3 Plumbing Updates to Reduce Your Water Bill

From washing dishes and showering to brushing your teeth and flushing toilets, the amount of water you and the rest of your family use can be overwhelming. According to the EPA, American families use an average of 300 gallons of water each day. While some people have a private bill and don't have to worry about a recurring water bill, most people receive their water from the city or their local community.

Whether your home's water supply is from the city or community, a monthly water bill can be a challenge. Thankfully, conserving water is possible with a few innovative plumbing updates. This guide and your plumber will teach you a few plumbing updates to consider if you want to reduce your water bills.

Most people are surprised to learn how much water a toilet uses. Older toilets, which were manufactured before 1994, used at least 3.5 gallons of water to flush away waste. That averages out to be around 20 gallons of water per person per day.

This water usage may be effective for removing waste out of the toilet, but it is actually unnecessary thanks to the innovative designs of today's low-flush toilets.

Low-flow toilets are manufactured with gravity or pressure assistance. This means gravity and pressure can be used to flush waste out of the toilet using 1.6 gallons of water with each flush.

Although determining the exact amount of water savings can be difficult because each household is different, the installation of low-flow toilets can save the average American household 25 gallons of water per day.

Replacing traditional faucets and showerheads with new water-efficient models has a few benefits. Not only will new fixtures update the look and value of your kitchen and bathrooms, but the fixtures will also help conserve water and reduce your monthly water bills.

Washing dishes or your hands in the sink, brushing your teeth, shaving, and taking a bath or shower can all increase your water usage drastically. While surprising, a five-minute shower under a traditional showerhead can use up to 35 gallons.

Water-efficient faucets and showerheads are equipped with aerators and sensors that limit water flow, reducing waste without affecting your actual water needs.

Again, every household is different, but water-efficient, low-flow faucets and showerheads can reduce your water use by 30 to 50 percent.

Landscaping is an important part of your home's look and value. Unfortunately, maintaining an attractive and healthy landscape requires a good amount of water.

Using an irrigation system to water your lawn, flowers, trees, and shrubs can become costly, but you may not even realize how much water your sprinkler system uses. In addition, you may not believe how much water you are wasting because your sprinkler system is running too much.

Firstly, make sure your irrigation system is free of leaks. If you notice puddles forming in certain areas of your landscape, you may have an underlying leak in this location.

If your sprinkler system is older, consider replacing old emitters and sprinkler heads with waterefficient models. This will help you reduce your water usage while ensuring your lawn and plants are healthy, but not drenched with water.

A timer is crucial if you have underground sprinklers. A timer can be set to turn on and shut off your irrigation at specific intervals, helping you remember to water when necessary while preventing you from shutting off the water when watering is not necessary.

Finally, invest in a smart-controller system that senses how much water your landscape needs based on current weather conditions. A weather-based controller for your irrigation system can improve water efficiency significantly.

Reducing your household's water bill is possible. For more information and ideas, contact Daytona Plumbing today.