Small Things Add Up to BIG Savings When it Comes to Water Conservation

By Billy Aldridge

When the economy is bad the last thing anyone wants to do is waste money.  But that’s exactly what many people do month in and month out without ever knowing why.  What I am talking about is wasting water needlessly.  Whether you realize it or not, there are a number of ways in which you can save money due to undetected water leaks.  Below are four things you can do every month or so to prevent your money from going down the drain.

1.       The Toilet

Other than installing a high-efficiency toilet which will save you money with every flush, the one Achille’s heel on every toilet is the flapper.   Over time, hard water and chlorine start to take their toll on the flapper, causing it to become warped.  Two of the ways to determine if it is time to replace the flapper are to look and listen.  If you remove the cover from the back of the tank, you should be able to see if the flapper is beginning to warp.  But if you hear the toilet running from time to time when there is no one in the bathroom, this is a sure sign that you need to replace the flapper.  Best of all, replacing the flapper is one of the simplest DIY plumbing projects in the book.  (Below is a video that takes you step by step through the process.)

2.       The Bathroom

Of course, the toilet is not the only culprit when it comes to rounding up the usual suspects when you are trying to track down a leak.  Another common source of water loss is due to leaky faucets and spigots.  You may not realize it, but that drip, drip, drip can add up to hundreds of gallons of water loss each and every month.   The shower can also rob you if you haven’t shifted to a high-performance shower head that can reduce consumption down to less than two gallons per minute.

3.       The Kitchen

While many people spend tens of thousands of dollars to upgrade their kitchens, there are a number of low cost ways to reduce water wastage in the kitchen, including changing the aerator on the faucet to a high-efficiency model, waiting until the dishwasher is completely full to run it and using the spray attachment or filling up the sink instead of simply letting the water run non-stop while you do the dishes.

4.       The Sprinkler System

The irrigation system is another robber baron when it comes to wasting water.   Just as with the kitchen and bath, there are high-efficiency sprinkler heads that can save water every time the system is activated.  There are also moisture sensors that will automatically turn the system off when it rains.  But the single biggest waste of water in the yard is due to cracked pipes and damaged sprinkler heads.  Even though the irrigation system operates on its own, every homeowner still needs to manually check to make sure that it is in proper working order and free from leaks.

The bottom line is that if you don’t want to make the utility company any richer, a little due diligence is all that it takes to make sure that your hard earned cash doesn't go straight down the drain.

Billy Aldridge is one of the Doctor’s of Plumbology at Aldridge and Sons Plumbing, a commercial and residential plumbing contractor located in Jacksnville, FL.  Go to http://plumbers-jacksonville-fl.com for all your plumbing needs.