Simple Ways to Cut Costs and Lower Your Water Bills

If you have a typical American household, you’re using about 100 gallons of water per day. When you’re paying for every gallon, all that consumption translates into excessively high water bills. To lower your water bills and conserve a finite resource, try these simple solutions to reduce needless water waste.

Eliminate Plumbing Leaks

Running toilets, dripping faucets and leaking water pipes account for thousands of wasted gallons of water each year. To stop all that waste, have an experienced professional inspect the plumbing system and fixtures for leaks or do a periodic check yourself. When you identify trouble spots, get them fixed right away.

Control Kitchen and Laundry Water Use

If you routinely use a garbage disposal, start composting food waste instead and you’ll save four gallons for each minute the disposal doesn’t run. Set your dishwasher on its most frugal water setting and only run it when it’s completely full. Stop rinsing the dishes first and you’ll save another 20 gallons for every load. When doing laundry, always adjust the water setting on the clothes washer. Avoid running small loads too, since they use twice as much water per pound of dirty laundry as full loads.

Make Bathroom Water Conservation a Habit

Don’t let the water run while you’re brushing teeth or shaving and you’ll save a gallon every 30 seconds. Every time you take a shower instead of a bath, you can save another 10 to 15 gallons of water. To avoid wasting “warm up” flow that usually goes down the drain, catch it in a bucket and use it to water houseplants.

Implement Water-Conscious Upgrades

Consider updating your home’s plumbing fixtures, showerheads and faucets with WaterSense-certified versions that can slash water consumption by about 20 percent. If that’s not feasible, install aerators on your existing showerheads and faucets to curb water flow by two gallons per minute. When the time arrives to replace the water heater, clothes washer or dishwasher, pick the most efficient models available.

For more tips to help lower your water bills, contact the Northeast Ohio home comfort pros at Stack Heating, Cooling, Plumbing and Electric.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Cleveland, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about water bills and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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