9 Simple Ways to Reduce Household Water Use

Here in the dog days of summer, many homeowners are experiencing higher-than-normal water bills—especially homeowners with irrigation systems or with large lawn and garden areas. Not only are these bills tough on the wallet, but of course they also show that a lot of water is being used, and possibly wasted—which isn’t good for the earth. Homeowners looking to save money and be a little greener need to do what they can to curb household water use—but what?

There is actually plenty that can be done. We’ve rounded up nine simple and straightforward water-savings tips:

Protect against leaks. Even a small, slow leak can waste dozens of gallons of water each day. Taking the time to check all your faucets and pipes, and fix any problems, can be a huge money-saver in the long run.
Only flush what needs to be flushed. Remember that every flush of the toilet is five or more gallons of water, literally gone down the drain. There are times, of course, when you truly need to flush—but there’s no reason to flush a lone tissue from where you blew your nose, for example. Your toilet is not a trashcan!
Try to curb your garburator use. The garburator takes a significant amount of water to work properly, so only use it when it’s really appropriate to. If it’s just as easy to scrape a plate into the trashcan, do that.
Waste less water while washing dishes by hand. There’s no need to keep the water running while you scrub. Turn on the faucet only when you need to rinse.
Keep a bottle of cool drinking water in your refrigerator. Running the water to let it get cool is wasteful; use the fridge, instead!
Install low-flow showerheads. These are quite easy to install, and can save significant money whenever you take showers.
Get some foam insulation or blankets to use around your water pipes. This will ensure that hot water gets to faucets/showers faster, meaning you waste less water waiting for things to heat up.
Don’t run the water while you brush your teeth. After you wet your toothbrush, turn off the faucet until it’s time to rinse. There’s no need to waste water while you’re brushing. This is a little thing that can make a huge difference.
Only run the dishwasher or clothes washer when you have full loads.