As the school year has come to a close, your children are home for the day and your college students have returned home for summer break. The food in your kitchen cabinets and fridge aren’t the only thing about to take a hit this season, your water bill is about to increase dramatically as well.
Keep your water bill from increasing too much this summer by taking the following steps and precautions:
Sprinkler SystemTo get the most out of using your sprinkler system, set your sprinklers to go off either early in the morning around seven or at night around seven. This allows time for the water to sink into the ground before and after the sun is at its highest and risk evaporating the water. Be sure to keep watch on the weather and manually turn off the sprinkler on rainy days.
LaundryMore people in your home during the summer means more laundry. When washing loads of laundry, don’t wash until you have a full load of clothes to wash. High energy efficient washers use 15 to 30 gallons of water while older machines use 29 to 45 gallons of water per load. Instead of doing several small loads of laundry, get the most out of the water you use and wash only large loads.
Take advantage of the nice weather and dry your laundry outside. Not using your dryer will lower your energy bill, compensating for the additional water used from washing more loads of laundry.
DishwasherWhen your children are home for the summer eating all of your food they’ll be using more dishes. Opt for using biodegradable disposable plates and bowls. This will help save you from running your dishwasher as often. When you are using the dishwasher, only run a full load to make the most out of the water being used.