How To Save Water And Money At The Same Time

Costs are increasing every day.  Prices keep going up and up, and our budgets can’t always keep going up with them.  This means we need to find places to cut back and save money.  What’s fantastic is sometimes we can save money effortlessly, just by making a few simple changes.  Here are some ideas on how to save water and money!

How To Save Water AND Money at the Same Time

Install a low flow shower head

One of the biggest water uses is for showering and bathing.  What’s awesome is you can switch your shower head to a low flow shower head without sacrificing the quality of your shower!  Low flow shower heads include air with the water so that the water pressure is still high.  If you love long hot showers, this will be a great change for your budget!

Low flow shower heads are super easy to install.  It only takes a few minutes!  They also come in many different styles and price points.  Click here to check out some of the options!

Similar to a low flow shower head are sink aerators.  These are also super duper easy to install, and decrease the amount of water your sinks use, without compromising water pressure.  There is no reason not to have these!  Check them out here.

And of course the less time you run your shower or your sink, the less water you will use.

Install a dual flush toilet

Installing a new toilet is going to be a bit more money off the bat.  However, at about 3 gallons per flush, this switch will save plenty of water.  Newer toilets use 1.6 gallons per flush, but if you install a dual flush toilet it will use even less than that!

Some recommendations on how to save water recommend putting a brick in your toilet tank to save water.  While that’s certainly cheaper up front than buying a new toilet, I never found it to work well.

When I tried placing a brick in my toilet tank, it was hard to find a place to put it that didn’t interfere with the systems moving parts.  Also, the lower water pressure meant sometimes the toilet needed flushed more than once.  If you have to flush more than once, that totally undoes all your water savings!

Our San Antonio homestead came with dual flush toilets and I’m very impressed.  The most powerful option on a good dual flush toilet still only uses 1.6 gallons, but it comes with plenty of force to make sure you only need to flush once.  The water saving option uses even less, and is just as effective for most uses.

The best low flow toilets can save you even more than 1.6 gallons per flush, so if you are still flushing 3 gallons at at time it’s DEFINITELY time for an upgrade!  This efficient dual flush toilet from Toto can use as little as 0.9 gallons per flush.  Less (water) is more (money) in this case!

Update Appliances

Newer dishwashers and clothes washers both use a lot less water and electricity than their older counterparts.  While I do not generally buy things new, it can be an economical decision to purchase and energy saver appliance if the price is right and you get an rebate, PLUS the immediate savings in utilities.

If you haven’t updated your appliances in a while, start saving up now so you can get the most economical option instead of the cheapest upfront option.

And while you’re saving up that cash, here’s how to use less water when hand washing dishes. 

Grow Drought Resistant Plants

In Oregon, we would often let our lawn go dormant over the summer.  That worked well there, because it would come back to life quickly after the first fall rain.  Here in Texas, if you don’t water your grass it can completely die off.  The secret of how to save water outdoors is to change your landscaping!

Xeriscaping is gardening or landscaping so that you need no additional water.  By planting native and drought resistant plants you can almost completely eliminate the need for watering your lawn.  At over two gallons as minute, you can seriously save some water!

Often a local nursery will have recommendations on good plant choices for your area.  Chain stores will not be able to advise you on this, unfortunately.

And you don’t have to completely give up plants you love that take water either.  You can water them with rainwater!  Here are some ideas on how to save rainwater.

If you can’t save enough rainwater for your entire yard, combine tactics!  Plant your most water conserving plants far away from your house and the plants that need supplemental watering close by.  That way you can easily water your more thirsty plants from your rain barrels and stored water.

Just a few changes can make a big impact on how to save water and money.  Look for where you use the most water and make a few big changes to save more water and money with less effort! 

Sources:
https://water.usgs.gov/edu/qa-home-percapita.html