More Water Saving Tips for Your Lawn and Garden

Here’s 5 more tips:

21)   Water during the early morning and don’t water when it’s windy.

When you water earlier in the day, it reduces water evaporation. It’s also the best defense again those pesky garden creatures.

22)   Use efficient watering systems for shrubs, flower beds and lawns.
You can greatly reduce the amount of water used for shrubs, beds and lawns by strategically placing soaker hoses, installing a rain barrel water catchment system, or using a drip-irrigation system. When watering by hand, use a variable spray nozzle to ensure more targeted watering.

23)   Don’t use running water to wash your car
Turn off the hose when cleaning your car—use a soapy pail of water instead. Use the hose for rinsing only. By avoiding watering down the car initially it can save 150 gallons of water! To conserve even more water use a waterless car washing system.

24)   Don’t use a hose to clean driveways and sidewalks—use a broom!

25)   Check for leaks in pipes, hoses, faucets and couplings.
Even though an outside leak may be seemingly out of sight, it shouldn’t be out of mind. Outside leaks are just as bad as inside leaks.

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Love, Love, Love Your Water This Valentine’s Day

On Valentine’s Day, Premiere Sales Water (www.premieresales.com) invites you to save $10 off your purchase of $100 or more, PLUS enjoy free shipping on all orders (no minimum!). Treat yourself or loved ones to great tasting water year round by replacing your water filters, cartridges, or membranes!

At check out, use these money-saving promo codes:
$10 off orders $100 or more, and free shipping - VDAY12
All other orders still enjoy free shipping - VDAYFREE

Hurry! Offer valid now until 11:59pm PST 2/14/2012

 

Enjoy these Valentine’s Day Statistics:

  • This week, Valentine’s Day spending will total about $17.6 billion.
  • Based on a survey by the National Retail Federation, those celebrating the holiday will spend an average of $126 per person.
  • Not so good: Divorce filings rise about 40% this time of year.

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Water Conservation Tips For Your Lawn and Garden

Here are tips for conserving water with the lawn and garden:

16)  Plant drought-resistant lawns, shrubs, plants.

By planting lawns, shrubs, and plants that thrive on less water it will cut down on the amount you need to water them. Not to worry, there are many beautiful plants that are “water-resistant”. When planting, be sure to put plants of similar watering needs together. Also, plant slopes with plants that retain water and help reduce runoff.

17)  Put mulch around trees and plants.

Mulch serves two beneficial purposes: slows moisture evaporation and discourages weed growth. So add a few (2 to 4 inches) around your plants to help conserve water and make yard maintenance easier (less weeds!).

18)  The concrete does not need to be watered.

Yes, it’s hard to believe but concrete can survive without being watered. Seriously, don’t water the gutter or any other concrete surface. Make sure your sprinklers are positioned to water the lawn or garden and not paved areas. Also, try to avoid watering on windy days as the wind can just blow that precious water away.

19) Don’t water your lawn if it doesn’t need it.

Here’s an easy test to determine if your lawn needs watering: step on the lawn. If the grass springs back up when you move away, it doesn’t need water. If the grass lies flat, the lawn could use a watering. Keep in mind that most lawns only need about 1” of water a week.

20)  Let your lawn soak.

When watering your lawn, give it a deep soak to allow the water to soak down to the roots. This method is more effective than watering minimally and breaking it up over a couple of waterings.

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Keep Conserving That Water Ladies and Gents!

Water conservation is important to us all not just now, but to the world’s future inhabitants.  Here is the next 5 tips in our series on water conservation:

11)  Only run your dishwasher or clothes washer for full loads.

By only running these machines when fully loaded, you better believe it saves water! Don’t pre-rinse dishes—most dishwashing soap makers don’t recommend it anyway because their products work just as effectively without the added pre-rinse cycle. For your washing machine (clothes), avoid using the permanent press cycle as it adds an additional 5 gallons for the rinse. You can save up to 1,000 gallons a month!

12)  Start a compost pile to minimize using the kitchen sink garbage disposal.

When you run your garbage disposal it uses a lot of water to run properly. This does NOT mean you should run your garbage disposal without water, it means avoid using the disposal in general. Starting a compost pile of food scraps will cut down on garbage disposal use and is more beneficial to the environment.

13)  Don’t leave the water running when you rinse dishes by hand.

Opposed to having the water running for rinsing that plate, bowl, or whatever item you are rinsing, fill up the sink basin with rinse water and rinse all your items in that. Or, if you have dish rack, place all the items to be rinsed in that and use a spray device or pan of hot water to rinse all the items at once.

14) Don’t let the water run when you clean your veggies.

Similar to the previous tip, simply don’t let the faucet run while you rinse/clean your vegetables. Rinse them in a stoppered sink or pan of clean water.

15) Keep a pitcher or bottle of water in the fridge.

Instead of running the tap for cool water, store a pitcher or bottle in the fridge to enjoy cold water any time. You’ll waste less water and have instant cool water!

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More Ways to Conserve Water

And our series about how you can conserve water continues…

6. )  Put plastic bottles or float booster in your toilet tank
You can either buy an inexpensive float booster or make one yourself. Put a couple inches of sand or pebbles inside two plastic bottles to give them some weight. Fill the bottles with water, tighten the lids, and put them in your toilet tank (not near operating devices of course). Keep in mind that it takes at least 3 gallons of water in the tank for it to flush properly.

7. )  Insulate your water pipes.
By insulating your water pipes, you’ll get hot water faster which cuts down on wasting water while it heats up. It’s an easy and inexpensive task.

8.)   Take shorter showers.
It’s kind of a no-brainer. A four-minute shower uses between 20 and 40 gallons of water. You can cut down on your water waste by just using the water when you need it and turn it off unless your rinsing off.

9.)   Turn off the water after you wet your toothbrush
Don’t leave the water running after you wet your toothbrush; there’s just no need for it.

10.)   Rinse your razor in the sink
Don’t waste all that water by rinsing your razor as the water is running—fill the sink with a few inches of warm water and rinse your razor that way.

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Ways to Conserve Water

Conserving water has many benefits including helping  to protect our resources, as well as saving you money. This will be the first part of a series on ways to conserve water so stay tuned!

Tips for Conserving Water:

1)      Check faucets and pipes for leaks
Just a small drip can waste 20 gallons of water per day. Even worst—larger leaks can waste hundreds of gallons!

2)      Don’t use  your toilet as a trashcan or ashtray
Each time you flush a small bit of trash, Kleenex, or cigarette butt it wastes five to seven gallons of water.

3)      Leaky Toilet?
Try this: Add a few drops of food coloring in your toilet tank. Don’t flush the toilet. If within 30 minutes the color begins to appear in the bowl, you have a leak. Most replacement parts are reasonably priced and simple to install. By fixing your leaky toilet you can stop wasting water!

4)      Use your water meter to check for hidden water leaks
When you know that no water will be used for two hours, take a reading of your house water meter. Take another read of the meter after the two hours and if the meter isn’t the same, you have a leak.

5)      Install water-saving shower heads and low-flow faucet aerators
Water-saving shower heads and aerators are quite easy to install. Keep in mind that your long, hot shower can use five to ten gallons every unneeded minute. Try keeping your shower to a minimum by just having the water on for the time it takes to lather up and wash off. Also, every faucet should be fit with a low-flow aerator.

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Exploring Point-of-use Water Filtration: Advantages and Disadvantages

Point-of-use water filtration is water treatment to improve water quality for drinking, bathing, washing, irrigation, etc. at the point of consumption. Below are the most common types of point-of-use filters:

  • Faucet Filters

Intended to attach to a faucet. They use a granular activated carbon  (GAC) or microporous filter that catches contaminants as water flows from the faucet.

Advantages: Low-cost, portable, easy installation, can be used in rental homes.

Disadvantages: Slow water flow, need filter for each faucet, replacing filters can get expensive over time

  • Countertop water filters

Use a hose to your water faucet and sit on your countertop (as their name suggests). They generally have a storage tank, and use a couple of filtration processes to remove up to 99.9% of the impurities in tap water. These filters use activated carbon filter and a reverse osmosis filter.

Advantages: Easy installation, low-cost, can be used in rental homes, removes up to 99.9% of impurities

Disadvantages: Slow, limited capacity

Integrated right with your plumbing. Professional installation may be required to do this. These filters may use any combination of activated carbon filtering, reverse osmosis, and ionization to remove contaminants and soften your water.

Advantages: Large storage tank, easy maintenance, installed out of sight

Disadvantages: More expensive, may require professional installation, may not be acceptable in rental housing

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Water For Thought

In exploring the www.water.org website, a non-profit organization founded by Matt Damon and Gary White that provides access to safe water and sanitation,  I found this fact shocking: the water and sanitation crisis claims more lives through disease than any war claims through guns.

After reading this, it really put things in perspective. For the most part, it isn’t difficult for most Americans to obtain clean drinking water–this is certainly not the case for many people, and something we too often take for granted. As it is a new year, perhaps some of the readers of this blog may have made such resolutions to make a difference in the world, help others, etc. and I hope others will consider doing something about the water sanitation world issue.

Helping out is easy: make a direct impact by involving your friends online; your voice has the power to make a difference–signup and spread the message online; follow a community to see firsthand as projects unfold in realtime with live updates; donate time and/or money; there is no shortage of was you can help out!

Here are some other facts to think about

  • Every 20 seconds, a child dies from a water-related illness.
  • Women spend 200 million hours a day collecting water.
  • 884 million people lack access to safe water supplies; approximately one in eight people.
  • 3.575 million people die each year from water-related disease.

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20 Tips For Drinking 8 Glasses of Water a Day

Drinking our eight glasses of water a day isn’t always easy. Make one of your new years resolutions to drink more water. Check out these tips to help you drink more water to find your healthier, new self!

1. Make a bet with a co-worker to see who can drink more water in the course of a day.

2. Have a big glass of water at every transitional point of the day: when you first get up, just before leaving the house, when you sit down to work, etc.

3. Make it convenient – keep a big, plastic, insulated water bottle full on your desk and reach for it all day.

4. When you have juice (apple, grape, or orange) fill half the glass with water.

5. When you have a junk-food craving, down a glass of water immediately. You feel full quickly and avoid the calories, and it lets time pass till the craving fades.

6. Have one glass every hour on the hour while at work. When the work day is done your water quota is met.

7. Substitute a cup of hot water with a drop of honey for tea or coffee.

8. While at work, get a 20 ounce cup of ice and keep filling it up from the office water cooler. The key is drinking with a straw – you take bigger gulps and drink much more.

9. Freeze little bits of peeled lemons, limes, and oranges and use them in place of ice cubes – it’s refreshing and helps get in a serving or two of fruit.

10. After each trip to the restroom, guzzle an eight-ounce glass to replenish your system.

11. Don’t allow yourself a diet soda until you’ve had two to four glasses of water. You will find that you won’t want the soda anymore or that just half a can is enough.

12. Let ounces of water double grams of fat: When eating something containing 10 grams of fat, I drink 20 ounces of water.

13. Drink two full glasses at each meal, one before and one after. Also, drink one glass before each snack so you don’t eat as much.

14. Carry a small refillable water bottle at all times and drink during downtime; while waiting in a bank line, sitting on the train, etc.

15. Use a beautiful gold-rimmed glass and fill it with cold water from the tap.

16. Drink two glasses of water immediately after waking up.

17. Bring a two-liter bottle of water to work and try to drink it all before you leave work. If you don’t finish, drink it in traffic on the way home – it’s like a race.

18. Always keep a 24-ounce bottle of water handy while watching TV, doing laundry, making dinner, etc.

19. Add drinking two glasses of water to your daily skincare regimen. Drink, cleanse, moisturize, etc., then drink again.

20. Drink your water out of a big Pyrex measuring cup – it’s a good way to keep track of how much water you are drinking.

And, as always, check out Premiere Sales (www.premieresales.com) to find replacement filters, cartridges, or membranes for an existing water filtration system, or see the whole house water filtration systems we have to offer.

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What is a water filter?

We know that drinking clean water is important and that to have the cleanest, safest possible water it  requires a filtration process. There are many types of water filters: refrigerator filter, pitcher filter, countertop water filter, faucet-mounted water filter, whole house water filter, water supply, garden water filter, pool water filters, etc. What do water filters do though?

Put simply, water filters remove impurities  and reduce contaminants from water. Toxic chemicals found in water that can affect our health adversely include lead, chlorine, fluoride (in large quantities), mercury, and arsenic to name a few. Additionally, biological hazards such as microorganisms, bacteria, and algae can also pose threats. The less contaminants in our water the healthier we are!

Water filtration can occur in a variety ways: chemical process, biological process, or using a fine physical barrier. Filter media either physically block impurities from crossing, or chemically attracts them to prevent their passage. Most water filters use a granulated (for example, granular-activated carbon) or solid filter media that doesn’t allow the passage of the material into the filtered water. In terms of having clean water at home, people may use a point-of-use filter or a whole house filtration system.

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