Which is more water-efficient: a shower or a bath? It all depends on how long you shower. A shower puts out roughly five gallons of H2O every minute; so if you take a five-minute shower, you’re using approximately 25 gallons of water. A typical bath uses about 30 gallons of water to fill up the tub. Gallon for gallon, the five-minute-or-less shower is more efficient. But if you prefer to luxuriate and linger when you clean up, the bath becomes the more water-efficient choice.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

It can be difficult to detect if your car is leaking oil, especially if your garage is poorly lit. One way to check is to lay clean newspaper on the ground underneath the car overnight. Wait for a dry day with no rain or snow, and make sure the floor beneath the newspaper is clean and dry. The next morning, check to see if any oil has leaked onto the newspaper; if it has, you’ll know to take your car to your local auto care shop to have the leak investigated and repaired.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

Many of us use a space heater as an energy-efficient way to add supplemental heat to warm up a room. Although the design of these little heaters has changed over the years to improve their safety, they still can pose a fire hazard. One important tip from the Consumer Product Safety Commission is that if you need to use an extension cord with your heater, use the 14-gauge heavy-duty kind. This type of cord (usually designed for outdoor use) ensures the electricity is properly grounded when you operate the heater.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION