Using water more efficiently in your home can save a considerable amount of money on your monthly water bill, as well as ensure that you are wasting as little of this precious finite resource as possible. Follow these simple steps to begin conserving your water usage:
1. Inspect all faucets and toilets in the house to make sure that none are leaking. If you do find a toilet or faucet that is leaking water, either fix it yourself, or have them repaired by a plumber.
2. Change out all shower heads and replace them with low-flow shower heads. Regular shower heads allow a water flow of 3 gallons per minute, while some low-flow shower heads allow a water flow of just 0.5 gallons per minute. Since in a typical household, showers account for 20-30% of water usage, water usage can be dramatically reduced by changing from standard shower heads to low-flow shower heads.
3. Install inline shut-off valves to reduce water flow while shampooing or soaping. These are shut-off valves that are next to the shower head that allow a water conscious person to tighten the valve and reduce the flow of water during various times during their shower. Of course, for the very water conscious person, you could also wet yourself down and turn the water completely off while you are lathering your hair or body, and turn the water back on to rinse off.
4. While you are waiting for the water to get hot, you can collect the cool water in buckets and use it later for cooking or gardening.
5. Insulate hot water pipes in the home. This will keep the water that is left sitting in the pipes from getting as cold, thereby reducing the amount of water that has to run before getting hot water.
6. Turn the water off while you are shaving or brushing your teeth.
7. Wash dishes in a sink or plastic basin full of hot water, rather than washing each individual dish under running water.
8. Do not run the washing machine or dishwasher until you have a full load, and select the shortest cycles.
9. Take shorter showers. Most people love to take a long shower from time to time. However, the longer you allow the water to run in the shower, the more water you use (even if you have installed low-flow shower heads).
10. Don’t fill the bath tub with hot water and wait for it to cool before getting in. Fill the tub with the temperature water that you want from the beginning.
11. Clean the garage and driveway by sweeping them off with a broom, rather than hosing them down.
Even adopting just a couple of these recommendations could save you some considerable money on your monthly water bill; adopting all of them could help you to save even more. It is wise to use only what is needed of our remaining natural resources to guarantee that we have plenty of water for many years to come.
