Tips and Tricks

Plumbing Tips

• To help clean mineral deposits from a showerhead, try removing the showerhead and soaking it in vinegar.
• Always use cold water when running your garbage disposal; use ice cubes to sharpen the blades;
  lemon peels help deodorize and freshen a garbage disposal.

Water Conservation Tips

• Leaky faucets that drip at the rate of one drip per second can waste more than 3,000 gallons of water each
  year. If you’re unsure whether you have a leak, read your water meter before and after a two-hour period
  when no water is being used. If the meter does not read exactly the same, you probably have a leak.
• If you do find a leak, shut off the water supply and call STLPipeline immediately.
• Knowing where and how to shut off water to the entire house or any part of it can be very important
  in an emergency. It’s extremely important for all members of the family to know where the valves are
  and in which direction they should be turned to shut off the water.
• A leaky toilet can waste about 200 gallons of water every day. To tell if your toilet has a leak, place a drop
  of food coloring in the tank. If the color shows in the bowl without flushing, you have a leak.
• The average bathroom faucet flows at a rate of two gallons per minute. Turning off the tap while brushing
  your teeth in the morning and at bedtime, can save up to eight gallons of water per day, which equals 240
  gallons a month!
  
• Take a shower. Depending on the size of your tub, a full bathtub requires about 36-50 gallons of water,
  while taking a five-minute shower uses 10-25 gallons.