Conserving Water Means Saving Money
Make no mistake about it, we are plumbing professionals, not gardeners. But in our 12 years of experience serving the greater Portland community, we’ve learned a few things regarding best practices in summer water conservation.
Many of our Portland customers are very involved in green living, do-it-yourself projects, and decreasing their carbon footprint. During summer, this means growing your vegetables or herbs and planting shrubbery.
Watering Gardens Should Not Be Wasteful
We believe, as probably many of you do, that watering gardens should be fun, good for the environment, and sustainable. It should not be wasteful, expensive, and damaging to the city’s water supply.
Tips for Efficient Watering
We offer these suggestions merely as a way to promote mindful living by conserving water and saving money. Here are a few tips we’ve picked up throughout the years:
- Nighttime gardening: Watering your garden at night will allow ample time for the water to infiltrate the soil before it is evaporated by the sun. Daytime watering requires far more water to do the same job.
- Drip irrigation: Drip irrigation is a clever way of watering plants that send the water directly to the root of the plant. This cuts down on travel time and ensures water gets directly to the source without being wasted along the way.
- Use a watering can instead of a hose: You will use less water if you transfer hose water to a watering can. You’ll quickly find you don’t need as much water as you think you do, plus the watering can help target specific areas of need.
- Weed regularly: Getting down and dirty in that garden will help water more efficiently get to the plants you want to thrive, not to the weeds that only impede growth and get in the way of the water supply.
- Don’t overwater: Be careful not to overdo it. Know that fledgling plants and vegetables need more water than more mature ones. As mentioned, watering cans help.
More plumbing-related questions? Contact 3 Mountains Plumbing today—Portland’s trusted plumbing company for over a decade.
