Frugal Friday #13: 25 Ways to Reduce Your Water Bill
June 29, 2007 by Karen Weideman
Filed under Top 25, energy saving, frugal friday, frugal living, money saving idea
A few weeks ago, I gave you some tips on saving money on your summer electric bill. There are more ways to save throughout the year that you might want to consider. Here are some ways to cut back on the expense of water usage.
1. Put an approved insulation jacket/blanket on your electric hot water heater.
2. Insulate hot water pipes.
3. Wash clothes in cold water, if possible. Always rinse clothes in cold water.
4. Clean and maintain hot water heater. Drain water from bottom of water heater to remove sediment, at least once a year. This one definitely needs to be done at my house.
5. Take showers instead of baths.
6. Make sure your shower head is one that is designed to reduce water usage.
7. Try not to stay in the shower more than 5 minutes.
8. Fix leaky faucets.
9. Use your dishwasher.
10. Shut off faucet when shaving, brushing your teeth, and doing dishes.
11. Only use washing machine and dishwasher when you have a full load.
12. Adjust washing machine water levels to match your load.
13. Use cold water in the garbage disposal.
14. Check water efficiency ratings before buying new appliances. Some washing machines use a few gallons less per load.
15. Avoid using sprinklers and water soakers to water your grass. Instead, collect rain water in buckets. You may even want to invest in a rain barrel. These can also be attached to your gutters to help collect the most water. We considered purchasing one of these a few years ago because of water restrictions.
16. Check toilets for leaks. The inside plumbing for a toilet is only a few dollars. A few years ago, our water bill kept rising every month. The water dept suggested that we put a packet of unsweetened Kool-Aid in the tank to see if it drained into the bowl. The color immediately drained into the bowl and we got our toilet fixed, which saved us a lot of money.
17. Chill water in refrigerator, rather than running faucet for water to cool down before filling a glass.
18. Consider getting an on-demand hot water heater.
19. If you have a gas hot water heater, make sure your pilot light is adjusted and working properly. Make sure your flu pipe is clear with no bird or insect nests inside.
20. To reduce water usage from your toilet, fill a small water bottle with sand or water and place inside the tank. Do not use a brick because the brick can dissolve and cause future problems.
21. Reduce your water heater temperature to 120 degrees. If your dishwasher does not have a booster heater, you may need to set it higher.
22. Install aerators on your faucets, which will reduce the flow of water.
23. Cover swimming pools when not in use to help keep the water from evaporating.
24. Avoid using the toilet as a trashcan. Throw away cotton swabs, tissues, and other items rather than flushing them.
25. If you need to water your plants, try to water them in the early morning or evening. Watering them during the heat of the day will cause the water to evaporate quickly.
Ok, I’ve racked my brain for too long. Do you have any tips to share?
Picture from sirrusshowers.com.
I have to watch my water anyway because I literally run out if I am not careful. The only thing I wash in anything but cold is towels.
Yes, we know about your water. It always seems to run out just for us. lol
Don’t use your garbage disposal – hot or cold it uses too much water.
Rather than prerinsing dishes for dishwasher, use your rubber spatula to scrap them off, using newspaper or other waste paper to catch dregs, then throw away.
Save water from spaghetti, veggies, etc to water your plants.
Only make enough coffee to consume – if leftover, reheat in pan, refrigerate for later use or now that’s summer, iced coffee.
Do what we lovingly call the ‘Canadian’ car wash – park your car where it will get benefit of the rain. If there’s no lightening, you can go out and soap it off and let the rain rinse it. Kids especially love this hint.
I live in SW Florida and my county is the dryest in the area so water conservation is absolutely necessary.
I love the fact that these tips don’t just save money, but our earth’s most precious resource: water.
Just building on your taking shower idea for saving water. Try taking Navy Showers http://www.curbly.com/DIY-Maven/posts/2029-How-to-take-a-Navy-Shower
“According to Wikipedia, a standard 10 minute shower uses 60 gallons (230 liters) of water, whereas a Navy shower uses 3 gallons (11 liters) of water. ” Sounds like good savings to me.
This may sound gross to some, but during the day when it’s just me and my daughter at home, I don’t flush every time I pee! I go a lot, and flush after every couple times. Each flush uses quite a bit of water, can’t remember the exact amount.
Great tips Karen. Funny I was just blogging about some of the ways my Dad conserves water. He actually puts a five gallon bucket in the shower and when it gets filled he uses the water in his garden to water the veggies. He also does not turn the water on until he gets in the shower!! Yikes!
LOL here is one like PP.. If its yellow let it mellow, if its brown flush it down.. That was my moms old tale.. Using rain barrels sounds good, but can you use them for gardens??? Veggies?? My only concern there is the tar on the shingles getting into the water, and contaimnating the veggies and fruits?
lol Tara. My aunt lived in CA for a while and she said they had that rule there. I’ve been trying to follow it some this week.
I don’t see why you couldn’t use rain water for gardens. The rain washes any sediment off the roof anyway and onto the ground. I wouldn’t drink it but I’m sure it would be good for many other uses.