Help the environment and your bottom line.

Conserve water to save money

5/4/13

Water - we need it for so many things. Showers, baths, washing dishes, doing laundry, washing the car, watering the garden and lawn and the list goes on. The point is, we use a lot of water. Water consumption increases even more during the summer months. Unless you have a private well, though, all that water is costing you money. The costs can be significant. Here are some ways that we have cut down on water use and a few more tips to help you reduce yours.

For us, the two things that really cut down on the amount of water we use is switching from showers to baths and washing dishes by hand. These two changes have saved us $20 a month on the water bill.

The thing is, I take really long showers. My husband says that he takes quick ones, but that's not really the case. We both probably spent 15 minutes or more in the shower every day. After we switched to taking baths, the water consumption was dramatically reduced. Personally, I don't enjoy long soaks in the tub, so I'm in and out as quickly as possible. We don't completely fill the tub with water, either, as this would definitely not save water.

Washing dishes by hand instead of the dishwasher came about because our dishwasher died. We've talked several times about getting it fixed, but you know what? I don't really miss it. As long as there isn't a huge pile of dishes, I find washing them relaxing. When you use a dishwasher, you're not only using more water, but you're using electricity as well, moreso if you use the heated drying cycle for your dishes. I've heard the argument that washing dishes by hand uses more water than modern dishwashers, but that could only be true if you're running rinse water constantly. If you fill the other side of the sink with water to rinse them, you won't use much at all.

Here are a few more tips for cutting back on water use: