While many people do not act like it, water is undoubtedly our most precious natural resource. Without water, life cannot be sustained. But all too often, homeowners make choices that waste water and put added stress on the environment. In addition, these mistakes can be costing you more of your hard-earned money than you need to spend on your water bill.
DIY Is Not Always Better
Many homeowners in feel that taking on some DIY chores is a better option than using technology or an outsourced service provider to get the job done. In addition, they look at the cost of certain services and feel that the reward is not significant enough to offset the money spent.
For example, they think taking your car to the car wash is wasteful compared to handwashing it at home. However, drive-through car washes use as little as ten gallons of water to clean your car, truck, or SUV. When washing a vehicle at home, you can estimate using about ten gallons of water each minute that the hose is running. So in eight minutes, you use 8- gallons of water to wash your car, or eight times as much as a carwash.
Hand washing dishes is another substantial waste of water. The average dishwasher uses six gallons of water per cycle. When you have your kitchen faucet running, you are using about two gallons per minute, So unless you can wash what would be a full dishwasher load by hand in three minutes, you are wasting water and your precious time.
Long showers are another colossal water waster. Each minute in the shower consumes a little over two gallons of water. If you want to soak in warm water, sliding into a warm tub is far better. In addition, you will not continue to drain water from your water heater and waste energy and money there as well.
Watering your lawn can be an enjoyable task. But the best way to enjoy this slice of solitude is by sitting on the patio with a beverage and watching your automatic sprinkler system handle the job. A professionally designed and installed system will water far more efficiently than you could ever accomplish with a garden hose. The spray nozzles are carefully calibrated to provide precisely matched precipitation rates when the sprays overlap.
For example, watering roughly 300 square feet of turf would require about 160 gallons of water from a sprinkler system. To match that efficiency level, you would need to do the same job with your garden hose in 16 minutes. And that is not remotely realistic. So sit back, relax and watch the sprinklers do their thing.
Procrastinating Can Be Good
Did you ever think someone would tell you not to wash clothing as often as you are? The simple fact is that washing small loads of laundry is a massive waste of water. A high-efficiency washer uses from 15 to 30 gallons of water per cycle. Older models come in at up to 45 gallons per load. But when you wash only a pair of pants and shirt or other fractional loads, you are wasting a substantial amount of water. Wait until you have a whole load of dirty clothes to maximize your water consumption. You will also notice your other utility bills dropping as you use less electricity for your washing machine and gas for your dryer.
To learn more about water conservation and mistakes you might be making, call (540) 507-2904. The licensed plumbers at Assure Plumbing & Septic can assist you with low flow fixture installations and eliminating water leaks in your home.