The daily water use of each US consumer is between 80 and 100 gallons. And the majority of such water usage is due to flushing toilets.

Showering is the next thing on the list. Each US family uses around 40 gallons per day for only this reason.

Your water consumption has probably increased if you’re like most Americans who stay at home. It won’t come as a surprise if your water costs are double or more expensive now than they were in the prior months.

When you have a leaking faucet, it gets even worse. Over 3,000 gallons are wasted annually by a single leaking tap that drips at a rate of one drop every second.

The good news is that there are many methods to save water, particularly at a time like now. Be sure to continue on since we’ll list the strategies and demonstrate how to reduce your water cost.

Shower the Naval Way

A naval shower, also known as a military shower, uses as little as three gallons of water for each shower. If you use the more recent low-flow showerheads, a 10-minute shower will only consume roughly 20 gallons of water. You’re probably utilizing more than 20 gallons if you have an older showerhead installed.

Because military showers are shorter—usually lasting two minutes or less—they conserve water. While soaping up, this showering technique also entails shutting off the tap.

You no longer have to limit yourself to taking two-minute showers each time. Nevertheless, every minute you cut off of your typical shower might already save 2 to 5 gallons of water. There will be 4 to 10-gallon water savings if you now take two showers each day.

Closing the faucet when shampooing or soaping also uses up a lot less water. Additionally, your soaps will dissolve more slowly without a continual supply of water. As a result, you get to save money on both bathing products and water.

The perfect time to replace your old showerheads with low-flow models is right now. These contemporary shower fixtures are essential for both immediate and long-term reductions in your water cost.

Fix Those Leaks

With a 5-drop count per minute leak, one leaking tap wastes 0.72 gallons every day. That’s already 2.7 liters of water, which is more than enough to meet your needs for the day.

Just think of the additional money you may be wasting if you have several leaking pipes and taps. The typical home has leaks that waste 10,000 gallons of water annually, and that is the case for many houses.

That being said, fixing all of those leaks is one of the key solutions for reducing your water bill. Having leaks also means that you’ll run out of hot water sooner because you guys are consuming more water now.

If you have the appropriate equipment and supplies, you can fix small leaks in showerheads or faucets. It is better to spend money on leak detection and repair services because not all leaks are obvious.

Upgraded Faucet Aerators Can Reduce Water Flow

The tiny mesh screens called aerators are located at the very front of faucet mouths. They include air in between and divide the water into little streams. The water flow from the faucet is decreased as a result of the air’s dilution effect.

These little screens enable you to conserve water, which lowers your water expenses.

However, these water-saving features are typically missing from older faucets. They could be in yours, but if they’re rusty and old, they might not be functioning properly. It’s possible that corroded mesh portions are no longer segmenting the flow into smaller streams.

Regardless, you should replace the aerators on each of your taps as they are cost-effective. Always use aerators with a maximum flow rate of 1.0 gallons per minute (GPM). These products are the most water-efficient ones available right now.

Dishwasher vs. Hand Washing

This depends on how many pots, pans, plates, glasses, and other utensils you use every day.

You might be able to conserve water by hand washing if you live alone and don’t use a lot of eating utensils. But if you run the dishwasher, you’ll probably use less water than a household of typical size. To optimum water savings, run the dishwasher only with full loads.

In relation to that, you ought to think about washing your clothes by hand rather than by machine.

Lesser clothes may be best handled by hand, similar to dishwashing. Additionally, some materials, like silk, lace, and wool, must be hand-washed.

Switch to using the washer for more clothing, and make sure to run full loads as well. Just be careful when choosing colors since some materials may leach dye onto lighter-colored clothing.

Spend money more on water-saving fixtures and appliances.

Low-flush toilets are now available in addition to aerators and low-flow showerheads. Because of how little water they consume, the EPAct of 1992 made them a requirement for all new toilets.

However, this regulation does not apply to many owner-occupied residences in the US. The majority of them date back to before 1980.

In either case, the low-flush option is probably missing from your toilets if your house was constructed before 1994. These older toilets flush with roughly 3.5 liters (GPF). However, toilets manufactured after the EPAct of 1992 only consume 1.6 gpf.

In this situation, you should think about purchasing new, water-saving toilets. If you already have them, be careful to change the toilet flapper valve as soon as it begins to wear out. The main cause of toilets flushing continually is worn flapper valves.

Final Thoughts

Here are the top five strategies to save money on your water costs both now and in the future. It is advisable to stick to these as soon as possible, particularly because you and the family are staying safe at home and drinking more water. You may continue to practice proper hygiene in this way without paying high water costs.

However, if you have significant water leaks, know that Caccia Plumbing is prepared to assist. Call us right away or ask for a project quote, and we’ll respond as soon as we can!