5 Tips to Save Money on Your Water Bill
Tap water is a mercifully inexpensive substance. If you live in Sioux Falls, SD, then you can pay as little as $3.75 for 748 gallons of the stuff. But since the average family of four uses 12,000 gallons of tap water monthly, you’re going to wind up spending several hundred dollars on water every year.
You would no doubt prefer to spend as little on tap water as possible – and do your part to help conserve the environment while you’re at it. Fortunately you’ve got your thrifty pals at PrairieSons to tell you how it can be done. Here are our top five tips to save money on your water bill!
1. Buy More Efficient Appliances
Sure – you won’t spend an insignificant amount of money on a new dishwasher, water heater and washing machine, but doing so can dramatically decrease the amount of water you send down the drain each month. Look for appliances which bear the WaterSense label, as that indicates they perform just as efficiently (or even better) than their counterparts while simultaneously boasting at least 20% greater water efficiency.
If you’re buying a new washing machine, consider purchasing a front-loading model. It will use about five fewer gallons of water per cycle, which means you will save over 500 gallons of water a year if you only run two washes weekly.
2. Buy New Faucets
You can find the WaterSense label on new faucets as well. These devices expel no more than 1.5 gallons of water per minute, which will effectively reduce the amount of water you send down the drain by no less than 30%. Replacing all of their faucets and aerators with WaterSense models can save the average family the equivalent of 45 showers’ worth of water every year.
3. Don’t Pre-Wash Dishes Before Loading the Dishwasher
Contrary to what you might think, pre-washing dishes before loading them in the dishwasher doesn’t help. Doing so will not make your dishes come out any cleaner, partly because dish detergent cannot work correctly without food particles to latch on to. In essence, you’re only wasting time and water by pre-rinsing your dishes.
So long as you’re using your dishwasher more intelligently, avoid running washes until the machine is full. The same rule applies to your clothes washer as well.
4. Fix Leaks ASAP
Leaks can form for a number of reasons. Wear and tear, frequent changes in water temperature and pressure, and rough usage can all gradually cause fixtures to start leaking water. And if your home’s plumbing was installed by an unqualified plumber, leaks are bound to begin popping up over time.
If your house has just one faucet that drips once per minute, that still amounts to about 35 gallons each year. But that’s nothing compared to a leaky toilet, which can send over 70,000 gallons of water down the pipes every year. In addition to burning a hole through your checking account, leaks can also cause property damage via corrosion and black mold colonization. We think you see what we’re driving at: Don’t let leaky plumbing escape your attention!
5. Put a Soda Bottle in Your Toilet Tank
This isn’t a tip on how you can enjoy more easily accessible soda while you’re in the bathroom. If you fill a 16.9 ounce soda bottle with sand and water and place it in your toilet tank, you will save about one gallon of water for every 7.5 flushes – without significantly affecting your toilet’s performance.
You may already be familiar with the similar trick of putting a brick in your toilet tank. But doing that is not advisable, because the brick will gradually break down and deposit sand and lime particles on your toilet’s fill valve and other sensitive components. A plastic bottle doesn’t degrade in the same fashion, which makes it the safer alternative for your plumbing.
If you own a home or business in the greater Sioux Falls, SD area, then the expert plumbers of PrairieSons are always available to help you save money on your water bill by installing new appliances and faucets, as well as fixing your leaks. Contact PrairieSons today and kiss needlessly high water bills goodbye!