Reader Kevin Montgomery wrote in with this perspective on Leonard Baron’s idea to save water by adjusting the flow of the valves under your sink.
Baron said that he tweaked his faucet’s pressure and used about 28 percent less water when brushing his teeth. Montgomery said that might cause problems:
That would reduce water flow out the tap, but would likely cause water flow under many sinks. The screw-type valves under sinks are designed to seal at the full-open and full-closed positions. In between those two positions, they frequently leak from around the valve stem. Every time I service my kitchen faucet, I have to lay a towel under the sink to catch the spray from the valves as I open or close them. Valves that leak more slowly — perhaps a slow drip — might not be noticed by the conserving homeowner until the cabinet is saturated.
Has anyone else experimented with this? E-mail me at rob.davis@voiceofsandiego.org.