How to Conserve Water & Lower Your Bill

Ways to Conserve Water at NO COST to you:​

• Turn it off - when you are brushing your teeth there is NO need to keep the water running.  The same holds true if you are cleaning in the kitchen or anywhere else.   

• Don't turn it on all the way - If you're only getting the toothbrush wet, you don't need to open the faucet full force.  Only opening the valve part way will decrease the amount of water that comes out.

• Don't water your lawn -  the grass will not die if you don't water it.  It goes into a dormant state and will come back in the fall.  Unfortunately, your neighbors might not be so happy with you, so maybe it's better to not have a lawn at all!  Grow native plants that do not need a lot of water and skip the grass if at all possible.

• Water in the mornings - water plants in the morning, before the Sun is strong enough to evaporate the water too quickly (And burn the sensitive plant parts in the process!).

• Take Shorter Showers - Since I refuse to turn off the water and freeze during my shower, I compromise by taking a shorter shower which of course uses less water as well.  Check out this pdf from the EPA about shower and the "drops to watts" connection: http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense/docs/ws_waterenergy508.pdf

• Displace Water in Your Toilet Tank - depending upon the size of the tank, you can use different items to do this.  In our upstairs bath we have an old bottle filled with water, and in the downstairs bath we have bricks.  They are different because the position of the free space in the tank was different.  However, both of them now use a lot less water to flush.  Note: if you do this and find that the toilet is not flushing your waste, then you are displacing too much water and need to decrease it.  Of course there are fancy things you can buy at the store to help you do this, but we figured why waste more money?

• Full loads only - When you do laundry or run the dishwasher, make sure it is FULL.  Running them for a small load is a total waste of water.  Unless you have a setting that specifically decreases the amount of water used, wait until it is full, but note that every load generally uses the same amount of electricity, so only running full loads will save on both your water and your electric bill.

• Drinking Water - like it cold?  Then keep some refrigerated.  It's a waste to run faucet and wait for it to get cold every time you want a cool glass of water. *But note that if you have any pipes with lead you MUST run the water for up to 2 minutes depending upon when it was last used if you are using it for drinking or cooking. Check out this flyer from the United States Environmental Protection Agency titled Lead in Your Drinking Water (https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi?Dockey=20001R4V.txt​).

Ways to Conserve Water at a Minimal Cost (but are worth it!):

• Use a rain gauge - this will help you keep track of the inches of rain so you know how much to water your plants and garden each week. You need to remember to record the inches and empty it after it rains.  

• Mulch your plants - We have mulch available from our town for free (We need a truck to get it though.), but you can buy it too.  Putting mulch around the base of plants keeps the soil moist.  NOTE: not all garden vegetables and plants should have mulch around them.  
• Plant Native Plants - native plants, which means they naturally exist and grow in your area, should not require any additional watering! Check out the Native Plant Finder Site to see what native plants grow where you live.
  

• Outdoor Water Faucet Timers - we use these for our sprinklers to water our vegetable garden.  I love them because I can go out, turn it on for an amount of time I choose depending upon the rain received recently, and then I can walk away and forget about it.  They shut off on their own!  

• Irrigation System - we tried this in our garden.  We purchased all of the stuff and set it all up and we absolutely despised it.  It clogged up.  The plants blocked other plants when they got bigger so some areas got too much water and other got none.  For us, it was a waste.  We are still looking for a better option as this would save a lot of wasted water (The sprinkler even waters the walkways.). However, to date we have not found what we need in a way that is cost effective. 
• Rain Gauge - This is a very simple, yet helpful, tool that we use to determine how much rain has occurred. If we have had an inch or more in the past few days then we know that we can modify the amount of time that we water our garden.
  

• Rain Barrels - you can collect rainwater to wash your car and water your plants.  We have not tried it yet, but it is one of the things on our future TO DO List.  Here are instructions (pdf file) from the EPA with a parts list: http://www.epa.gov/region3/p2/make-rainbarrel.pdf

• Fix Leaks - fixing any water leaks can save a lot of water believe it or not.  The EPA says that "one drip dripping at the rate of one drip per second can waste up to 3,000 gallons per year."  That's the amount of water needed to take more than 180 showers!  And if you pay by the gallon, you can save a lot too.  Here's a link to the EPA's fix a leak fact sheet (pdf file): http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense/docs/ws_fixaleakfactsheet508.pdf

• Water Saving Shower Heads - We bought the Delta Water Saving Shower Head from Home Depot.  It uses 1.5 gallons per minute and cuts typical water usage by 40%.  The head actually makes it feel like a lot more water is coming out of the head than really is.  It also meets EPA WaterSense criteria (see picture of label to look for below).  It was from the Home Depot and had a Home Depot Ecco Options imprint on the packaging.  At  cost of only about $13, that was fine by me. The same one in satin nickel is on Amazon for $22 so the Home Depot was a good deal.
• Water Saving Faucet Aerators - We have two 75% (.5 gallons per minute) water savers for the bathroom sinks and one 55% (1 gallon per minute) water saver for the kitchen.  They were only about $5 each (including the metal screw on part) at Home Depot.  You can also just purchase the aerator insert without the metal for about $3.  They are made by Neoperl and meet the EPA WaterSense criteria as well (see picture of label to look for below).  Note: they can take a lot of getting used to, especially in the kitchen! My husband hates when he is trying to fill a pot with water. However, I shared with him this simple fix: use the spray nozzle. There is no water saving aerator on the sprayer so we use that to fill up pots faster!

Links:
http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense/pubs/fixleak.html
http://www.epa.gov/watersense/
http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense/docs/ws_waterenergy508.pdf

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Thanks for visiting!
Sincerely,