Easy Ways to Save Water at Home
We use a lot of water every day and get a reminder of exactly how much when the monthly water bill arrives. If you’re interested in conserving water and lowering your utility bill, here are a few simple ways to save water at home without making drastic changes to your lifestyle.
Low-Flow Appliances Save Water at Home
In the past, appliances and plumbing weren’t built with water conservation in mind. Improved performance usually meant pumping more water through fixtures like showerheads, dishwashers, and washing machines.
Thanks to technology, now we can have superior performance while still using less water than older appliances and fixtures. Low-flow showerheads, high-efficiency washers, and other advances help families save water at home without sacrificing effectiveness. By replacing appliances, faucets, and showerheads with newer versions, you can cut your water usage and lower the utility bills.
Water Displacement
Toilets use a lot of water in a busy household. Older fixtures used as much as 5 – 7 gallons per flush. You can install new, lower-flow toilets or prevent water waste by displacing water in the tank.
Fill a plastic bottle with sand and place it inside the toilet tank. Make sure you set it away from the lever, chain, valve, and other moving parts. The jug will take up some of the space that is normally filled by incoming water. This requires less water to fill the tank and saves one bottle’s worth of water at every flush.
Using Rainwater for Irrigation
Watering your landscape and garden beds with rainwater just makes sense. Since rainwater is free, why not stockpile that for future use? Connecting your guttering downspout to a rain barrel is a simple, inexpensive way to collect water to use in your garden. Depending on the layout of your home, you may even be able to place the barrel somewhere that allows gravity to supply water through a hose, with no buckets required.
Find and Repair Leaks to Save Water at Home
If you want to save water without changing anything in your daily routine, find and eliminate leaks. Water that leaks from a pipe beneath your sink, from a running toilet, or even a dripping tap, is costly, wasteful, and can contribute to mold growth.
To check for leaks, choose a day when no one is home. Get the reading on your water meter on a morning when everyone leaves the house. Ask the first person to return home to check the meter and take a reading to see if any water has been used during those hours. If so, it’s time to look for leaks.
Check toilets, faucets, and pipes to see where the waste is happening. Repair plumbing problems to save water and enjoy a lower utility bill. If hot water is leaking from a faucet, making repairs will also lower your electric or gas bill by reducing the demands on your water heater.
Everybody needs water, but it’s important to conserve it. Try these simple tricks to save water at home.
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