Living in Florida, we may tend to think that the only water wasting going on is in the garden or lawn. To an extent, yes, there is a lot of waste generated outside of our homes and businesses. However, lets not ignore the indoors. Fixing leaks and replacing old plumbing fixtures with water-saving ones could save a family of four about 30,000 gallons of water each year (about 2 water bills worth of usage)!

Here are 7 ways to conserve water around the house:

1. Aviod buzz cuts and backaches
Raising your lawn mower blade to its highest setting encourages grass roots to grow deeper and grass blades to hold moisture longer than with a closely clipped lawn. Apply fertilizers sparingly and use fertilizers that contain slow-release water insoluable forms of nitrogen.

2. Buy a nozzle for the nose of your hose
Place a shut-off nozzle on your hose to control the flow of water so you only use what you need. Remember to to turn the water off at the faucet to prevent leaks.

3. Save time and save water
If you don't have an automatic timer on your sprinkler, use a kitchen timer to remind you to turn the water off. Left unattended, a garden hose can waste as much as 600 gallons of water in just one hour!

4. Make a faucet washer a water saver
Repair dripping faucets by replacing washers. If your faucet is dripping at the rate of one drop per secind, you can waste 20 gallons of water each day! A steady stream of water the size of a pencil can waste from 7,200 to 13,000 gallons of water each day!

5. Use food coloring to save water
Detect toilet leaks by removing the lid from the toilet tank, remove any colored cleaning agents, flush to clear water in the bowl, then add a few drops of food coloring to the tank. If the tank is leaking, color will appear in the bowl within 30 minutes. To avoid staining the bowl, flush as soon as the test is complete. A leaky tank can waste 200 gallons of water each day. Replace worn, corroded, or bent parts.

6. Delay household chores
Run automatic dishwashers only when fully loaded. Set clothes washers to the appropriate water level for the size of load you are washing.

7. Shower yourself with the savings
By timing your showers to keep them under five minutes and installing low-flow showerheads, you can save water. The older the showerhead, the more water it uses. New showerheads deliver 2.5 gallons of water per minute. Older fixtures can deliver as high as 8 gallons per minute!