Put a little food coloring in your toilet tank. If, without flushing, the color begins to appear in the bowl within 30 minutes, you have a leak that should be repaired immediately. Most replacement parts are inexpensive and easy to install.

Every time you flush a cigarette butt, facial tissue or other small bit of trash, five to seven gallons of water is wasted.

To cut down on water waste, put an inch or two of sand or pebbles inside each of two plastic bottles to weigh them down. Fill the bottles with water, screw the lids on, and put them in your toilet tank, safely away from the operating mechanisms. Or, buy an inexpensive tank bank or float booster. This may save ten or more gallons of water per day. Be sure at least 3 gallons of water remain in the tank so it will flush properly. For new installations, consider buying "low flush" toilets, which use 1 to 2 gallons per flush instead of the usual 3 to 5 gallons.

Read the house water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter does not read exactly the same, there is a leak.

Inexpensive water-saving showerheads or restrictors are easy for the homeowner to install. Also, long, hot showers can use five to ten gallons every unneeded minute. Limit your showers to the time it takes to soap up, wash down and rinse off. You can easily install a ShowerStart showerhead, or add a ShowerStart converter to existing showerheads, which automatically pauses a running shower once it gets warm. Also, all household faucets should be fit with aerators. This single best home water conservation method is also the cheapest!

One way to cut down on water use is to turn off the shower after soaping up, and then turn it back on to rinse. A four-minute shower uses approximately 20 to 40 gallons of water.

Use natural rainwater for your yard and garden and significantly lower your water bills. Why let this water go to waste? Collect and reuse to save money and help the environment!

Automatic dishwashers and clothes washers should be fully loaded for optimum water conservation. Most makers of dishwashing soap recommend not pre-rinsing dishes, which means big water savings for you.

This includes brushing your teeth, shaving, or washing vegetables. Also keep a bottle of drinking water in the fridge, running tap water to cool it off for drinking water is wasteful.

A small drip from a worn faucet washer can waste 20 gallons of water per day. Larger leaks can waste hundreds of gallons.

One way to cut down on water use is to turn off the shower after soaping up, then turn it back on to rinse. A four-minute shower uses approximately 20 to 40 gallons of water.

It's easy and inexpensive to insulate your water pipes with pre-slit foam pipe insulation. You'll get hot water faster plus avoid wasting water while it heats up.

Fill the sink with a few inches of warm water. This will rinse your razor just as well as running water, with far less waste of water.

There is no need to keep the water running while brushing your teeth. Just wet your brush and fill a glass for mouth rinsing.