5 Hacks to Lower your Water Bill
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Everybody likes to save money on utilities, and believe it or not, you’re probably paying WAY too much for your water bill. Plus, water is quickly becoming a scarce resource due to the effects of climate change.
By just changing up a few parts of your daily routine, you could save tons of cash while also making the world a better place. Or you could even go as far as replacing some of those water guzzlers in your home.
Either way, here are five ways to reduce your likely increasing water bill!
1. Fix Leaks & Drips
Even if your faucet only drips once per minute, that’s 1,440 times per day. Woah! That’s a lot of water wasted. Take some time to walk around your home and check all of your sinks for the occasional drip.
Even if you find a leaky faucet, the good news is that you might not even need to replace it. Try to tighten the faucet to eliminate leakage; you can usually accomplish this task with tools you already have around the house. No plumber needed!
2. Reuse, Reduce, Recycle!
There are so many ways to unknowingly pour money down the drain! And these common practices aren’t just harmful to your wallet, they’re also harmful to the environment. Here are several ways you can reuse, reduce, and recycle:
- Take shorter showers or replace your shower head with an eco-friendly faucet
- Turn the water off while brushing your teeth instead of leaving it running
- Only run a load in your washer or dishwasher when it’s completely full
- Use gutter downspout diverter to store water for things like washing your car or watering the plants
- Reuse vegetable and pasta steaming water for stock or soup
- Don’t use more water than necessary when you boil water for tea or pasta
- Don’t wash your car more often than necessary
- Save your empty soda bottles to fill with sand or rocks and place in your toilet’s tank to reduce water needed for refilling after each flush
- Skip the extra rinse setting when washing clothes
- Store cold water in the refrigerator instead of letting the sink run
3. Adjust Your Irrigation
Outdoor residential irrigation systems are a huge culprit of water waste. You can take a few easy steps to help reduce waste outside your home all year round:
- Upgrade to smart irrigation controllers which allow for timed usage, automatic adjustments based on weather patterns, and targeted water zones
- Ensure your sprinklers are hitting foliage and not your car, driveway, or surrounding sidewalks
- Use drip irrigation or low-flow sprinkler heads
- Water your lawn and plants before sunrise or after sunset to reduce evaporation
- Cover your pool when you’re not using it, especially during the day, to reduce evaporation
4. Upgrade Your Appliances
Unfortunately, appliances like your washing machine and dishwasher are known for their water guzzling capabilities! Luckily, modern appliances, particularly WaterSense and Energy Star models, require less water and energy for the same job.
Additionally, top-loading washers use much more water than their front-loading counterparts. So, next time you’re in the market for a new washing machine, opt for an energy-saving model or a front-loading model at the very least!
If you wash dishes by hand, you can save water by filling the sink up first instead of running the water the entire time you wash.
5. Replace Your Faucets
You can always save water by turning the faucet off when it isn’t in use; however, you can also save water by investing in more efficient faucets! Some brands offer faucets that reduce the amount of water flow needed to produce the same amount of pressure.
Another way to upgrade your faucets is by installing an aerator. An aerator is the little metal piece that sits inside your faucet to push air into the water flow to reduce volume. These effective hacks only cost around $10.
Overall, your water bill can be a huge portion of your home’s utility bills if you aren’t practicing some of these quick and easy life hacks.
Take some time to reflect on your personal habits surrounding water usage, and maybe even go the extra step to replace a few water guzzlers in your home. Your wallet will thank you. And even if you aren’t strapped for cash, the environment will surely benefit tremendously from your efforts.
