Conserving Water in the Home

With the way those utility bills keep rising, if you don't take a few steps you can easily find yourself with a huge bill that you don't know how you got. One of the simplest ways that you can lower your utility bills in general, and your water bill in particular, is to begin conserving water. Conserving water in the home isn't that hard. All you need to do is use a few of these suggestions, a little dedication, and you will begin to see results. Keep in mind though that the best way you can go about conserving water in the home is to follow all of these suggestions, and to do use a little creativity of your own.

• Use aerators. Believe it or not, using faucet aerators can help you conserve a huge amount of water in the home. On the average an aerator will allow you to reduce the amount of water that flows through the faucet by about half, with little or no effect on the water pressure. Over the course of a year this can save you roughly 100 gallons a year per faucet aerator. Best thing of all is that you can find aerators for your shower and bathtub as well as for your sinks.
• Dishwashers help conserve water. Despite what many people may think, washing dishes by hand does not actually help to conserve water. You will use up to 16 gallons of water to wash your dishes by hand, while a regular dishwasher will only use between 7 and 10 gallons of water. Some EnergyStar dishwashers can use even less water than that.
• Turn the water off. A common mistake at the sink can add up to huge amounts of water wasted. This common mistake is leaving your water running while you do personal grooming such as brushing teeth, shaving, or washing your hands and face. If you turn the water off when you don't need it, then over the course of a year you can save up to 2,000 gallons of water.
• Low flow tech. Low flow technology has come a long way since it was first introduced. In fact you can find low flow water faucets, shower heads, dishwashers, clothes washers, and much more. Invest in some low flow options around the house, and sit back and watch the savings roll in.
• Check for leaks often. Another common cause for wasted water is leaks. By conducting regular checks of your home for leaks, you can potentially save a huge amount of water. A simple way to check to see if there are any leaks in your water system is to write down the numbers on your water meter when you go out. Check the numbers again when you get home; if they are different (and no one has been home while you were out) then you have a leak. Fix any leaks as soon as you can find them.