If there’s a way to save money, you probably want to know about it. As a homeowner, one of the best ways to save money is to lower your monthly household bills. One of the most effective ways to do this is to reduce your water bill. Reported by the EPA, each American uses about 88 gallons of water per day on average. In the course of a week, about 45 gallons of water are completely wasted! Here are a few simple steps you can take to lower your water bill. In this blog, we will share our top plumbing hacks to save you money on your monthly water bill.
Fix Any Drips, Leaks, and Continuously Running Water
One of the most effective ways to lower your water bill is to detect any leaks in your faucets so that you can have them repaired as soon as possible. Leaks, drips, and unexplained running water are certain to have your water bill increase in more ways than you realize. When the average 45 gallons of wasted water per week per week is totaled over one year, a family of four wastes 9,400 gallons of water. Oftentimes, this is the product of undetected drips or leaky faucets, which are simple fixes.
Inspect your home’s bathroom and kitchen faucets, toilets, shower heads, and pipes. If you have any outdoor faucets, (maybe connected to hose), make sure to check those as well. One of the quickest ways to identify a leak is if you are experiencing lower water pressure in one or more areas of your home. Getting any leaks, drips, or running water repaired by a professional plumber as soon as possible, will help to get that water bill reduced in no time.
Replace Faucet Aerators
As time passes, faucets can lose their aerator from the tip of the faucet. This is one of the more common items plumbers can replace to make your household plumbing work more efficiently. Replacing the aerator on your current faucet or upgrading the faucet in its entirety, you will notice the price of your water bill dropping significantly. This happens because the aerator can push air through the water from your faucet, which increases the steady pressure of the water while reducing the volume of water being used. This helps you use less water overall. Modern faucets are actually designed to use less water by creating more air force, which minimizes excess splashing and waste.
Use Low Flow Shower Heads & Toilets
Investing in showerheads that have low flow features is a great way to lower your water bill. Most modern showerheads have this feature and are typically priced affordably. Modern toilets are also available in more energy efficient models that can save you gallons of water every time you flush. A toilet that continuously runs or has a leak can lose up to 6,000 gallons of water per month and add hundreds of dollars to your monthly water bill.
The two ways to check for a leaky toilet:
If your toilet is making any kind of hissing noise, you should open the tank and check to see if the flapper, line connections, or seals are malfunctioning. Most toilet leaks stem from an issue with one of these parts.
You could also check for toilet leaks by taking the lid off the tank and adding a few drops of food coloring. Once the dye is in the tank, wait for about 20 minutes and check the toilet bowl for signs of dye. If the food coloring is in the toilet bowl, then there is some sort of leak allowing the tank water to flow into the bowl
Hybrid Water Heater or Tankless Water Heaters
Traditional water heaters store hot water in a tank. So, even when you aren’t actively using hot water, the water heater uses energy in order to maintain a specific temperature. Today, there are several more energy-efficient water heaters to choose from. Upgrading to one of these newer models is a great way to lower your monthly water bill.
Hybrid water heaters, commonly referred to as heat pump water heaters, run on electricity and use heat from the outdoor air. The air gets pulled into the appliance’s evaporator coil into a tank. You will need to make sure hybrid water heaters have a specific high-voltage circuit breaker. The significant water bill savings make this quite an excellent option. Differing from traditional water heaters, hybrid water heaters don’t have to run all the time to maintain hot water.
There’s also the option of a tankless water heater, which also only uses electricity to make hot water as you need it. This option means you are using less water, as well as less electricity. IN addition, tankless water heaters typically include extensive warranties and take up very little space.
Upgrading your out-dated water heater may seem like a big upfront expense, but you will get that investment back over time with your lower monthly utility bills. In order to decide which option will be best for your household, you may want to get the opinion of a professional plumber. They can walk you through the pros and cons of each option and also measure your space to make sure you find the perfect fit.
Upgrade Your Washing Machine & Dishwasher
Replacing your appliances may not seem like the most cost-effective option, but it will likely save you way more money in the long run. Older washing machine and dishwasher models are not as efficient as newer ones. Laundry machines account for roughly 16% of your total monthly water usage. Making this switch and using a more efficient washing machine and dishwasher will save you 33% of the water you use with each cycle, in-turn, reducing your monthly water bill.
Consider getting an EnergyStar dishwasher that uses an average of 4 to 6 gallons of water, when compared to handwashing that uses roughly 20 gallons of water to wash the same amount of dishes. Using an energy-efficient dishwasher saves you both time and money!
FiveStar Plumbing & HVAC are dedicated to provide the highest quality customer care, and will work diligently to save you the most amount of money. Contact us today at (615) 382-8131 to learn more about how to lower your monthly utility bills with simple plumbing refinement.
