There are many ways to save water that will not force you out of your comfort zone and still help you keep more money in the wallet. Saving water is something you should consider very seriously since it can be your personal contribution to an environmentally-friendly world. The fact that you’ll pay less for the water bill is a good reward also.
1. Check for leaks.
Whenever it comes to small leaks, we don’t always react as fast as we should. However, any leak, no matter how small, adds to your water bill over time. To ensure that your home’s water-supply system doesn’t have any hidden leaks, you can turn off all the faucets for one or two hours and monitor the meter. If there is a change on the meter, you certainly have a leak in some hidden spot. A plumber can help you fix the problem.
2.Repair faulty faucets.
Even if you lose just one drop per second due to a faulty faucet, that means wasting between 1000-2000 gallons of water per year, as reported by the National Sanitation Foundation. Those gallons will still appear on your water bill. Repair your faucets at the first sign of a drip since it’s only a matter of time until it will get worse.
3. Use flow restrictive aerators.
An aerator introduces air into a faucet’s stream to reduce the amount of used water without lowering the pressure. Besides the standard faucet aerators who reduce the water consumption by half, there are on the market aerators with flow restrictors that decrease the flow from the standard 2.75 gallons per minute to 1 gallon per minute.
4. Wash full loads in your washing machine.
If you want to save water, washing partial loads is not the most economical approach. However, you can either adjust the water level to match the size of the load, or you can run only full loads by waiting a little more before washing.
5. Don’t let the water run while you’re brushing your teeth, washing your face, or shaving.
Water comes out at an average of 2.5 gallons per minute and it is a complete waste to let so much water go down the drain while you’re applying face soap, scrubbing your hands, shaving, or brushing your teeth. Turning off the faucet for those few minutes goes a long way when it comes to saving water on the long-term. You will certainly notice a difference on your water bill.
6. Use a dishwasher.
Despite popular belief, a dishwasher uses less water than washing dishes by hand. According to numerous studies, the machine actually uses less water by a third. For significant savings of water, you should wait until the dishwasher is completely full before starting it. You don’t need to rinse the dishes beforehand.
7. Take shorter showers.
There is plenty of space for economy when it comes to shower time, especially since a five-minute shower uses between 12.5 gallons of water while a 15-minute shower uses 37.5 gallons of water. It is certainly better to stay on the lower range by taking shorter showers. You can also increase economy by using an aerated showerhead, which limits the flow rate by combining water with air.
8. Don’t wash your car at home.
Washing your car at home is false economy because you will pay much more for the water bill than for washing at a car wash. Each time you wash your car at home with the hose you add on average 100 gallons of water to your water bill. Going to a facility that recycles water is beneficial for the environment as well, not just for your budget.
9. Collect rainwater.
Installing rain barrels to collect rainwater is one of the most efficient ways to save water and implicitly money. You can use it to water your plants and your lawn, or to wash your car and your windows. A rain barrel can collect on average 1,300 gallons a year and that is a good amount to keep off your water bill.
10. Take less baths.
Data from the Environmental Protection Agency revealed that it takes 35 gallons of water to fill an average bathtub. Showers can get you clean faster and with greater economy. However, if you enjoy baths, just make sure to reduce the number of baths you take and your water bill will shrink drastically.
11. Check your toilet.
A toilet tank usually leaks silently and you may not even notice that yours has been leaking for years since all the water goes into the bowl. To make sure your toilet doesn’t leak, you can drop a dye tablet in the toilet tank and wait to see whether the dye seeps into the bowl. If your bowl water get colored, that you have a leak that needs fixing.
12. Don’t throw things in the toilet.
Even without a leak, toilets consume a lot of water so don’t flush things that can go in the trash can. Even better, you can invest in a low flow toilet that will pay for itself quickly with the money you save on the water bill. A low flow model uses only 1.6 gallons per flush while a traditional toilet uses 3.6 gallons.
13. Invest in efficient fixtures.
Things such as toilets, washing machines, dishwashers, showerheads or taps have newer versions that are greatly beneficial to water saving. You don’t have to invest a great sum of money at once, but whenever one of your home appliances needs to be replaced, check out for a water-efficient model that will save you a lot of money on the long-term. For example, a low-flow showerhead uses 2.5 gallons per minute (gpm) while older models use as much as 5.5 gpm.
14. Water your lawns and gardens early in the morning.
In the early morning hours, temperatures are cooler and the water evaporation process is slower, which means you will need less water to keep your plants and lawn healthy. Although watering in the evening is very effective as well, it makes plants vulnerable to fungus.
15. Use a bucket to save water in the shower.
Whenever you’re waiting for the shower water to heat up you can place a bucket under the faucet to save the cold water instead of letting it pour down the drain. You can use it later to flush the toilet or to water your plants.
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