Becoming energy-efficient and saving money on bills is usually directed towards home amenities like electricity and HVAC systems. Often overlooked, a home’s water usage is an area in which homeowners can save money and the environment through more efficient consumption and maintenance.
On average, each person in the United States consumes 80-100 gallons of water a day. This includes each time you flush the toilet, wash your hands, take showers, drink water, wash dishes and laundry, and more. The average family wastes about $380 in water annually due to old appliances. Although that may not seem like a lot of money, it does add up. Reducing your water usage isn’t just about the money, though. It’s also about helping the environment and making your home more energy-efficient.
Simple changes like shutting off the water when not in use, testing appliances for leaks, and replacing appliances with Energy-Star Rated ones will help you have a healthier home and happier wallet. If you’re ready to create an energy-efficient home and help the environment, check out these tips to see how you can save on your water bill and create a healthy, energy-efficient home through smarter water consumption!
Use Less Water
Obviously, “use less water” isn’t as easy as it sounds. You may already feel like you don’t use that much, to begin with. To get started, begin by turning your faucet off during certain tasks. When you’re brushing your teeth or washing your hands, turn it off while you’re waiting to use it again. If you’re washing dishes by hand, turn the water off when you’re not in the process of rinsing the dishes or filling up the sink. Most standard or older faucets use 1 GPM (gallons per minute). This could save 2 gallons when you brush your teeth, 2 when you wash your hands, and maybe 20 to 30 when washing dishes! These simple steps are easy ways to begin making changes.
Other tasks that you could use less water on are washing laundry, dishes, or working in the yard. When you’re washing laundry, wait until you have a full load before you start. Standard washing machines use about 40 gallons of water per load. If you’re doing multiple half-loads instead of waiting to do one full load, this will save lots of water. If you are using a dishwasher instead of washing by hand, your washer may use upward of 16 gallons per load. The average garden hose uses 2 GPM. Although it doesn’t sound like a lot, after 20 minutes of watering your lawn and garden you are up to 40 gallons of water! By using a sprinkler system, you can control the water usage more efficiently than by hose. If that’s not plausible, opt for using an energy-efficient garden hose attachment. You can also add an automatic shut off to the hose which saves about 5 gallons.
Test Appliances for Leaks
With normal wear-and-tear, appliances may begin to leak. Some of those leaks you can see, such as water dripping out of the turned-off faucet. Others, like a running toilet or a leak in the pipes, can go unnoticed for a long time.
It’s a good idea to regularly check your appliances, such as toilets, faucets, dishwashers, and washing machines, for leaks. These leaks can not only add up your water bill but could cause greater damage to your home if left undetected.
There are a few DIY tricks that can help you find those small leaks. For example, add a few drops of food coloring to the tank on your toilet. After about 20 or 30 minutes, if you begin to see the food coloring in the water in the toilet bowl, then you have a leak. You then need to clean any build-up or replace the flapper. Occasionally, the water level is not set correctly for the overflow pipe and that should be adjusted instead to prevent constant running. For faucets, leave a bowl underneath the pipe under the cabinet. If the bowl is full of water when you are done using the sink, you have a leak and potential for damage to the cabinet and any flooring and boards underneath. Also, there is potential for damage to the ceiling and carpet or flooring below if the sink is located above another level of the home
Regular plumbing maintenance can help detect and deter these types of issues. We offer various tiers of maintenance plans to help suit your lifestyle and budget. That way, your home can stay leak and damage free!
Switch Appliances
As your appliances begin to wear out, switch them for a more sustainable option. Appliances labeled as WaterSense or Energy Star Rated mean they will use less water and use the water more efficiently. WaterSense labeled products means that “these appliances meet the EPA’s specifications for water efficiency and performance, and are backed by independent, third-party certification.” Being backed by these independent parties proves that the label is true to the product claims and that they are really the most efficient models on the market.
Products adhering the WaterSense label must attest to these specific standards:
- Perform as well or better than their less-efficient counterparts
- Are 20% more water-efficient than average products in that category
- Realize water savings on a national level
- Provide measurable water-savings results
- Achieve water efficiency through several technology options
These standards help prove that specific brands of water heaters, showerheads, toilets, dishwasher, washing machines, and more are truly water-saving and not just slapping the label on the packaging to increase sales. The Environmental Protection Agency even has a generator you can use to help determine specific brands and models that are WaterSense certified so you can easily find the appliance you need.
Although we don’t install all appliances, we are more than happy to install a new energy-efficient tankless water heater, water-saving toilets, faucets, showerheads, and other simple fixtures!
Installing these products can help you reduce your water waste and save money. By installing a WaterSense washing machine, you can reduce your water usage from 40 gallons to 25 gallons per load. A new EPA approved dishwasher can save up to 10 gallons of water. An Energy Star Rated showerhead saves about 2 gallons of water. A tankless water heater provides instant hot water versus having to wait for the water to get hot for a minute, saving about 2.1 gallons. Anew toilet can go from 3 gallons used per flush down to 1.6 gallons. Think of all the savings! If you flush the toilet 16 times a day, have a family of four that showers once a day, wash one load of laundry and two loads of dishes, that’s an average of 74 gallons of water saved in a single day!
Reducing water usage doesn’t have to be a major lifestyle change. It can be simple tasks like shutting off the faucet or washing larger loads of laundry. If you’re interested in changing your plumbing fixtures, call us today to find out more. We can’t wait for your home and wallet to be happy and healthy.
Sources:
https://www.epa.gov/watersense/statistics-and-facts
https://water.usgs.gov/edu/qa-home-percapita.html
https://www.epa.gov/watersense/watersense-label
https://www.epa.gov/watersense/product-search
