Posts Tagged: ‘tank’

Stop water leakages:

March 8, 2012 Posted by admin

An overview:

Conservation of water is not only important from utility bills saving point of view but it is in fact a great economic development tool. Hence if any one is concerned about lower energy costs and utility bills, a more comfortable and energy efficient home then he or she should immediately check and stop leakage of water. According to the American water works association one in every five toilet in the United States leaks, which can lead to a waste of approximately 30 to 500 gallons of water per day. If the loss is such on a daily basis then the loss for one year is beyond imagination.

Checking interior water leakages:

A recent survey concluded that undetected interior water leaks could add up to 20 to 45% of the total utility bills on water. On an average most of the leakages in side a house are found in the toilets and lavatories. One of the easiest ways to detect a silent leak in the toilet is to drop a little amount of food coloring into the tank and without flushing for some time if the color appears in the bowl then there is a possible chance of leakage. Checking of moist spots around and under the house plumbing and around outdoor plumbing can also lead to the discovery of leakages. Worn out washers in faucets and showerheads are also significant sources of water leakages through dripping. Though it may appear to be negligible but even a little drip can waste as much as 170 gallons of water each day that leads to 5000 gallons in a month.

Use of water meters:

Water meters are important devices that can give effective check on water wastage in a house. The water meter should always be located in front of the house inside a concrete or plastic meter box that is set flush to the ground. It is seen that sometimes meter boxes are not easily visible due to landscaping and other obstructions. Many find it hard to read the meter but it is as easy as reading the odometer of a car. The numbers should be from left to right that appears under the words cubic feet.

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Categories: Bills

Use water saving equipments-Save life

February 4, 2012 Posted by admin

Water is tasteless, odorless substance that is essential to all known forms of life and is known universal solvent. It is very important resource s needed to man in every process of life, without it life would just be impossible. But as it a resource it is limited and its use should be properly made, or else one day we will be left with no enough water. So in order we must take some precautions and so also use water saving equipments.

Water saving equipments

The use of water-saving disc seats regulates the flow of water, thereby reduces water consumption. With water–saving disc seats the quantity of water flow can be reduced to one-third. With water saving flow-regulating cap fixed to the spout of a single-handle faucet, water flow can be roughly halved while producing a feeling of using same volume of water. Water saving toilet, having flushing low tank type, volume regulating flushing valve type, pneumatic drainage type could be used. An introduction to a service water system, which uses rainwater, spring water as well as rainwater, is also effective in reducing the use of clean tap water from waterworks. Washmatic is a system to use a single bucket water to wash car. Whiffaway is a system where waterless urinal adopter, that fits in the urinal to convert it to waterless use. DAM-IT a water saver by damming it up around the roots of plants, epically if planting on sloping ground

Below are some implications

Check for leaks and emphasize leak reporting and repair.
Use broom instead of hose, and consider alternatives to discretionary uses of water.
Turn off water using equipments when not in use.
Replace inefficient equipments.
Work with employees to develop methods to reduce usage of water.
Incorporate efficient use of water in kitchen.
Eliminate daytime landscape watering.

Save water, as saving in turn is going to help you. Make some water saving programs and evoke in people that water must be used as much and when required and waste it. Let’s contribute and save water.

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Categories: Bills

Stretching water – ‘Lengthen’ Water

August 17, 2011 Posted by admin

The concept of stretching water makes most people sit up and take notice of. Stretching water is something really unheard of. After all, how can water be stretched or elongated. To make matters simple, stretching water merely refers to some different ways of water saving techniques. When people are required to use various means that are useful in saving water, it is known as stretching water. There are different usual and a few unusual methods of saving water or now known as stretching water.

Stretching to the limits

Stretching water is certainly the need of the hour. In order to control water wastage, people must use water in a judicious manner and be as thrifty as possible. People must take steps in order to save as much water as possible. Water stretching techniques help the individuals to use only that much water that is essential for any task and prevents unnecessary excess use of water. There are innumerable ways in which wastage of water can be avoided. The first step is to avoid excessive use of running water. Washing vegetables and fruits or thawing foodstuffs under running water must be avoided at all costs. As far as possible, a pan or a container full of water must be used to wash or thaw, as that would serve the purpose as well as avoid any wastage of water. Also, once the washing and thawing has been completed, the water can be used to water plants in the garden rather than just throwing it away. Stretching water in this way is immensely helpful.

Apart from this, after cleaning the fish tank the old water can be used to water the plants instead of throwing it away. This process is very helpful as the water in the fish tank consists of elements like nitrogen and phosphorus. These elements can act as natural fertilizers for the plants in the garden and they do not have to be separately watered again. Another very important reason for huge water wastage is during car washing. To avoid this, it is advised to wash the car on the lawn. This way, the individual can serve two purposes. The car would be cleaned as well as the lawn would be watered.

All these are water-stretching activities. So make sure that you stretch the water and lengthen it as much as possible.

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Categories: Save Water

Programs to Help You Save Water

August 8, 2011 Posted by admin

Although there seems sufficient water in many parts of the world, it is important to implicate have various techniques and programs to save water around your home. It also helps to improve the quality of water just by conserving it.

Programs by which you can keep check and save the water:

1. Check if any hidden water leaks are there in the house. In spite of not using the water if the meter shows increase in the value, then you can understand that there is water leak for sure.

2. Check your toilets for water leaks by putting a little food coloring in your toilet tank. If color starts disappearing from the bowl within thirty minutes then there is a leak in your toilet which should be repaired immediately

3. Toilet shouldn’t be as an ashtray or wastebasket because cigarette butt, facial tissue or other small bit of trash needs five to seven gallons of water.

4. By putting plastic bottles in your toilet tank you can cut down on water waste, put an inch of sand or pebbles inside each of two plastic bottles to weigh them down. Further fill the bottles with water, screw up the lids, and put them in your toilet tank, away from the operating mechanisms. This saves ten or more gallons of water. Low flush toilets are advisable to buy as it uses 1 to 2 gallons per flush instead of the usual 3 to 5 gallons.

5. Insulation of your water pipes should be done periodically.

6. Install water-saving shower heads and low-flow faucet aerators to conserve the water. Aerators can limit your showers to the time it takes to soap up, wash down and rinse off. Aerators should be introduced in all home appliances.

7. Take short showers with optimal use of water. That’s the best way to cut down on water. Approximately 20 to 40 gallons of water is used in a shower of four minutes.

8. Use rainwater for yards, lawns, gardens watering and car washing.

9. Automatic dishwashers and clothes washers should be fully loaded for optimal use of water. Shun the use of permanent press cycle.

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Compost Toilet

August 6, 2011 Posted by admin

Compost toilet is a disposal system which is connected to a tank where human waste material is decomposed by aerobic bacteria and which, can be further used as compost. The main purpose of compost toilet is to destroy organisms that may lead to diseases and in the process, provide natural and organic fertilizers for the crops.

Types of compost toilets.

There are various ways of constructing compost toilets. They can be manufactured or constructed. They can be self-contained where there is only one unit or they can be centralized where the toilet is connected to the compost system in some other area. Compost toilets can also be multi-chambered or single chambered. Compost toilets also vary in many other ways. For instance, some compost toilets have electricity, while others do not. Some are large, while others are small. All compost toilets however produce the same result. I.e., good quality humus. The components shared by many compost toilets include a compost reactor, exhaust system to reduce odor, System accommodating ventilation and drainage and lastly, an access door for removal of waste products.

Compost toilets –pros

Compost toilets have several advantages and serve important purposes. They convert human waste into organic manure for plants. They save a lot of water, thus they can be used in areas facing problems of water scarcity Traditional compost toilets do not require power, meaning, that they are less heavy on the pockets. They are also considered more hygienic as compared to the average toilets. Another important advantage is that the nutrients and the pathogens found in human waste do not pollute waterways.

Compost toilets –cons

Improperly compost human faeces are hazardous to human health. There is an ongoing controversy considering the health issues about using human faeces as manure for edible crops. Some may find the use of toilets without water as highly aversive. If proper ventilation and exhaust systems are not applied, then there can be other problems like bad odour. Removal of end products can also be a nasty job where, the system is not proper. Too much liquid can pose problem if not drained properly. Sometimes human excreta are in plain sight, which can be aesthetically disturbing

However, if properly constructed and managed, the advantages can overcome most of the problems.

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Lawn Care After Hydro seeding

August 3, 2011 Posted by admin

Hydro seeding is a planting process where slurry of, seeds, mulch, fertilizers and lime are utilized by blending the slurry in a tank and applying it with a spraying hose.

Care after hydroseeding:

There are certain important components that play an important role in the management of hydroseeded lawns. They are, watering, mowing practices, fertilization and weed management. Proper watering is considered the most important component of hyroseeded lawn. While over watering can cause drowning of seeds, very little water can lead to parched and dying turf. Therefore extreme caution needs to be taken while watering the turf. In general a new hydroseeded lawn requires watering one to three times a day. In terms of time, watering the lawn very early in the morning is recommended and any time after that is highly discouraged. In terms of mowing, the lawn should be mowed not more than once or twice a week. The mower should have a sharp knife. Also, care should be taken to turn off the water while mowing. Use of mulching mowers immediately after hydroseeding is not recommended; instead conventional mowers should be used. The lawn should be sufficiently dry while moving, as moist lawns can cause it to have deep ruts. In terms of fertilizers, usually, the fertilizers are already sprayed in the slurry; therefore additional fertilizers are not required for atleast five to seeks weeks after hydroseeding. Sometimes despite your care, the problem of weeds crop, to deal with this you can apply herbicides as suggested by the experts. Usually, weed control program is started after the third round of mowing. There are certain other precautions you need to take like having good drainage facility, good aeration etc, to prevent the growth of fungus. If all the conditions are ideal and still the yard seems to be turning brown, then a professional needs to be called to control fungus problem.

Advantages of hydroseeding:

Hydroseeding works in big yards in a short space of time. They can be used on slopes or hillside areas and they can therefore prevent soil erosion. It is cheaper than sod the rate of germination is fast.

Disadvantages of hydroseeding:

The variety in hydroseeded grasses is limited. Hydroseeding can only be done before growing season of the grass.

For experiencing the full advantages of hydroseed lawns, proper care and management is essential.

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Insulate your water pipes:

July 31, 2011 Posted by admin

Importance of insulation:

On an average basis it is seen that approximately 50 to 70 % of the total energy is spend on heating and cooling and about 20% goes for heating water in most of the American homes. On the other hand, lighting and appliances and everything else account for only 10 to 30% of the energy used in most residences. If a house was constructed with special attention to energy efficiency, an addition of insulation will probably reduce the utility bills. Surveys that are conducted recently have shown that much of the existing housing stock in the United States is not insulated to the best level. It is also found that older homes are likely to use more energy than newer homes, leading to very high heating and air-conditioning bills. Even in case of a new home, adding insulation may save enough money in reduced utility bills to pay for itself within a few years and more over it will continue to save money for as long as one owns the home, and also may increase the resale value of the house.

Insulation of water pipes:

The main function of insulation in case of water pipes is the prevention of any form of loss of water through leakage and thus promoting energy conservation. Both the cold and hot water pipes leaving the water heater should be insulated as it helps reduce recirculation losses by water cooling off in the pipes and sinking back into the tank to be reheated. Besides this insulation also cuts down on the reciurculation losses effectively. Basically water pipe irrigation comes in two main types, one is the insulating tape that must be wrapped around the pipe by hand, and tubes pre-slit to slip over the pipe and each of them is used in specific purposes. If the piping to be insulated is easily accessible but has lots of bends in it, tape style insulation can be easier to apply. However, if the piping has lots of long straight runs, tubular insulation installs more quickly. For ease of use the tubular insulation with self-sealing seams is the best although it costs about three times as much as the non-sealing tubes.

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Categories: Save Water

Check for hidden water leaks – Correct the silent wasters

July 16, 2011 Posted by admin

Prudent use of water at the domestic front is very important to save water. If not able to make proper facilities to conserve water one should try to save it by sensible use and by not wasting it. The latest washing technologies have been developed to give the best washing with least water usage. However there are some places in house through which lots of water can be wasted if neglected. These parts are various leakages. Through leakages clean water is wasted even without using it. Thus it is very necessary that water pipes and storage tanks be checked regularly and in case of any leakage it is repaired immediately.

How to check leaks

1. Check the meter

With help of meter readings one can easily find out if water is been wasted through leaks. Primarily record the meter reading and close all kinds of water usage. After two three hours again come and check the reading if you see any kinds of changes in the reading there is a leakage that is using up your water supply.

2. Check toilet tank leaks

Adding food coloring to the tank can easily check toilet tanks leaks. If there is a leakage the color will flow out of the cracked area.

3. Sonic leak detectors

Sonic leak detectors are the latest technology used for detecting leakages. They are very effective for detecting leaks in pipes fitted in slabs of walls. A Sonic leak detector uses beams of high frequency, short wave signals to inspect and detect the leak. The detector is provided with a point and headphone. On turning on the equipment the audio sound detection system is activated, just move the point over the slab if there is a leakage particular sound can be heard in the headphone when it reaches the leakage point.

If leaks not repaired in time, grow bigger in days and can cost a huge repairing expenditure. On the other handed water wasted, which will further cost you. By preventing leaks you not only stop the drain of water from your house but also money is stopped from draining.

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Basement sump pump

July 13, 2011 Posted by admin

The annoyance of water seems to have a simple solution and this is done by the purchase of a sump pump from a local hardware shop. Normally basement water comes from two locations. One main source is called the cover area and water can come through the basement cracks. The main purpose of the basement sump pump is that when the water is directed towards it can collect water spontaneously.

Features of the basement sump pump

1. Last defense against flooding.
2. No blockage in the basement.
3. Basement always remains clean.
4. No damages to furniture and carpets.

Checking the sump pump
1. Cover is to be removed and water is to be poured into the sump tank.
2. Watch for the “float” to rise and trigger the pump.
3. Once the pump is started, the water level quickly lowers and the float shuts off the pump.
Any problems arises is related to the float A repositioning of the pump solves the problem.
1. The float may need replacement.
2. If the pump fails to shut off when the water level decreases to the bottom of the sump tank, which indicates a new float is needed.
Significance
Location of the sump pump should be at the lowest point of the basement just in front of the sump hole. From the top of the sump the PVC plastic pipe is to be followed till the till the hook into a larger drain line. Sump pump is to be tested by filling the sump hole with water. The pump is ready with a mechanical switch that senses when the water reaches a certain level and turns itself on automatically – then it should clear most of the water from the pit, shutting off once the water drops below a certain level The floor should have been designed to lean slightly towards the sump hole. Some things like walls or poor design can get in the way, so one may have to help on occasion if the water gets deep, but the sump pump will take it from there..

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Categories: Basement

Do it yourself Spray Foam Insulation

July 3, 2011 Posted by admin

Spray foam insulation can seal the home from air or moisture intrusion. Spray foam insulation can save on costly utility bills and at the same time protect the health of the family from dangerous mold and dust. Spray foam insulation adds strength to the building structure and does not sag. It reduces the wear and maintenance of HVAC equipment.

What is spray foam insulation?

Spray foam insulation is polyurethane foam pumped into the home to insulate walls, ceilings. It helps to keep the heat inside during the cold months and the hot air outside when it’s warm. Like any insulation, there are pros and cons to spray foam. Some spray foam has to be installed by professionals therefore they can be expensive. However since it’s a spray and not a long piece of pink fiberglass, spray foam insulation gets into all of the tiny nooks and crannies, providing better insulation. Drafts are filled and the house is warmer in the winter. No cold air can escape in the summer either. Vermin and bugs have a hard time getting into the house as the spray foam insulation fills every little crack and crevice. Therefore you can save on extermination bills. It being a good adherent, it can stick to a floor and insulate from underneath.

Spray foam – do it yourself

Some years back, spray applied insulation required a professional and machinery. With progress in technology and improved foam chemistry spray foam insulation has become a simplified process. Handi-foam kits and self-contained kits are the result of modern technology. These kits require no special training to use and can be operated without power. In short, spraying polyurethane foam can be done without prior training, as the function is similar to point and spray. All that is required of the user is to follow the simple instructions given in the manual.

Basic guidelines to use spray foam insulation kits

1. Wear overalls and gloves, eye protection and dust mask while using spray foam insulation kits. Cover floors, carpets, furniture etc to protect them from over-spray. For ventilation open windows and if necessary use a fan to push air into the room.
2. Since spraying foam is similar to spray paint, so start off with a thin layer and build up as needed. The foam expands before hardening and the foam flow is controlled by how much you depress the trigger.
3. Warm the tank to 86 Fahrenheit and shake the tanks before spraying.

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