It’s near the end of the month and you notice that an email just hit your account. Ah, it’s the bill for your water usage.

You cringe, thinking back to the last time you opened that dreaded email. You remember that shock at seeing how much money was demanded from you.

But you’ve been good this month! You even skipped a shower or two as you were rushing to get out the door on a late morning start. That counts…right?

You open the bill and, somehow, it’s even more money than last month! How can this be!? How are you supposed to lower this darn bill without depriving yourself of the necessities that come with high water usage?

Well, no need to worry. We’ve got you covered. We put together a list of 5 simple ways to save money on your expensive water bill.

That’s it. Just 5 easy-to-do things.

We aren’t interested in drowning you with a bunch of information that’s repeats itself in order to make bold claims (looking at you, top 100 lists). So with that in mind, let’s not delay and jump right into the list!

5 Simple Ways To Save Money On Your Expensive Water Bill

1. Seriously, Fix the Leaks!

Leaks can cost you a surprising amount of money if you procrastinate on fixing them.

The average amount of money that a leaky faucet will cost is typically anywhere from $1-$20 a month depending on the severity of the leak and how many faucets are leaking. Out of the leaking problems, this is the least costly.

But other, lesser-known leaks can cost you a lot more. Leaky toilets (also known as running toilets) will cost around $70 a month! Keep in mind that this is assuming there’s only one leaky toilet.

Pipe leaks alone can run you hundreds in additional costs, and the damage that they can cause to your house will lead to even more expenses down the road.

And if you have a broken sprinkler? Depending on how it’s broken, that can easily cost you an extra $100-$200 a month!

Luckily, most of these have quick and easy fixes.

A proficient handyman can fix a leaky faucet without much trouble. You can try to DIY, but you should only do so if you are confident in your abilities. Otherwise, you could make the situation worse and end up with a bigger bill. As for sprinklers, get a technician to help you out.

Not sure if your toilet is leaking? Listen for “phantom flushing” (the toilet is flushing but no one is using it) or other signs that water is constantly moving through your toilet.

If you hear these sounds, check to make sure that the toilet flapper is still working properly. If it’s slightly loose, ajar, or not sticking to the hole, then it needs to be replaced.

Some toilets won’t make any sounds, so be sure to check if you have a sky-high water bill anyways.

Pipe leaks are a bit harder to diagnose but worth checking if you have an expensive water bill. The easiest way to check is to look at your water meter and see if the leak indicator is moving.

If you don’t have access to a water meter, then you can check for:

• Mold or mildew on non-shower walls
• Stained, sagging, or damaged walls, flooring, ceiling, etc.
• A musty, dank smell associated with old sitting water

If you do have a leaky pipe, call a plumber. We do not recommend that you try to handle leaky pipes on your own as mistakes can be disastrous.

2. Change Your Bathing Habits!

We know, we know.

The last thing people want to do is sacrifice their wonderful showers and baths in the name of water conservation.

But as one of the leading causes of expensive water bills, we can’t just gloss over it. But don’t worry, we’re not going to tell you that you have to take a 5-minute, cold shower to save money.

It’s more important to understand how to best use your shower times as opposed to following a strict guideline.

We recommend personalizing the following tips to best fit your lifestyle:

1. Try a “bare-bones” shower.

All you have to do is get yourself wet, turn off the water, lather and wash, and then turn the water back on to rinse. This method uses the least amount of water by far.

This method is especially useful for people who don’t want to give up the warm, steamy environment. Run the water until the you achieve the perfect steam level and then perform and “bare-bones” method.

2. Perform a shower as normal but collect any unused water (typically during heating time).

Instead of conserving water by reducing your usage, you can collect the otherwise waster water for other activities like watering plants, cleaning dishes, and so on.

This is done BEFORE showering and is usually done while the water is heating. Please do not reuse water that has touched your skin.

3. Consider showering every other day.

While a bit controversial for some people, there are dermatologists that claim over-showering can lead to skin and health problems.

Of course, only practice this if it makes sense for. If your lifestyle requires you to get down and dirty all the time, you probably shouldn’t skip the daily shower.

4. Switch out your old showerhead with a low-flow showerhead.

Most showerheads pump out 4.5 gallons of water per minute while low-flow showerheads only pump out 2.5 gallons per minute. That’s a large amount of water and money savings!

These are just some tips that you can use. Get creative!

The less water that you use in your showers, the more money that you save. It adds up quickly.

As for baths, they use an average of 36 gallons. That will get you about 15 minutes of shower time with a low-flow shower-head. If you want to save on water, stick to short showers. You can check out some example calculations in this post here.

And if you want to, you can take that cold, 5-minute shower. More power to you!

3. Be Smart with Water-Hungry Appliances!

It’s no secret that dishwashers require a ton of water. And washing machines are notorious for using nearly 40+ gallons of water per cycle. So it shouldn’t be surprising that they are big contributors to that expensive water bill.

The best way to save money on dishwashers? Well, that would be to fill up a sink with water and wash all the dishes by hand.

Stop booing us, we know we’re right!

But if you are married to your dishwasher, there are some ways to ease water usage.

Always make sure to load up your dishwasher to maximum capacity (do not overfill it). Do not run a dishwasher with a load that’s anything less than 3/4ths full.

By doing so, you clean more dishes per run and reduce the number of times you need to use it, thereby saving water. Some of the fancier models will even allow you to change the water-usage settings and use less water, though this may result in improperly cleaned dishes.

As for washing machines, there’s not too much you can do if you have an older model. They are built to use a set amount of water per cycle, and that number usually can’t be changed.

For these models, we recommend loading up your washer to maximum capacity (do not overfill it) to reduce the overall number of loads.

Newer models are far superior. They use much less water and usually achieve better cleaning results. The fancier models will even allow you to change how much water is used per load.

You can also skip the extra rinse, which is rarely ever needed anyways, and utilize size cycles for optimal efficiency.

By making these easy changes, you can continue to reign in the water bill and keep more money in your pocket.

4. Have a Lawn Care System? Use it!

This for all of you homeowners/home renters out there. If your property comes with an automatic sprinkler system, be sure to take advantage of it!

These systems give you complete control in how long and when you want to water your lawn. If you haven’t done so already, break out the manual and figure out how to set up your system so that you can get the best lawn for the least amount of water.

Here are some helpful tips that you can use today:

• Periodically aerate your lawn. 6-inch holes will allow water to seep into the soil instead of run across the surface, meaning you won’t have to use as much water to hydrate the lawn.
• Remove invasive plant species like weeds frequently. They compete for resources, including water. Water that goes to weeds = less water for your lawn = more water required.
• Water in the early morning. This is especially important during hotter seasons, as early morning watering avoids the evaporation that comes with higher temperatures.
• Water twice a week. It’s not necessary to water your lawn any more than that. More plants die from over-watering than under-watering, so take it easy.

Automatic systems make lawn care easy, efficient, and affordable if you know how to use it.

So please, know how to use it! Your wallet (and your lawn) will thank you for it.

5. Don’t Neglect the Little Things!

It’s easy to get wrapped up in the big water conservation methods, but it’s important to remember that a lot of water is lost in the little things.

Running the faucet while brushing your teeth, running the faucet while washing dishes, tossing reusable water, and other small habits can sneakily inflate your water bill.

So remember to:

• Turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth
• Fill a sink with water and wash your dishes from that sink
• Keep water that can be used somewhere else. If you have plants, they will appreciate this water
• Avoid recreational water toys
• Use a sink full of water when shaving instead of running water
• Cook food in as little water as possible

There are many other ways to save water if you look hard enough.

Each small change takes dollars off that pesky water bill. Go try some of these today!

Wrap Up

And that’s it! That’s our list of 5 simple ways to save money on your expensive water bill.

We hope that you found it useful and will try some of these today. There’s no better time like the present to practice good water conservation habits.

And when you conserve water, you aren’t just cutting down on a high water bill. You are also supporting the environment and living green (which has a direct positive effect on your daily life, by the way).

For more tips on how eco-friendly living can save you money, check out this post here.

So go out there and continue to strive towards a greener, better life. We’re 100% behind you!

If you liked our tips and want to add a few of your own, leave a comment down below and tell us! We’d love to hear from you.

Until next time, let’s continue to strive towards a greener, better way of living.