by Susan Klatz Beal

Created on: November 17, 2009

When it comes to the cost of utilities, and in particular water, it doesn't matter whether you rent a home or apartment or own your home; the cost is continually rising and many people are clueless as to how to save on the cost of water. It is possible to lower your water costs substantially without compromising any aspect of the quality of your life.

Here is a look at some simple ways by which to reduce your water bill.

*Showers -

Instead of bathing, take showers. Baths consume huge amounts of water while a shower will only use a few gallons by comparison. If you do take a bath, reuse the gray water to water plants outside.

*Hot water heaters -

First of all, turn the thermostat on the hot water heater down to about 90 degrees. It won't mean that you wind up with less hot water; it will simply mean that your hot water heater doesn't have to work over time in order to keep the water hot.

*Avoid waste -

When you brush your teeth, wash your face, wash your hands or do your daily hygiene routine at the bathroom sink, turn the water off or fill the basin rather than leaving the water running. By leaving the water running, you are wasting huge amounts of water.

Don't leave the water running when you do your dishes. Fill the dish pan with soapy water and turn the water on only when you need to rinse the dishes. If you use a dishwasher, don't run it until it is full. If you wait to run the dishwasher until it is full, you will use considerably less water.

*Water your garden productively -

Many people believe that they should water their gardens a little bit and do it very often. This is a wasteful way to water. It doesn't matter whether you're watering flowers, plants, vegetables or plants; everything needs a good inch to two inches of water weekly. This means that the dirt in the ground must get moist to that depth. You'd be better off and use a lot less water if you watered for a couple of hours every three to four days.

If you have an underground sprinkler system, that is on a timer, set it to water less often and for longer. If you don't have a sprinkler system, you can attach a timer to your outdoor spigot and then attach the hose to the timer. This will allow you to set your regular sprinklers for a certain amount of time. The sprinkler will go off, but you will have to turn off the water.

*Save water when doing laundry -

You can lower your water bill by making some minor changes when you do laundry. First of all, use cold water. Many of the commercial brands of laundry soap have reformulated their formulas to make them work better in cold water.

Make sure that you have a full load when you go to wash clothes. Most machines have the ability to change the water level according to the size of the load, but even if you do this and don't fill the load sufficiently, you are wasting water.

Combine loads of laundry. If you have colored towels and regularly wash them separately from your colored clothing, consider washing them together. Likewise, if you wash sheets separately from your light colored or white clothing, do them together.

Quite simply, a greater awareness of how you are using water and how much you use will help you curtail your consumption. Make a point of thinking about how you use water and when you use water. Consider getting a rain catch basin so you can use rain water for watering plants. Be more careful when you wash dishes, shower, bathe, and do laundry. You never know when you might be forced to curtail your water use because the available water supply isn't unlimited.

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