Saving Water In The Kitchen
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An awful lot of water is used in the kitchen. Cutting back on kitchen water usage can have a huge impact on the environment.

*Install a foot-controlled faucet! Ever seen tv surgeons scrubbing up before reaching into a fake chest cavity to operate? Notice that they never touch a faucet handle to scrub in. That's because there aren't any handles. There are only foot pedals. Think of how much control you'd have over the amount of water you're using if you can start and stop the water-flow with your feet. Are they cheap to install? You'd bet not. And you'd be right. Try this one: Kohler 13816CP Wall-Mount Double Foot Control.

*Install a water efficient, energy star rated dishwasher. Enough said.

*Ever drop an ice cube? Gee, who hasn't. Instead of throwing that ice cube in the sink, throw it into one of your houseplants. It'll melt. Ever think of that? Every little bit helps.

*Don't let the sink water run constantly when rinsing dishes. Sure, it takes a second to shut off the water while you're reaching across the counter to get that next dish to rinse but for goodness sake, turn off the water anyway. Gallon upon gallon of wasted water are going down the drain while you're reaching around for your dishes.

*Waiting for the water to get hot? If you have to wait for the hot water to arrive at the kitchen sink, then put a large pitcher under the faucet to collect the cold water while you're waiting. Use that water to water your houseplants, or for rinsing or cooking later. If it really takes a long time, talk to your plumber about installing an instant water heater that will get hot water to you faster.

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*Install a water saver aerator on your kitchen sink's faucet.

Water saving aerators are helpful in reducing the amount of water you use when rinsing your dishes. Speaking of rinsing your dishes, consider not rinsing your dishes except to get rid of excess food items. Let your dishwasher do the heavy work. Studies have shown that your dishwasher uses less water than manually cleaning your dishes in the sink.
When you have a need to fill a pot with water to let dried on food soak, don't just put the pot in the sink and fill it up directly with water from the faucet. Instead, put it in the sink directly under the faucet, and then rinse off other dishes that need it. The excess water will drop into the pot.

*Fix the drip! Does your water faucet in the kitchen drip? Well duh! Fix that faucet. Repair dripping faucets by replacing washers that are inside the faucet. Take your faucet's washers to the hardware store with you. If your faucet is dripping one drop per second, you'll waste as much as 2,700 gallons in a year! Yikes.

*Don't use your disposal! Running your kitchen sink disposal requires water. Besides, putting food in the disposal can result in not all the food getting washed away anyway, which means you're sink can stink later. Instead, either put the food in the trash, or use a compost pile to dispose of it.

Boiling water. If you boil water for making pasta or something similar, don't use so much darn water in the pot. How many times have you seen a 3/4 full pot just so someone can put enough pasta in it to serve three people? Are you kidding me? Do you realize that 1/4 of that amount of water would boil that pasta for you? Not only is it a massive waste of water, but you're using three times the energy to boil the over-full pot of water. And use a lid on your pot. No kidding. Put the lid all the way on the pot. It will boil much faster if the lid is on correctly. "But wait, Mr. McEnergySaverPants, if I put the lid all the way on, the water will boil out and make a mess!". Well no kidding, but, guess what, you can actually stand there and WATCH a pot boil. It can be done. I've seen it.

*Capture excess water in the sink Sometimes you're rinsing something in the sink that isn't all that dirty to begin with. Before you do so, put a large bowl or something similar in the sink to catch the excess water that's about to go down the drain. You'll be able to then use that water to water your houseplants or to use it to soak a pot that's really got some stuck-on food on it.

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