Reducing your water bills this spring doesn’t necessarily mean major changes. A few simple adjustments can help you to significantly cut back on your water consumption, allowing you to save money and resources. Keeping several tips in mind can let you see a decrease sooner rather than later in your utility bills.
1. Take Shorter Showers
Cutting your shower time in half can significantly reduce your monthly water bills. For example, if you usually take a shower that’s 10 to 12 minutes, consider shortening it to four or five minutes. If that’s too drastic of a change right away, you can shorten it by a minute every few days to ease into the new habit. Bring your phone into the bathroom with you and put it in a safe place where it won’t get wet so that you can set an alarm to know when it’s time to get out of the shower.
2. Change How You Use Your Dishwasher
You have several options to change your dishwasher habits that can help decrease your bills. For example, never run the dishwasher unless it has a full load. However, you also don’t want to overload it; otherwise, the dishes won’t get properly cleaned, and you’ll likely have to rerun the appliance.
Cleaning it is also crucial. Wipe up any messes each day, and clean the filter weekly. Deep clean your dishwasher monthly. The cleaner your dishwasher is, the more efficiently it can run and the less strain it will experience when operating, which could increase your water bills.
Make sure you’re also checking for leaks periodically. They may not be as obvious as a puddle flowing into your kitchen. Some are subtle, such as small drips coming from the drain hose. Minor drips still raise your monthly water bills and could quickly worsen into severe, costly problems.
3. Collect Rainwater
Spring is the ideal time to perfect your green thumb. Many people with gardens or indoor plants turn on the faucet or hose when they want to water their greenery. However, collecting rainwater can be a great way to reduce your water consumption and save money on monthly water bills.
You don’t necessarily need a large barrel. In many cases, putting out a few buckets can suffice. Before you start the process, make sure it’s legal in your location. Some states and jurisdictions ban rainwater collections.
After you collect the rainwater, it is a good idea to cover it if you’re not using it immediately. This keeps insects and other small animals from getting into the water container. It also helps keep the water clean and prevents leaves and other debris from getting into it.
4. Get a Plumbing Inspection
Getting a plumbing inspection is crucial to reducing your monthly water bills. We can evaluate your entire system, from your water pressure to checking for leaks under your sinks. Ideally, you will have the plumbing inspection in spring after the long winter and cold temperatures, which can both take a toll on plumbing systems.
Book an appointment with us as soon as possible. Many homeowners call us for a spring plumbing inspection: Calling early ensures you get the date and time slot that works best for your schedule.
5. Do Personal Inspections
Personal inspections of your plumbing system make it easy to notice if any problems could be causing your water bills to unnecessarily increase, even subtly. There are several spaces to check, and you’ll especially want to do so in areas of your home that you don’t often go to or see. For example, check underneath your bathroom, laundry room, and kitchen sinks to make sure there’s no water dripping, and check your water heater to ensure that there’s no water coming from it. Being proactive allows you to catch plumbing problems before they worsen and increase your water bills even more.
6. Repair Leaks
Don’t wait to call us if you notice any leaks or get a repair if we inform you that we spotted one or more. Scheduling an appointment with us to make the appropriate repairs can prevent the leaks from getting worse and can ensure your water bills don’t continue to increase unnecessarily.
7. Check Your Garden Hoses
Many gardeners are excited to hook up their hoses and water their plants in spring. However, before you do so, check your garden hose from top to bottom for leaks, cracks or other damage, and ensure there’s no water dripping from the base of the outdoor faucet.
These leaks may seem minor enough that they won’t cause a problem, but any type of leak wastes water and can cause your monthly utility bills to skyrocket. If you have a leak coming from the faucet, call us as soon as possible so we can inspect it. If you have a leak in your garden hose, you can either repair the leak yourself or replace the hose entirely to eliminate the problem and enjoy hassle-free watering all summer long.
8. Install Low-Flow Bathroom Fixtures
Installing low-flow shower heads and faucets in your bathroom can significantly reduce your water consumption and decrease your monthly water bills. As the name indicates, low-flow showerheads use less water than their traditional counterparts yet still do their jobs efficiently.
We can install these low-flow bathroom fixtures for you. Our professional plumbers install them quickly and properly to ensure they work optimally for you. Ask us to handle the task for you when you call us to schedule a spring plumbing inspection appointment.
9. Change Your Washing Machine Habits
Many families are starting to get out more during spring and enjoy the warmer temperatures, so washing machines may be used more often to clean dirt-stained clothes. More dirty clothes means using the washing machine more often and higher water bills.
Be sure to use your washing machine only when you have a full load if you want to save money on your monthly water bills. However, be careful not to overload it; otherwise, the appliance won’t be able to do its job correctly. Your clothes won’t get properly cleaned, and you’ll likely have to run the machine over again.
You also want to make sure you’re cleaning your washing machine each month. It must be clean to work efficiently, and an efficient machine uses the least amount of energy possible to wash your clothes.
When doing the laundry, make sure no leaks are coming from the hose or the machine itself. If there are, there’s a good chance it could increase your monthly water bills even if the leaks seem minor.
Taking steps now to reduce your water bills can allow you to start saving money sooner rather than later. Beltway Air Conditioning, Heating & Plumbing in Hanover, MD, offers many plumbing services, including plumbing inspections, water heater installations, and more, that can help you with the process. Contact us today to schedule an inspection for your bathroom or kitchen plumbing and for more information on how to reduce your monthly water bills.
