In the hottest months of the year, a higher water bill is almost a guarantee. For most people, summer means frequent showers, washing clothes more often, and using more water on the plants and the lawn. While you may not be able to cut back on water-related activities, you can offset any increased use of water by learning how to save water at home.
How to Save Water at Home
Lower your utility bill by proactively cutting costs where you can. Read on for the best tips to help you save water at home.
1. Turn Off Your Faucets to Save Water
Save water by breaking the habit of unnecessarily running your faucets. Don’t let your tap run while washing dishes, shaving, or brushing your teeth. Faucets in the kitchen and the bathroom use around two gallons per minute, so leaving the faucet running results in gallons of wasted water.
In addition to shutting off faucets, check your kitchen and bathroom for leaks. A dripping faucet can waste more than 5 gallons each day and leaky toilets waste up to 200 gallons each day. Save water at home by keeping up with maintenance and repairs.
2. Use Every Drop of Water
To lower your utility bill and conserve water, learn how to use every drop. By repurposing water, you’ll get the most out of the water you’re using. For example, don’t let the water you use to rinse fruits and vegetables go to waste. Collect this runoff and use it for your plants.
The same can be done for any untainted water that would otherwise go down the drain. Use water from boiling pasta or vegetables in the garden once it’s cooled off. The water that runs while you wait for the shower to heat up can be used to fill the toilet tank.
3. Save Water While Washing Dishes
Instead of washing each dish by hand with the water running, save water at home by filling the sink and letting dishes soak. After draining, rinse all the dishes off at once. Similarly, if you have dual sinks, take advantage of both sinks by using one for soapy water and one for clean water. Wash in one sink and rinse in the other.
Using the dishwater is more efficient than washing the dishes by hand. If you have a dishwasher, only run it when you have a full load. Help your dishwasher out by scraping dishes clean before loading them in the machine.
4. Conserve With Low-Flow Toilets
Since toilets are responsible for about 30% of a home’s water consumption, upgrading your toilet can provide significant water savings. This is certainly the case if you have an older toilet that uses around six gallons per flush. Newer, low-flow toilets use between 1.28 to 1.6 gallons per flush, with dual-flush toilets using even less water.
If you’re interested in saving water at home, practice conserving anywhere you can and you’ll be able to offset any increased use of water over these hot summer months.
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