Here are some easy and inexpensive or no-cost steps you can take to protect our water supply:

Stop using phosphates; go green dish washing and laundry soaps.

Chemicals: Stored paints, paint thinners, petroleum based varnishes, pesticides, drain cleaners, brake fluid, solvents, and motor oil ect., many of which now sit and leak or are so degraded they are unusable, but an environmental hazard that gets into the water supply. Many of these chemicals have become recent environmental issues and the proper disposal instructions are outdated. Call your local recycling center for proper disposal methods and help. DO NOT DUMP!

Prescription drugs: Prescription drugs include many used to be Prescription drugs that are now over the counter drugs. Dispose of over the counter drugs as you would Prescription drugs. Call local police department or health department as both have periodic drives to collect and dispose of medicines. DO NOT DUMP in TOILET!

Artificial sweeteners: Disposal of unconsumed foodstuffs is a big contributor to environmental and water system contamination. Use solid disposal instead of water disposal for excess foodstuff and much of the artificial sweetener in water contamination will go down. There are now natural and biodegradable sweeteners coming on the market, give them a try.

Personal care products: Go Green; there are many green personal care products available, and many are on sale. Switch to green personal care products and start making a difference today.

The washing machine: Install discharge filter to trap lint and particulate matter. Two stage filters may be used and the washing machine discharge water can have many of the solids removed to 1-5 micron level. Washing machines deposit pounds of fiber and soaps into the water systems of America. There are 69,865,957 detached single family homes and 8,779,228 Mobile homes in the USA according to the Historical Census of Housing Tables of the US Census Bureau. If every house used a washing machine filter and kept 2 pounds of lint from entering the water system that would equal 156,000,000 pounds of lint that did not enter the water system annually.

The kitchen sink: There are 2 sides to the kitchen sink in and out. Your kitchen sink discharges is where most of the attention is needed. There is no commercial or restaurant kitchen that is not required to use grease traps. Grease contaminates 15% of our household water, dish washing and cooked food disposal are the culprits of grease and fats in the water system. Only one manufacture that we could find offers a small sized lightweight grease trap that is for larger residential kitchens. There is no well designed easy to use apartment or single family dwelling grease trap or interceptors on the market. This is a large green opportunity for innovation, new products and a new service industry. Just go green in the kitchen with dish washing liquid.

The drinking water filter. Drinking water has a tremendous affect on health. The internet makes it easier to research and understand drinking water. Take some time to understand the drinking water issues and what water utilities can and are doing about the issues. See what you can do for yourself and what you decide is important to you and your health in the drinking water issues. Drinking water filters and purifiers come in 2 forms, counter top and in line systems. We are proponents of counter top water treatment for drinking. Counter top water treatment purifiers and filters are easy to clean frequently and replace. It is easy to use more than one type of filter or purifier for a more complete removal of contaminates. No one system is perfect and there is a lot of room for improvement in counter top drinking water treatment.