It’s the small things that end up costing you. Absentmindedly leaving the faucet on while you brush your teeth, hand washing dishes instead of running the dishwasher, waiting for cold water to come out of the tap to slake your thirst…it all adds up!
Experts in water conservation call this “behavioral waste,” and it’s nothing to take lightly if you intend to slash your water bill.
Here are four ways you’re wasting water without even realizing it.
Of course, no one wants to drink warm water, but that’s what you’ll get if you immediately fill a glass from the tap. That’s why we wait for the faucet to discharge water that’s been sitting in a hot pipe. The hotter it is outside, the warmer the initial stream will be.
But waiting only 30 seconds for colder water can easily waste a gallon. Do this several times a day, and you begin to see the problem.
The solution: Keep a large container of water in the fridge.
Sometimes it’s just easier to wash dishes by hand. Scrub em’, rinse em,’ put em’ in the dryer rack after each meal. You might even think you’re saving water this way, but you’d be surprised to learn that an Energy Star-certified dishwasher uses as little as three gallons per load. Hand washing a whole load, in contrast, can use more than 20 gallons. Put down your sponge and put your dishwasher to work.
Leaving On the Faucet While Brushing Your Teeth and Shaving
The American Dental Association recommends brushing your teeth for 2 minutes twice a day. Faucets installed before 1994 used up more than 2 gallons per minute. Simple math: Brushing your teeth two times a day for 2 minutes sends 8 gallons down the drain if you have an outdated faucet.
The same holds true for shaving. The more water-wise approach is to fill the sink basin part of the way, giving you just enough to swirl your razor in. Better yet, shave in the shower or go electric.
Ok, this one is controversial. But there’s real truth in the “yellow, let it mellow” maxim. We did a poll on this and found that 75% of respondents are committed flushers.
Modern toilets use 1.6 gallons per flush — older toilets significantly more. Flushing every other pee can yield serious water savings if you can tolerate leaving a little yellow in the bowl.
Bottom line: Curbing behavioral waste is one way to shrink your water consumption. Another way is to halt structural waste. Structural waste occurs when outdated plumbing fixtures use more water than necessary. We can’t help you stop water-wasting habits, but we can upgrade your faucets and showerheads to low-flow models, helping you save thousands of gallons a year. Contact Aztec Plumbing & Drains today at 239-212-0299.
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