Let’s face it, Summer has always been a Water Hog! Whether it’s washing your car, filling up the pool, watering your yard or multiple showers after a trip to the beach, your monthly water bills tend to swell up during the summertime, but they don’t have to.
It’s everyone’s responsibility to do whatever they can to help preserve our natural resources and consistent water conservation reduces your energy needs and puts money back in your pocket.
You might be surprised, but making a few simple changes or modifications around your house can have an impact on our water supply, your monthly energy consumption and reduce your monthly utility bill all at the same time.
Being a part of the solution feels so much better than being part of the problem! Join the Southlands ever growing proactive water conservation effort to help preserve our natural resources and save a few bucks while you’re doing it.
SIMPLE AND INEXPENSIVE TIPS TO CONSERVE WATER AND SAVE
Replace Old Faucets & Shower heads with New Energy Saving Models
Showers are responsible for 18% of all indoor water use in the United States. A recent study estimates that American’s use over 300 billion gallons of water each day. That’s 250 gallons per person, per day for every person in America. Help conserve our limited natural resources by using any of the following methods to reduce your water usage while lowering your monthly utility bill.
Simply changing your current shower head to a high performance energy efficient model shower head can reduce your shower’s water use by up to 60%. Older model shower heads use between 4-5 gallons per minute while newer energy efficient use only 1-1.5 gallons per minute without a significant reduction in water pressure.
Another simple way to reduce your water usage is by installing newer more efficient faucets in your high use areas. These faucets use about 1.5 gallons of water per minute compared with a standard faucet which uses 3-5 gallons per minute. In fact, the EPA states that simply adding pressure reducing valves or aerators to your existing faucet, set to reduce pressure by half, can reduce water consumption by 1/3 and aerators that are added directly to faucets can reduce water use by up to 60% without having any effect on your water pressure.
Replace Old Runny Toilets with New Energy Efficient Models
The average toilet uses 4.5 gallons of water per flush, but you can reduce your water usage per toilet by as much as 34% by replacing your old conventional toilet with a new low-flow toilet that uses 1.2 gallons per flush. New energy efficient and water conserving toilets aren’t cheap, but there are some extremely cheap alternatives that offer water conservation with cost savings as well. One of the most practical methods is to simply place a heavily weighted object, such as a brick or plastic container filled with rocks, in your toilet tank. The brick, or rocks, displaces the water in your toilet’s tank and it takes less water to fill it.
Additional Easy & Simple Ways to Save Water & Money
- Select the proper size pans for cooking. Large pans require more cooking water than may be necessary.
- Make sure there are aerators on all of your faucets. Install an instant water heater on your kitchen sink so you don’t have to let the water run while it heats up. This will also reduce heating costs for your household.
- Keep a pitcher of water in the refrigerator instead of running the tap for cold drinks, so that every drop goes down you not the drain.
- Don’t use running water to thaw food. Thaw your food in the refrigerator and especially if it’s beef, fish or poultry.
- When you clean your fish tank, use the water you’ve drained on your plants. The water is rich in nitrogen and phosphorus, providing you with a free and effective fertilizer.
- Time your shower to keep it under 5 minutes and you’ll save up to 1,000 gallons a month.
- Run dishwashers and washing machines on the light load setting and only run them with full loads. Note that this will also save money on your electric bill.
- Turn off the water while brushing your teeth
Outdoor Water Conservation, Energy Reducing and $$ Saving Ideas
- Sweep leaves and other debris off driveways and walkways instead of hosing.
- Install outside rain catcher systems to irrigate your landscaping.
- Mulch, Mulch and More Mulch! Use bark chips to help retain water and moisture on flower beds to hold moisture more effectively. Mulch should be 2-4 inches deep which helps with soil temperature, weed control and improves water penetration.
- Use drip line watering in your flower beds and get less waste due to evaporation.
- Avoid watering during the hottest periods of the day to prevent loss through evaporation.
- Use slow release or low-concentration fertilizer and you shouldn’t over fertilize
