Today is the the 43rd anniversary of Earth Day.

Five Things You Can Do this Earth Day (and Every Day)

1) Go Green when You Clean:

Cleaning products that contain chlorine or petroleum distillates expose your family to toxins and these toxins end up in the water system. Consider using nontoxic, naturally derived cleaning products that won’t cause long term damage to the Earth.

2) Plant a Tree Every Earth Day!

Trees generates oxygen, help with air pollution control, recycle water, and help with soil erosion. They can also provide shade that helps keep homes and our cities cooler!

3) Lighten Your Energy Bill:

Here’s a brighter & cheaper way to light your home: Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs).  Per Wikipedia: “CFLs use one-fifth to one-third the electric power, and last eight to fifteen times longer. A CFL has a higher purchase price than an incandescent lamp, but can save over five times its purchase price in electricity costs over the lamp’s lifetime.  A household that invested $90 in changing 30 fixtures to CFLs would save $440 to $1,500 over the five-year life of the bulbs, depending on your cost of electricity.”

4) Reduce, Reuse and Recycle: 

Of course this is a no-brainer and something many of us have heard since grade school.  Donate clothing and computers to charities, pack lunches in reusable containers instead of bags. Use reusable bags at the grocery store.

5) Stop the Drip.

Check for dripping faucets in your home.  It doesn’t seem like a dripping faucet could waste that much water, right?  Although, a single drip doesn’t waste much water.  Consider a faucet in your home dripping a little bit all day long, all week long, all month long.   Drip Calculator  Per this calculator 1 drip per minute can result is 2,083 wasted gallons per year.  Waste of money and resources.

Another huge water waster is a running toilet:

Do­ It ­Yourself Toilet Assessment

First check for the most common leak: a deteriorated or defected flush valve(flapper) ball at the bottom of the toilet tank.

If it does not make a tight seal water will leak into the toilet bowl.  To check for this:

• Take the lid off of the tank behind the bowl, flush the toilet, then wait for it to fully refill.

•  Put a few drops of dye or a colored dye tablet (available at some hardware stores) in the tank.

• Wait at least 20 minutes; longer if you suspect it is a small leak.

• If there is any color in the toilet bow, there is a leak.

The second most common type of leak has to do with an improperly adjusted or broken
fill (ballcock) valve. To check for this take the lid off of the toilet tank, flush, and see if
water is draining into the overflow tubes when the tank is full.