This Saving on Water Usage and Costs Super Page contains a growing list of money saving tips from our readers.
The water saving tips on this page include: solar showers; gray watering lawns; using vinegar to clean household items & saving your septic tank; and saving water with kids from laundry, to timed showers, to washing cars.
Solar Shower Savings
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Living in Arizona, our summers can provide “free” hot water. Our water pipes are on the west side of our house and by late afternoon, when we take our showers, we just turn on the cold water faucet and it’s plenty warm. We take solar “sailor” showers from May to October – get wet, turn off the water, soap up, and rinse off. Surprisingly, the free hot water lasts long enough for more than one shower. Julie Hayman – Chandler, AZ
Doing Wash and then Watering My Lawn
I contacted our local plumber to ask if it was within code to route my washing machine rinse water (gray water) to the backyard to water the grass. He contacted two city offices and confirmed that this water usage practice was within code in our area. We are sure to have a major savings in our water bill once I convince my husband to do the plumbing job. Denise Yribarren – Mesa, AZ
How to Save 1400 Gallons of Water Usage Automatically
If you have an older 2.5 liter per flush toilet you can save a lot of water automatically. We put a 32-ounce bottle full of water and a few rocks into the toilet tank. The bottle displaces approximately 32 ounces of tank water. As a result, every time we flush the toilet we save 32 ounces of water. Do the math. If each person in our house flushes the toilet four times each day you’ll save 1 gallon of water. Over the course of one year, you’d save 365 gallons times the number of people in your house. If there are four people in your household 365 x 4 = 1,460 gallons saved each and every year without changing your lifestyle! Steve Economides – Scottsdale, AZ
Keep You Septic System Smiling with Vinegar
For people who receive their water through private well and septic systems, it is often not recommended to use harsh chemicals and antibacterial cleansers as this kills the bacteria necessary for the septic systems to continue to operate properly. Save yourself a lot of money (and coupon clipping) by using plain old household vinegar to clean your coffee makers, humidifiers, and toilets. Susan Jensen – Council Bluffs, IA
Saving Water With Kids
Water is a commodity we too often let flow through our hands. Taking water usage for granted takes a great chunk out of our wallets. Here are three easy water usage saving tips:
- Laundry Help: Have your children help with the laundry, both loading and unloading the washer and dryer. It helps them see how many dirty clothes they go through. Older kids might take better care of their clothes if they know they’ll need to be doing more laundry chores, like pre-spotting.
- Laundry Independence: Better yet buy each of your kids their own laundry hamper, or at least have one for each of their rooms, so they can start doing their own laundry by the time they are 8-10 years old.
- Timed Showers: Put a clock where your children can see it when they take a shower. If they know how long they are in, they are less likely to dawdle and use less water in the process. (Editor’s Note: We like to use an egg timer.)
- Washing Cars: If your teenager desperately wants to wash their car, send them to the car wash. If they have to feed quarters to keep the water flowing, they will quickly learn how to do the job faster and less often. Tamara Wilhite – West Monroe, LA
Automatic Savings By the Flush
If you have an older 2.5 liter per flush toilet you can save a lot of water automatically. We put a 32-ounce bottle full of water and a few rocks into the toilet tank. The bottle displaces approximately 32 ounces of tank water. As a result, every time we flush the toilet we save 32 ounces of water. Do the math. If each person in our house flushes the toilet four times each day you’ll save 1 gallon of water. Over the course of one year, you’d save 365 gallons times the number of people in your house. If there are four people in your household 365 x 4 = 1,460 gallons saved each and every year without changing your lifestyle! Steve Economides – Scottsdale, AZ
Kitchen Water Filter instead of Reverse Osmosis
Many years ago we purchased a Reverse Osmosis system for our kitchen. It was composed of 3 filters and a 3-gallon water tank. Steve installed it under our kitchen sink. and ran the water line
He ran a water line to both a small faucet on the sink and to the refrigerator.
The water tasted great but regularly heard water trickling down the drain as the system was cleaning sediment from the membranes.
We later learned that for every gallon of filtered water the system produced, it used 3 or 4 gallons of water to clean itself.
We were not only wasting water, but the filters lasted about one year and cost about $50 to replace.
Plus it took up a lot of space under the kitchen sink.
Several years ago we removed our Reverse Osmosis system and installed a 3-Stage Water Purification system (for about $100) and have great-tasting water all of the time. We purchased the system and it has been fantastic and trouble free for years.
The new system has 3 filters:
- 1st Stage > 5 micron Multi gradient sediment filter — trapping the sediment particles
- 2nd Stage > GAC — absorb literally thousands of different chemicals
- 3rd Stage > Activated Carbon Block — remove Chlorine, VOC, pesticides
The cost to replace filters is about $30 and they last longer than one year. It wastes no water because it is not self-cleaning. And it produces great tasting water.
Soaker Hoses Can Save Water
The cost of water can be quite expensive these days. Be sure to not waste water when watering a vegetable garden, trees, flowers, etc. by using a soaker hose or drip system that will water slowly and deeply and not waste the water. You will need to water less frequent as well, and begin to see savings on your water bill. Debbie L. – Apple Valley, CA (I live in the desert)
If you have other ideas for how to save water, please write them in the comments and we’ll review them and consider it for inclusion on this page!
We try to not waste any liquid. Some examples:
1) Canned vegetable juices are consumed or frozen as vegetable bouillon when making soups or stews.
2) Soap is diluted and squirted on dishes which we rinse as we cook. We feel this is cleaner and not wasteful of sinks full of water.
3) Water is not left on while brushing teeth.