7 Ways To Save Money On Your Water Bill
Owning a home can be very expensive. From property taxes, mortgages, repairs, energy costs, and water bills. Nowadays, everyone wants to find the best way to lower their monthly bills. There are many ways. To lower your monthly bills, including being aware of your water consumption and taking the right steps to reduce it. Did you ever get your water bill and wonder why it went from $100 to $200? Is there a price increase, did I not pay the full bill, did the kids leave the hose running all day?The average American uses 82 gallons of water daily, costing the average family $1,100 yearly, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports. The average family wastes 180 gallons of water per week, according to the EPA, there is a lot of opportunity to save. Water is a necessity in our everyday life and even though it comes at a cost, there are ways to lower that water bill and use it efficiently. Did you know that upgrading your plumbing systems can help conserve water? By installingmore efficient plumbing fixtures, like shower heads and toilets, with low flow rates, you can save a lot of water in your home.Also, plumbing upgrades can improve your homes water pressure.
Below are some ways to help you start saving water today and take a load off your checkbook.
1. Leaky pipes
One of the major reasons our water bills increase is not knowing you have a leaky pipe. Household leaks can waste up to 10,000 gallons per home annually. Check for leaky faucets, toilets and hose connections regularly. To test a toilet for leaks, put a few drops of food coloring in the tank and wait about 10 minutes without flushing. Any color appearing in the toilet bowl indicates a leak. Repairing leaks can be as simple as changing a washer or replacing a worn toilet valve seal. Detecting plumbing leaks elsewhere can be a bit more complicated. Check your water meter, write down the numbers on the meter, then go a couple of hours without using water and recheck those numbers. If there is a change in the numbers, there is likely to be a leak somewhere. A professional plumber can help you find and fix the leak issue. Fixing your plumbing is one of the best ways to lower your water bill.
2. Change your shower habits.
If you take showers instead of baths, you are already saving money. A bath can use up to 70 gallons of water, while a five-minute shower uses ten to twenty-five gallons. Experts estimate that an average American shower has a water flow rate of 2.1 gallons per minute. If you reduce the time spent in the shower, you will reduce your water consumption and water bill. Shower heads have improved in recent years. Consumer Reports lab tests have found that the modern-daywater-saving shower head is no longer identified with a crummy shower. Keep in mind a shower-heads performance will also depend on the plumbing and water pressure in your home. If you deal with not-so-great water pressure, talk to you plumber about installing a pressure booster. This is installed on your main water line and will boost the flow of water to every fixture in your home.
3. Consider using low-flow appliances.
A lower water bill starts with newer, more efficient appliances. Look for the WaterSense and Energy Star seals on that new washer. Pay close attention to the yellow label which will tell you the machine runs on 35% to 50% lesswater and 50% less energy per load. A front-loading washer uses a lot less water than a top-loading machine. These WaterSense and Energy Star labels can be found on all your appliance needs.
4. Invest in new faucets.
We already know that shutting off the water while brushing your teeth saves water, but did you also know you can conserve while the water is running? Install an aerator or a WaterSense- certified faucet. They will reduce the flow without compromising performance and are 30% more efficient than standard faucets.
5. Load it up!
Fully load that dishwasher before running it. Scrape dishes into your trash can instead of rinsing them; dishwashers are designed to handle dirty dishes but not food particles. Running a fully loaded dishwasher is more water-efficient than washing by hand. If you are like me and still do dishes the old-fashioned way, by hand, fill one side of the sink with hot soapy water to wash and the other with cold water to rinse instead of running the faucet. Replace your old dishwasher. The Energy Star dishwashers are about 15% more water-efficient than standard models and are quieter too.
6. Replace old toilets/shower heads.
Older toilets can use as much as 6 gallons of water per flush. New WaterSense toilets use about 1.28 gallons or less. You can reduce your water usage by about 20% per toilet by replacing the old. Older shower heads can use up to 2.5 gallons of water per minute. WaterSense shower heads use no more than 2 gallons of water per minute. Although only a half a gallon difference, it can really add up.
7. Teach your children creative ways to save water.
In the summer months, our children tend to use a lot of water. They enjoy playing in the sprinklers and with the hoses. It is important to teach your children how wasting water can negatively impact the environment and the community. Simple water saving practices include taking shorter showers and turning off the faucet while brushing their teeth. You can also involve them in finding creative ways to save water like collecting rainwater for the garden, using a bucket instead of the hose for water play. By teaching your children to save water, you can instill a sense of responsibility as they explore the many different ways to save water.
There are many ways to conserve water that are very easy to adapt to, like monitoring the way your kids use outdoor faucets and hoses while playing outside. Changing your old water wasting appliances, shortening your showers, reusing water to take care of that garden. No matter what you do to conserve water and keep your water bill down, the best way to save water is to have an expert plumber inspect your plumbing system regularly. Rootbusters Plumbing is here to help you save $$ on your water bill. Give us a call today at 844-247-7668.