JACKSONVILLE, Fla – We continue our series of “Making Ends Meet” reports by helping you save money on your water bill. Outside your home, your irrigation system is the biggest drain on your bill.
Inside, there are a few rooms that account for the most water usage.
Bathroom
Your toilet and your shower are the biggest drains on water in your home. Showers use almost 17% of a typical household’s indoor water use.
- To reduce wasting water, try taking a shorter shower. A 10-minute shower with a low-flow showerhead uses less water than a full bath.
- Your sink faucet can cause a spike if it’s dripping. Those drops can add up and waste 3,000+ gallons a year or enough to take more than 180 showers.
- Turn off the water when you brush your teeth, shave or wash your hands. Turning off the water while you brush can save 8 gallons a day.
- Invest in a toilet that conserves more water. New toilets typically use between 1 to 2 gallons of water each time you flush, but older models can use as much as 6 gallons per flush. A WaterSense-labeled toilet can cut your annual water usage by 13,000 gallons.
Laundry Room
- Save money by washing only full loads of laundry using cold water, not hot.
- Select a high-spin cycle in the dryer. This will remove more moisture from fabrics and reduce dryer time, which uses electricity.
- It’s also recommended you avoid using timed cycles too, automatic cycles use sensors to determine when items are dry and the dryer ends the cycle. Timed cycles can keep spinning, wasting energy.
- Another way to reduce the amount of water you use in the laundry room is to dry heavy stuff, like towels and jeans, separately from lightweight clothes. The lighter-weight items will dry faster, sparing your energy bill.
Kitchen
- To reduce the amount of water you use, run only full loads of dishes in the dishwasher.
- Before loading your dishwasher, scrape your dishes instead of rinsing them.
- No dishwasher? When handwashing, avoid letting the water run.
Complete Coverage: Making Ends Meet
- Monday: We began our Making Ends Meet series focusing on reducing your utility bill. Click here to read about a local homeowner who called JEA when her water bill jumped $100 in a month. Learn about a free service JEA offers to help you identify leaks that could cause your bill to spike.
- Wednesday: We tackle your electric bill. We pinpoint the biggest factors that cause a spike and explain why JEA said most people are not using their ceiling fans correctly, costing them more money.