9 Steps to Winter Water Saving

Photo by Snap®

Water is an incredibly plentiful resource, but it's none to cheap these days. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, energy use for the average house breaks down as follows:

   * Heating and cooling 45%
   * Water heater 11%
   * Clothes washer and dryer 10%
   * Lighting 7%
   * Refrigerator 6%
   * Dishwasher 2%
   * TV/DVD 2%
   * Computer and monitor 2%
   * Other 15%

In short, heating, cooling and using water adds up to nearly a quarter of your energy fees. In addition, water-supply planners estimate that a typical household needs approximately 150,000 gallons per year to satisfy the demands of a home and landscape. Implementing the following tips can help substantially reduce your energy bill without visibly reducing your quality of life.

1. Use a low-flow showerhead
No doubt you've heard this one before, but the fact is that a standard showerhead sprays you with up to 8 gallons per minute of warm water. Replace it with a low-flow showerhead and you'll use only 1 to 2 gallons of water per minute. Most people hardly notice a difference, except in their utility bill. Check with your local utility office as many now offer free or inexpensive low-flows to residents.

2. Wash clothes with cold water
Despite what laundry-detergent advertisements insist, most clothes clean just as well in cold as hot water, with the exception of diapers and stained clothes. Since water heating accounts for about 90 percent of the energy used by washing machines, cleaning in hot water is costing you 20 to 40 cents per load. That adds up. When possible, you can save even more by hanging wet clothes on an indoor or outdoor clothes line to save dryer electricity.

3. Clothes washer efficiency
Run the washing machine only when you have a full load of clothes. Use the shortest wash cycle for lightly soiled loads and select the minimum water volume per load if your washer has a variable water-volume setting. Regularly check all hoses for leaks.

4. Insulate your water heater
Wrap your water heater tank in a fiberglass-insulation blanket and reduce heat loss by 25 to 45 percent, resulting in a 4 to 9 percent savings on your water heating bill. You can purchase these blankets for $20 to $30 at your local hardware store or through your utility company. It's particularly important to avoid blocking air intakes and exhaust vents on gas models and thermostat-access panels on electric heaters. Newer models may not require blankets as they already are well insulated, so check your water heater manual first.

5. Lower your water temperature
Your hot-water heater is probably turned higher than necessary. Most heaters are set at 140 F, which you only really need if you have a dishwasher without a booster heater. Turn the temp down to 120 F (the medium setting on a gas-heater dial) and you'll reduce your water-heating costs 6 to 10 percent. Remember that many electric water heaters have both an upper and lower thermostat to adjust. Also, be sure to turn the electricity off at the circuit break before making adjustments.

6. Upgrade to a low-flow toilet
Toilets made before 1993 use 3.5 to 8 gallons per flush while high-efficiency models made after 1993 use 1.6 gallons or less per flush. A family of four can save 14,000 to 25,000 gallons per year by switching from conventional to low-flow toilets. Your water utility may even offer rebates for replacing conventional models.

7. Toilet efficiency
Consider not flushing after each use, don't use the toilet as a wastebasket and check regularly for toilet leaks by placing food coloring in the tank. Repairing leaking toilets can save more than 600 gallons of water per month. Avoid toilet-tank cleaning tablets that affect the pH of water and can cause leaks by damaging the rubber and plastic parts of the toilet.

8. Faucet efficiency
Install low-flow faucet aerators on all your household faucets to restrict flow to less than 1.0 gallons per minute. Don't run the faucet continuously while shaving, washing dishes and hands, or brushing your teeth. Check and repair faucet leaks to save up to 140 gallons of water per week.

9. Dishwasher efficiency
Running the dishwasher only when it's full can save 1,000 gallons of water per month. (Running it while full actually uses less water than washing the same number of dishes by hand.) Avoid the drying cycle as most use 1,500 watts per cycle. Finally, install a high-efficiency dishwasher when your old one is ready to go.