very top of the overflow tube, then you probably have a fill valve problem. First try to adjust the float level so the water stops flowing before reaching the overflow level.

Step 6: If this doesn't stop the leak, replace the fill valve. Shut off the water supply to the toilet and flush to empty the tank. Sponge the final few cups of water from the bottom of the tank. Disconnect the supply line, and remove the nut on the bottom of the tank to remove the old fill valve assembly. Install a new fill valve assembly and reattach the supply line. Finally, attach the fill tube hose to the overflow tube. Turn the water back on, and adjust the float so that the water shuts off about one inch below the top of the overflow tube.

Note: If your toilet has a Fluidmaster valve instead of a float arm, check the Fluidmaster website (www.fluidmaster.com) for more information.

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Retrofit flow controls

Retrofit aerators on your faucets:

Aerators mix air with faucet water to reduce water flow. They're inexpensive to purchase at any plumbing supply company, and really easy to install.
If your faucet has inside thread, just unscrew the old faucet attachment and screw on the aerator. (For outside threaded faucets, first remove the top washer from the aerator to expose the inside threads and then screw on the aerator.)

Retrofit displacement
devices in your toilets:

If you have an older toilet that you don't want to replace, make it more water-conserving by putting a displacement device in the tank. This is merely a solid object that displaces its weight in water, so it takes less water to fill the tank. The easiest, least expensive way to do this is simply to use an empty plastic juice container. Use either a quart or half-gallonsized container. Fill the container with water and put the cap back on. Then turn off the water supply valve to the toilet, and flush to drain water from the tank. Place the container in the toilet tank, making sure the container doesn't interfere with any of the tank's moving parts. Turn on the water valve, fill the toilet tank and flush. If the flush is not adequate, try replacing the container with a smaller one.

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Replace wasteful appliances

Replace an old toilet:

Older toilets can use anywhere from 3.5 to 5 gallons per flush. Toilets sold today are much more efficient., using only 1.6 gallons per flush or less. Some pressure-assisted or dual-flush toilets only use an average of 1 gallon per flush! Since the toilet is the single biggest use of water indoors, replacing your old toilet with a ULV (ultra low volume) model could pay for itself in a few years.

Replace an old showerhead:

An older showerhead uses between 3-8 gallons of water per minute, while a new model only uses 2.5 gallons per minute or less. To change out showerheads, simply unscrew the old showerhead (you may have to use wide grip pliers with protective masking tape around the showerhead base), and screw on the new one. Wrap a bit of Teflon tape around the threads before screwing on the new showerhead.

Replace an old clothes washer:

Old clothes washers can use 40-50 gallons per load. New front-loading or horizontal axis machines use an average of 17-20 gallons per load. Their high-speed spin cycle forces more water out of clothes, so they need less time in the dryer. And since front-loaders don't have an agitator, they're gentler on your clothes!

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