Residential Real EstateSaving Hot Water (and Money) This Winter
As we turn our clocks back this fall and bundle up for the arrival of Old
Man Winter once again, we pledge to be thrifty with our hot water
consumption, be it ever so tempting to stand for minutes at a time under
the showerhead each morning. The longer we stand underneath that hot water,
the longer we can avoid the arrival of goose bumps and shivers. Winter
mornings aren"t easy, but high utility bills are even harder.
We waste hot water in several different ways on a daily basis, but your
showerhead is the worst culprit in your home. Short of placing a timer in
your bathroom, that old resolution to spend "just five minutes" in the
shower in order to save both hot water and money is one that even the most
disciplined penny-pincher will break. While spending less time underneath
the showerhead is an excellent way to start saving money this winter, why
not start with less painful measures, and leave the hardest one for last?
We"ve all heard the recommendation to shut off the faucet while we brush
our teeth and shave, but that"s just one occasion during which our minds
wander while the water rushes down the drain. When we wash the dinner
dishes, we"re often talking on the phone, chatting with the kids or
listening to the television while the water runs. Do yourself a favor, and
shut off the water while you"re scrubbing those casserole dishes. Have you
ever stopped to consider that over the course of a few minutes, you can
literally let gallons of hot water run down the drain that you"re not even
using while you"re scrubbing the dishes? And instead of pouring liquid soap
on each dish and letting a steady stream of hot water run over them
individually, why not fill the sink with hot, sudsy water instead? You"ll
consume a lot less water. If you live alone, or if it"s just you and your
spouse, consider hand-washing your dishes rather than using your
dishwasher, which consumes anywhere from 7 gallons to 14 gallons of hot
water per cycle. If hand-washing is too much trouble, go ahead -- use your
dishwasher. But make sure it"s completely full before starting the cycle.
When you wash your hands at the bathroom sink, do you habitually reach for
the hot water handle? Switch to cold water, instead. There"s little point
in consuming hot water for something that takes less than a minute to do.
Besides, because your water has to travel from the tank to the tap, the
faucet has to flow for about a minute for the water to become hot. So
you"re not doing yourself any favors by reaching for the hot water handle.
You"ve caused the water to leave the tank, and what you"ll get will be
lukewarm at best.
Got a leaky faucet in your home? While you"re lying in bed at night
listening to that familiar drip, drip, drip, you might consider that it"s
causing a drain, drain, drain in your finances. Those drips add up to a
large amount of water. Utility companies estimate that a leaky faucet
dripping at the rate of one drop per second will cost a homeowner
approximately 20 cents to 25 cents per day. Before you wave it off as "just
change," do the math. That"s a lot of quarters each month. Either head to
your nearest hardware store, and purchase a new washer; or call a
professional. The money you spend on an expert is a one-time expense, and
you"ll earn it back and then some when you start saving money with a faucet
that doesn"t drip. And you"ll certainly sleep better, so how can you lose?
When washing your clothes in your washing machine, use the cold water
cycle. Your clothes won"t mind, and neither will you. You"ll save
considerable amounts of hot water. Make sure you wash only full loads of
clothing (don"t run lighter loads through "small" or "medium" cycles), and
place the switch on your washing machine to the "short" or "extra short"
cycle to save both electricity and water.
If your bathroom has a shower/bathtub combination, you"ve probably noticed
that your faucet continues a steady stream or drip while you take a shower.
If that"s the case, you"re wasting a fairly large amount of hot water with
every use of your shower. Unscrew the spout if you can, and inspect it for
water deposits (which have a greenish, scaly appearance). You can either
attempt to remove those deposits by soaking the spout in white vinegar; or
head to your hardware store and purchase a new spout. Either method should
help to alleviate the problem.
And, while we"re in the bathroom, it is indeed in the best interest of your
bank account and your hot water supply to spend a shorter time underneath
that showerhead. You might consider switching to baths, instead, or if you
don"t have time during the week, take baths on weekends. You"ll be saving
hot water at least two days a week, which is better than nothing. You don"t
have to live a live of self-deprivation, but even the smallest measures can
pay sizeable dividends in terms of your water consumption and your monthly
utility bill. And consider this: You can buy some new sweaters a warm
bathrobe with all of that money you"ll be saving.
Also See:
Prepare Your Home to Welcome Old Man Winter
Winter Weather Warrants Energy Efficient Efforts, Intimate Inspections
Your Home"s Cold Winter Warnings