Conserving Water at Home in the New Year

The calendar has flipped over to 2019, and with the new year comes many resolutions and commitments we make to being better in certain areas. One common such resolution for many homeowners looking to improve both their water bill and the environment: Conserving water.

At All Hours Plumbing, Heating & Air, we can help you with various tips and plumbing services that will assist you in saving water without sacrificing your comfort or your hard-earned dollars. Here are several areas you should consider when looking at ways to conserve some water for the new year.

Hot Water Delivery

In many cases, the primary source of wasted water in the home is through an inefficient hot water delivery system. This can cause huge amounts of water to be wasted due to poor cooling processes, or due to transportation and delivery areas that are not in order.

If applicable, consider some upgrades to your system here. If taps far away from your hot water heater are struggling to produce hot water, consider a hot water recirculation system that will help bring water to these areas with less intrusion. In other cases, your home might benefit from an upgrade to a tankless water heater, which reduces the time you have to wait for hot water and lowers your heating costs.

Toilets

Another top source of wasted water is the toilet, which can leak or have parts that simply wear down and allow water through. Did you realize over a quarter of your home’s total water use is taken up by the toilet?

If your toilet has even minor leaks, it can waste hundreds of gallons of water per day. Be diligent about having these repaired immediately if they’re present. And if you own an older toilet model, you might consider upgrading to a new low-flow option that accomplishes the same thing while using a fraction of the water.

Showers

Showers make up almost another 20 percent of indoor home water use, but you can lower this number yourself by taking shorter showers. Even cutting shower times from 10 minutes to five will save you thousands of gallons of water per year.

In addition, you might consider low-flow showerheads rated by the US EPAWaterSense in this area. These will save you untold amounts of water while also limiting the electricity needed to heat it up.

Faucets

Dripping faucets are another big source of wasted water – even a small leak can lead to hundreds of gallons lost in a given month. Once again, there are WaterSense-approved faucets here that reduce water flow and leaking risks. In addition, consider ways to limit your faucet usage – you don’t need to run the sink for the entire two minutes every time you brush your teeth, for instance.

For more on conserving water in the new year, or to learn about any of our plumbing or HVAC services, speak to the staff at All Hours Plumbing, Heating & Air today.