Mr Fix It Plumbing – Long Beach Plumber Shares Various Useful Tricks for Saving Money on your Water Bill
You might be using more water than you thought! Inspect your previous few water bills. Are you aware that the typical family of 4 uses anywhere from 5,000 to 15,000 gallons of water per month? Your lifestyle normally dictates the amount of water used. A running toilet can waste approximately 7,000 gallons of water per month while a simple toilet flush might use up to 10 gallons of water each time! There are all sorts of water hogs in the home (including you) that could be raising that water and sewage utility bill through the roof! By following several water conservation tips, you could enjoy a much lower bill.
Consider these handy tips:
1. Replace each of the dripping faucets in your home as you can be wasting 3,000 to 5,000 gallons of water a year by permitting those slow drips to continue. Sometimes all you will need is replacing the rubber gaskets into the faucet handle.
2. Consider installing aerators that allow for flow restriction to reduce the output of water.
3. Do not operate your dishwasher or washing machine with anything lower than full capacity. You are wasting water running them only half filled.
4. Check for toilet tank leaks and change sticky flushing handles that allow the water to run in the bowl. To check for leaks, put some food coloring inside the tank. If you notice any color within the bowl within 20 minutes, you know there is a leak somewhere.
5. The inner areas of the toilet tank can become corroded or require changing as they wear out. Parts can be inexpensive and easy to switch on your own. It is best to make it a habit to replace them every few years.
6. Think about setting up a low flow showerhead as this tends to save you some gallons of water each month. Or, you might take shorter showers.
7. Some try to conserve water by recycling it. It is not always that practical but I can be done. If you are taking a shower, bring a bucket into the shower with you to capture the excess and then use it to water flowers, mopping floors or any other applicable task around your home. The same principle applies for leftover water from boiling pasta or washing dishes.
8. Since taking baths uses up to 10 or 20 gallons more water than showers, consider reducing your bathtub trips and shower instead.
9. Install rain barrels outdoors to catch rainfall and utilize it to water the garden, flower beds or container plants. This will reduce the need to use the garden hose and thereby reduce your water bill.
If you incorporate many water saving approaches and still feel you should have a lower water bill, consider contacting your city or municipality that handles water and sewage maintenance. Several city departments offer inspections of the home for free or at a nominal fee where a worker comes out to identify the sources of probable leaks that can be driving your water bill up. By doing what you can to scale back water use, you’re helping save the environment.
