How to Bring the Cost of Your Water Bill Right Down

Did you look at your latest water bill in shock and wonder how anyone could possibly use that much water? Have you thought seriously how you could cut the cost in this major commodity of life? There are ways to bring your water usage down and still enjoy the freedom of water. Here are a few suggestions.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Timer

1. Cut back on shower time. If your household has several people showering every day, the total amount of water usage could be dramatically reduced by taking shorter showers. Instead of 20-minute showers, shorten them to 10-minute showers. That’s still enough time to get clean, and the water usage would be cut in half. Good start.
2. Be more economical with laundry. Don’t do several short loads because you need them right away. Instead, schedule a laundry day and restrict the water usage to doing only full loads. (Using cold water cuts down on the gas bill, too.)
3. Water the lawn on a timed schedule. Set a timer so that the lawn sprinkler will stay on for only a designated time period. Most often a few minutes of daily watering is sufficient, whereas leaving the sprinkler on for long periods of time is a waste of water since the lawns and gardens can absorb only so much at a time.
4. Fill your swimming pool with water that is delivered by a truck. This is considerably cheaper because you are charged on your water bill for the water you use and then the same amount again for sewer services. This way you are paying only for the water.
5. Children love to play in water sprinklers, so schedule a time that they can play in the sprinklers, and make that time the water allotment for the lawn at the same time. The same amount of water is used whether it’s to water the lawn or to play in.
6. Don’t let the water run for the whole time you’re brushing your teeth. Turn it on only when you need to rinse your toothbrush or to rinse your mouth. That alone can save buckets of water each day.
7. Don’t waste drinking water. Instead of running the tap until the water is cold enough to drink, keep a jug of water in the refrigerator. You can save gallons of water a day.

Tips & Warnings

• It doesn’t take long to develop new habits to use less water, and when you get your bill, you’ll want to keep it up.