Saving water is important everywhere, and particularly in Texas, but much of what you read on the topic focuses on the big picture or tiny, inconsequential actions. We’re here to tell you that there are substantial ways you can save water (and money) without shelling out big bucks or spending hours and hours of your time. If you have $5 or 5 minutes, you can save water in a big way.
1) Put an aerator on your faucets. Aerators introduce air into the water flow, thus using less water while keeping the pressure high. You can easily find these for around $5 at the hardware store. This shouldn’t affect your ability to wash dishes, but if it does – hey, nothing a little elbow grease won’t help. It’s worth it, though. You can save up to 500 gallons of water a year.
2) Replace a half-gallon of water in your toilet tank with a full half-gallon container. That way, your toilet will use a half-gallon less water with each flush. An average American family of 5 will save 350 gallons of water every month this way. Just be careful to avoid taking out too much water – you still want your toilet to do its job!
3) Water small dry spots in your yard or garden by hand, rather than overwatering with a sprinkler. For example, if you’re waiting an hour for the water to roll downhill and reach a spot, simply move the hose and get the spot by hand. This is obviously going to save different folks different amounts, but sprinklers can use 265 gallons an hour. If you cut back on a few minutes here and there, you can save hundreds of gallons quite easily.
4) Wait to run your dishwasher until it’s full. You really don’t need to run your dishwasher every night. We promise. Need something washed right away? As our grandpa said, “that’s what your arms are for.” Cutting down on dishwasher use can save you up to 1,000 gallons of water per month. That’s a lot of water.
5) Here’s a curveball: start a compost pile. This won’t cost you anything (unless you want a fancy container), and it helps save water in an interesting way. When you plant with compost, it helps retain water in the soil. As a result, you’ll need to use less water in the long run to keep your plants happy.
So if you’ve always wanted to use less water, but thought it required too much money or effort, think again. We can all make a difference where it counts, and nobody can complain about the return on this investment. Here at Star Home Comfort, we’ve seen lots of wasted water from plumbing incidents and otherwise. Take a minute or two to save some water yourself, and maybe we can make up the difference!
