15 Simple Tips to Save Money on Your Water Bill

The water bill may not be one of your biggest monthly expenses. But if you're on a tight budget, small savings are always welcome wherever you can find them. These tips to save money on your water bill don't take much effort, and the savings can add up to a few hundred bucks over the course of the year. Plus, it's more environmentally friendly to use less water at home.

So, if you're interested in ways to reduce your spending on monthly utility costs, check out these tips to save money on your water bill and put them to work for you!

Ways to Reduce Your Water Bill

1. Put an aerator on your sink faucets. They only cost a few dollars. They increase the water pressure while decreasing how much water actually comes out. You can easily cut down your water consumption by 10 to 20 gallons or more per day this way.
   
   
2. Keep water in a pitcher in the fridge. Then, you don't have to stand there with the tap running to let the water get nice and cold every time you or someone else in your home wants a refreshing drink.
   
   
3. Microwave water to heat it up instead of running the tap and waiting for the water to get hot. It doesn't take long at all to heat it in the microwave.
   
   
4. Skip the garbage disposal since proper operation requires running lots of water down the drain while you use it. Just throw your food away or compost it.
   
   
5. Use your dishwasher instead of hand-washing dishes. Most dishwashers use about 6 gallons of water in a complete cycle. But most sink faucets run about 2 gallons of water per minute, so if you spend more than 3 minutes hand-washing, you're increasing your water usage and bill.
   
   
6. Don't rinse dishes under running water when pre-rinsing and loading the dishwasher. Instead, stick to scraping food off, or fill a bowl with water and dunk the dishes as needed.
   
   
7. Wait to run the dishwasher until it's full. It uses the same amount of water every time it runs, so if you run it when it's partially empty, you're wasting water.
   
   
8. Wait to use the washing machine until you have a full load of laundry, too. Or, when doing a smaller load, make sure you adjust the settings to a small load so the machine fills up less.
   
   
9. Take shorter showers. Every minute you cut out saves about 2 to 3 gallons of water. If you and your family all shave off just two or three minutes, the savings over the course of a year are significant.
   
   
10. Turn the shower off while you lather up with shampoo and soap. You don't need the water running at these times, so it's an easy way to use a little less water. And it shouldn't take so long that the water won't still be hot when you turn it back on.
    
    
11. Don't flush the toilet every time you pee. Most toilets use anywhere from about 2 to 7 gallons per flush. So, if everyone in your household eliminates even one flush per day, it can reduce your water usage by almost 3,000 to more than 10,200 gallons per year.
    
    
12. Don't run the sink while you're shaving or brushing your teeth. Just fill up a small container to dip the razor in and fill up a cup to rinse your mouth with.
    
    
13. Inspect your appliances, faucets, and pipes every once in a while to check for leaks or dripping. Fix them quickly when you spot them because even minor issues can waste 10 or 20 gallons of water per day.
    
    
14. Sweep your porch, deck, walkway, driveway, sidewalk, and other outdoor areas instead of hosing them off.
    
    
15. Keep an eye on your water bill and watch for any sudden spikes. This often points to a leak somewhere, so investigate right away.