School is back is session and while our little darlings are mentally geared up for getting back into the school morning routine, why not have them develop a new habit to conserve water and save some of your hard-earned money on the water bill?

If they are not already doing so, get the kids to turn off the water while they are brushing their teeth. If they’re brushing as long as the dentist recommends, this could save more than four gallons of water every brushing session.

Here’s how –

The faucet in the bathroom typically puts out a little over two gallons for every minute it runs. The dentist wants us to brush our teeth for two minutes. If you let the water run for the two minutes you’re actually brushing, it’s going straight down the drain unused and unneeded. Two gallons of water flowing for two minutes adds up to a total of four gallons (plus a little more) wasted!

Getting your toothbrush wet and then rinsing and cleaning up after brushing takes around 30 seconds of water flow or only one gallon of water. So, by turning off the tap between wetting the brush and cleaning up, you’ll save that unneeded four gallons of water.

If that still seems like a lot water to you to just brush your teeth, use a cup in the bathroom. Fill the cup and use water from that to wet the brush, rinse, and clean up instead. You just went from one gallon down to one cup of water use!

For more water-saving tips, visit the Prairielands Groundwater Conservation District website at www.prairielandsgcd.org (click on “BROCHURES”) or follow us on Facebook!