Knowing ways to save money on your water bill helps in many ways. It can help you save on your budget.
It can help you reduce the demand for water on the planet. It can be a great example of how people in your circle are doing the same thing.
Check out these ways to save money on your water bill and see how much of an impact you can make on your wallet and the planet.
How to save money on your water bill
Saving money on your water bill is just one way to reduce your household expenses. It may take you some time to get used to using the suggestions below to save money on your water bill. However, the differences can add up.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the average American household uses 320 gallons of water per day. If you are an average household that can reduce your water usage by 10% per day, you could save over 11,600 gallons of water per year.
Give yourself 30 days to turn these ideas into habits that can last a lifetime and see how much water and money you can save.
- Do less laundry
Most people and families could use at least two loads of laundry before they do it, if not more.
This is especially true for adults who work in offices and older children. This is also true when you stay home all day and binge watch your favorite TV show.
Try to wash your clothes as little as possible in an effort to keep them clean as you wear them.
Another tip:Use your bath and shower towels a couple times before throwing them in the washing machine. After all, you are towel drying your freshly washed body; how dirty can they get?
- Use the right water level on your washing machine
Setting the right water level on your washing machine is a great way to save money on your water bill.
This is especially true if you frequently wash smaller loads. Most washing machines have several options for water level settings.
Newer washing machines usually have automatic water level sensing. If you’re getting a new washing machine, you may want to look into this feature.
- Use a low-flow shower head
Low-flow showerheads are a great way to save money on your water bill. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency tells us that depending on the model you buy, a low-flow shower head can save up to 4 gallons of water per shower.
Multiply that number by the number of showers you take per week and the number of people in your home, and the results are really impressive.
For example, if you have five people in your home and each person takes five showers per week, you’re using 5,200 gallons of water less per year.
- Take shorter showers
Shorter showers are another way to save money on your water bill. The average shower can use as much as 2.5 gallons of water per minute.
The average shower lasts about eight minutes. If you can reduce your shower time by three minutes a day, you’ll save 2,800 gallons of water a year.
- Don’t fill your bathtub so high.
Do you prefer to soak in a bath rather than shower? If so, then don’t fill it so high to save money on your water bill.
For most adults, 6 to 8 inches of water in the bathtub is enough, and kids need even less for a bath.
Do you like to soak in the tub? Save those deep soaking tubs for special occasions.
- Use low-flow toilets
Do you have an old-fashioned toilet in your house? The EPA tells us that toilets are by far the main source of household water use.
Toilets account for as much as 30% of water usage. Older toilets use up to 6 gallons of water per flush. In comparison, low-flow toilets use only 1.28 gallons per flush.
Replace older models with EPA (epa)-labeled WaterSense models to reduce water use in existing toilets by 60% or more.
- Run the dishwasher only when it’s full
It’s easy to turn on your dishwasher when it’s only half or three-quarters full. However, doing so means you’re running it 25%-50% more often than you need to.
Commit to only turning on the dishwasher when it’s full – even if that means occasionally washing a dish or two by hand.
PRO TIP:Stack your dishes efficiently in the dishwasher so you can put more dishes in and get more bang for your buck.
- Use the eco setting on your washing machine
Many of today’s newer washing machines come with eco settings. Eco settings on washing machines use less water.
Some models fill the washer to the brim, completely covering the clothes and then letting it wash in still water.
Instead, the eco setting does the same wash while using enough water to make sure the clothes are completely wet.
The eco setting can save 50 percent or more of the water used when you wash your clothes.
- Efficient use of dishes
Using dishes efficiently is another way to save money on your water bill. You’ve already committed to only running the dishwasher when it’s full.
Now it’s time to use your dishes more efficiently and reduce the number of times you need to run the dishwasher each week.
Making simple changes like using and reusing a glass of water every day is a start. Scraping all of your plates and throwing them in the trash means you need less water when rinsing them.
Look for other ways to use plates more efficiently and minimize the number of plates that go into the dishwasher.
- Water your lawn more efficiently
There are several ways to save water by watering your lawn more efficiently.
First, be careful about using automatic timers. While convenient, these timers promote a “set it and forget it” mentality that leads to watering the lawn even when it’s not needed.
Don’t set a timer on your sprinkler system and only water your lawn when needed.
Second, water your lawn and garden in the evening or early morning. Watering when the sun isn’t shining means more water will be absorbed by your grass and plants.
When you water on a sunny day, most of the water will evaporate from the sun’s heat.
- Use a rain barrel
Using a rain barrel saves you money on your water bill and protects the environment. Rain barrels provide an effortless and natural way to collect water.
Place the rain barrel in a place where it has full access to the open sky. When the barrel is filled with rainwater, use that water to water your garden, plants and trees during the dry season.
Don’t have a rain barrel? You can just find a bucket that sits around the house to collect rainwater.
- Fix leaky faucets as soon as possible
A leaky faucet may seem like a minor inconvenience. However, each leaky faucet in your home can waste as much as a gallon of water a day, if not more.
If you have more than one leaky faucet in your home, you’re losing even more water and money.
Fixing a leaky faucet is a task that even a home improvement challenged person like me can learn to tackle. Spend an hour or so a day fixing leaky faucets in your home.
Finding the “Hidden” Water
Finally, find “hidden” sources of water to reduce the amount of water used from your faucets.
For example, use water from a dehumidifier or from a warm shower (put it in a bucket) to water your plants.
You can also use water from the kitchen sink to heat or rinse vegetables and water your plants, garden, or flowers.
The clean or shower water used when heating the sink can also be used to fill your pet’s water bowl.
Learn to look at where water is being wasted and then find ways to utilize it instead of letting it simply run off.
To summarize
There are many ways to utilize water more efficiently, saving you money on your water bill and helping the environment.
Implement the suggestions above and others to help reduce your household budget and use water more efficiently while doing something good for the planet.
Excited about these new ideas for saving water? Next, let’s tackle your grocery bill by reading some great tips on how to save money on groceries.
