12 Ways To Save On Your Water Bill
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Knowing ways to save on your water bill can be helpful in many ways, including helping you save money in your budget.
It can help you reduce the demand for water on the earth. And it can be a great example to people in your circle of how to do the same.
Check out these ideas for saving money on your water bill and see how much of an impact you can make on your wallet and the earth.
How to Save Money on Your Water Bill
Saving money on your water bill is just one way to reduce household expenses. It might take some time to get used to using the tips below to save money on your water bill. However, the differences can add up.
According to the EPA, the average American family uses 320 gallons of water a day. If you’re an average family and can cut your water use by just 10% a day, you can save over 11,600 gallons of water each year.
Give yourself 30 days to make these ideas into habits that can last a lifetime and see how much water–and money–you can save..
1. Wash Clothes Less Often
Most people and families can get at least two uses–and often more–out of the clothes they wear before they wash them.
This is especially true for adults with office jobs and older children. And it’s true when you’re spending the day at home binge watching your favorite television show as well.
Try to wash your clothes less often, working hard to keep them cleaner as you wear them.
Another tip: use the towels from your baths and showers a few times before throwing them in the washing machine. After all, you’re using the towels to dry off a freshly cleaned body; how dirty can they get?
2. Use the Appropriate Water Level on Your Washing Machine
Using the appropriate water level setting on your washing machine can be a great way to save on your water bill.
This is especially true if you often wash smaller loads. Most washing machines have several water level settings.
And newer washing machines often have an auto-sensing feature for water levels. You might want to look for that feature if you’re shopping for a new washing machine.
3. Use a Low-Flow Shower Head
Low-flow shower heads can be a terrific way to save money on your water bill. The EPA tells us that depending on the model you buy, a low-flow shower head can save up to 4 gallons of water for every shower.
Multiply that times the number of showers taken per week and the number of people in your home, and it can really add up.
For instance, if you have five people in your home and each one takes five showers per week, you’ll use 5,200 fewer gallons of water on showers alone each year.
4. Take Shorter Showers
Taking shorter showers is another way to save on your water bill. The average shower can use as much as 2.5 gallons of water per minute.
And the average shower takes roughly eight minutes. If you can cut three minutes off of your daily shower, you’ll be saving over 2,800 gallons of water each year.
5. Don’t Fill the Tub Up So High
Do you prefer baths instead of showers? If so, save money on your water bill by not filling the tub up so high.
Six to eight inches of water in the tub will do the job for most adults, and kids need even less than that to take a bath.
Do you love soaking in the tub? Save those deep-fill soaking baths for special occasions.
6. Use a Low-Flow Toilet
Is your home’s toilet an older model? The EPA tells us that toilets are by far the main source of water usage in homes.
Toilets account for as much as 30% of water use. Older toilet models use as much as six gallons per flush. In contrast, low-flow toilets use as little as 1.28 gallons per flush.
Replace your older model toilet with an EPA-labeled WaterSense model and reduce your current toilet’s water usage by 60% or more.
7. Only Run Your Dishwasher When It’s Full
It’s tempting to run the dishwasher when it’s half or three-quarters full. However, doing so means you’re running it 25%-50% more often than you need to.
Make a commitment to only run your dishwasher when it’s full–even if that means doing a dish or two by hand once in a while.
Pro tip: Stack the dishes in your dishwasher efficiently so you can fit the most dishes in, getting an even bigger bang for your buck.
8. Use Your Washer’s Eco Setting
Many of today’s newer washing machines come complete with an eco-friendly setting. Eco settings on washing machines use less water.
Some washing machine models fill the machines up to completely cover the clothing and let it wash in standing water,
Conversely, eco settings do the same wash job while using just enough water to ensure the clothing is fully wet.
Eco settings can save up to 50% or more on water usage when you wash your clothes.
9. Use Dishes Efficiently
Using dishes efficiently is another way to save on your water bill. You’ve already committed to only running your dishwasher when it’s full.
Now it’s time to use dishes more efficiently, reducing the number of times you need to run your dishwasher each week.
Making simple changes, such as using and reusing one glass of water every day, is a start. Scraping your dishes fully off into the trash means you’ll need less water when you rinse them.
Look for other ways to use your dishes more efficiently and minimize the number of dishes you’re putting in the dishwasher.
10. Water Your Lawn More Efficiently
There are a couple of ways you can save money on water by watering your lawn more efficiently.
First, be careful about using automatic waterer timers. While convenient, these timers can promote a “set it and forget it” mentality that leads to watering your lawn even when it’s not needed.
Instead of using a timer for your sprinkler system, only water your lawn when it needs it.
Second, work to water your lawn and your garden in the late evening or in the early morning. Watering when the sun isn’t blaring down means more water will be soaked up by your grass and your plants.
When you water during the middle of a sunny day, much of the water evaporates from the heat of the sun.
11. Use a Rain Barrel
Using a rain barrel can be a great way to save money on your water bill and help the environment. Rain barrels provide an effortless way to collect water nature’s way.
Set the rain barrel in a place where it has full access to the open sky. As the barrel fills up with rain water, use the water to water your gardens, plants and trees during dry spells.
Don’t have a rain barrel? It’s fine to collect your rainwater using a random bucket you’ve already got lying around the house.
12. Repair Leaky Faucets ASAP
Leaky faucets might seem like a minor inconvenience. However, each leaky faucet in your home could be wasting up to a gallon of water per day or more.
If you have more than one leaky faucet in your home, the amount of water and money you’re losing is even higher.
Fixing leaky faucets is a task that even home improvement challenged peeps like myself can learn to tackle. Take an hour or so one day to fix the leaky faucets in your home.
BONUS OPTION
You can never have too many ways to save. Here’s an extra one we thought you would like:
Search for “Hidden” Water
And finally, search for “hidden” sources of water to reduce the amount of water you use from faucets.
For example, use the water from your dehumidifier or the water that runs when your shower is warming up (catch it in a bucket) to water your plants.
You can also use water from your kitchen sink when warming it up or when rinsing veggies to water your plants, garden or your flowers.
Clean water used while warming up sink or shower water can be used to fill your pet’s water bowl as well.
Learn to observe where water is wasted, and then find ways to use it instead of letting it simply go down the drain.
Summary
There are so many ways to use water more efficiently, which saves you money on your water bill and gives a helping hand to the environment.
Implement the tips above and other tips to help reduce your household budget, use water more efficiently, and do good things for the planet at the same time.
Excited about these new ideas to save on water? Next, let’s tackle your grocery bill by reading some great tips on how to save on groceries.
What will you do with all of the money you’re saving?