by Elizabeth M Young

Created on: September 08, 2009   Last Updated: September 11, 2009

The easiest and cheapest ways to save water at home include using the features of water saving appliances, managing clothing, using water aerators, and adopting a few habits.

A quick review of appliance manuals may uncover ignored or unknown water saving features that provide settings for small, medium and large loads in dishwashers and washing machines. It might require developing the habit of checking the water or load settings every time you use the devices, but savings over time can be enormous.

Other dishwasher habits, such avoiding the extra rinsing and pot scrubber settings, resisting washing the dishes before using the dishwasher, and using foil or other types of pan liners to avoid baked on soil, will add up in water savings.

With large families, clothes discipline is a great set of habit forming behaviors to encourage, and good luck! When briefly worn clothes are removed and hung up right away, they do not require constant washing. Any clothes that are tossed on the huge, funky pile that builds up over time are suspect and must be washed. That adds up to much larger loads of laundry and unnecessary water usage.

Any efforts to create organized spaces for keeping slightly worn or clean clothes separate from the dirty pile will reduce the amount of washing. In a standard 10' by 12' bedroom, with only a standard 6' closet, there are few options for handling the crammed in clothes and cramped in furniture.

Clearing and organizing overstuffed closets and cramped bedrooms to create easier sorting, storage, and hanging space, will help. This will help to create more efficient and effective laundry management, which will lead to better water management.

Water aerators are cheap and easy to install. They introduce tons of bubbles into the water and will save gallons of water every day. From the frequent hand washer to the chronic dish rinser, aerating the water has something for everyone. The only drawback is that it can take longer to fill a pot or a glass, but the savings in other uses is worth the extra wait for solid water.

Toilet water savers such as a "Toilet Tummy" are special bags of plain water that hang in the toilet tank and replace some of the water needed for a successful flush. One 160 ounce bag will save that much water with every flush!

A final water saver might be worth a bit of expense and work. Hot water takes a while to get there. When the hot water heater is at one end of the house and the bathrooms or kitchen are at the other, it can take gallons of water before a comfortable shower or proper hand washing can be done. It might be worth looking into the costs and possibilities of (properly) relocating the hot water heater.

If moving the hot water heater is not an option, a little bit of work to collect the cold shower water in a small bucket, and using it to flush the toilet is far, far better than letting it go wasted and down the drain.

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