2 Overlooked Ways To Lower Your Bills In 2023

With 2023 just around the corner, you might be considering New Year’s resolutions! For some, it's getting fit. For others, it's learning a new skill. For some, it's spending less money and saving more. If you’re in that last category, we can help!

One of the most overlooked ways of saving cash is reducing water usage. If you're wondering, “Does that mean I should shower less in 2023? Or take super quick showers?” No, no, no, that’s not what we’re saying! There are better ways. Better smelling ways. One of the best ways to reduce water usage and lower utility bills is to install low-flow fixtures.

To learn more, we invite you to keep reading!

Low-flow Shower Heads

According to the EPA, standard showerheads spray 2.5 gallons of water per minute. Factoring in that the average length of a shower is 8 minutes, this adds up to about 20 gallons of water per shower. Considering the average household alongside these stats, many of us use about 14,600 gallons of water per year showering!

The EPA recommends installing WaterSense-labeled showerheads, which spray 2 gallons of water per minute. If you do the math, this will cut your water usage down from 14,600 gallons per year to 11,680. That’s 2,920 gallons saved per year! And if you’re concerned about these showerheads lessening the quality or comfort of your showers, you should know that great effort was made to ensure that they perform just as well or better than standard fixtures.

Another benefit of low-flow showerheads is they decrease your energy bill. Since you’re using less water, your water heater works less, which means it uses less electricity.

Low-flow Faucets and Aerators

To reduce water usage in your sinks, you have a couple of options: low-flow faucets or aerators. Installing a low-flow faucet means completely replacing your standard faucet with a WaterSense-labeled one. Comparatively, installing an aerator means adding a small mesh screen (that costs a few dollars) to your existing faucet to reduce water flow.

The EPA states that the standard faucet releases 2.2 gallons of water per minute, but a WaterSense faucet reduces water flow to 1.5 gallons per minute (a 30% decrease). They estimate that the average household could save 700 gallons of water annually by switching!

Like low-flow showerheads, low-flow faucets and aerators don’t require sacrificing effectiveness or water pressure. They also lessen the load on your water heater, resulting in a lower energy bill.

Remember there are many more fixtures and appliances you can install in your home: Dual-flush toilets, irrigation controls, sprinklers, and more. But we wanted to tell you about shower heads and faucets because they’re two of the most affordable and easy options to install, and therefore the best place to start! We hope these tips will help you meet your New Year’s goal of saving money. And if you’re looking to install a septic system or yours needs maintenance or repair, contact BBB Septic by clicking here!

BBB Solutions: Water Efficiency

Water efficiency and conservation saves you money, limits contamination of local water, and extends the lifespan of your septic system.

How Does It Work?

All of the water your household uses gets sent down its pipes and into its septic system, and so reducing your water usage, or using your water efficiently, helps avoid potential issues and damages such as septic system overloading or failure, drainfield problems, clogged pipes, and contamination of local water sources.

For example, heavy water usage overloads your septic system and negates its abilities to treat wastewater. This can cause drainfield issues (soggy spots in your yard, sewage odors, etc.), and the contaminated water that has leached into the soil can then also affect local water sources.

Crazy, right!?

How Much Water Does Your Home Use?

It varies depending a number of factors, such as how many people are living in your household, your daily water usage habits, and how efficient your appliances are, but a typical single-family home averages nearly 8,000 gallons of indoor water usage per month, and a leaky sink or running toilet can waste as much as 200 gallons of water per day.

Water efficiency considerations for your home:

Laundry

Use the proper load size settings on your washing machine to avoid wasting water and energy.
Here’s a no brainer: utilize water or energy saving features on your washing machine!
Avoid doing all household laundry in one day. Though it seems like a time-saver, it doesn’t allow your septic tank enough time to treat waste, and can flood your drainfield.

Dishes

Don’t leave water running when cleaning dishes by hand.
Run your dishwasher when it’s full to make the most of the water used in each cycle.
Take advantage of water and energy saving features.

Flushing

The toilet is often a household’s most problematic source of wastewater, so avoid unnecessarily flushing trash that should instead be disposed of in your waste bin.
Consider replacing your current toilet with a high-efficiency model to reduce water waste.

Personal Habits and Other Tips

Limit the number of baths you take and opt for a shower instead! Just one bath can use about 60 gallons of water, whereas showers only call for roughly 25 to 35 gallons.
Don’t leave the water running while brushing your teeth.
Regularly check for leaks, dripping faucets, or running toilets, and make sure they are fixed in a timely manner.
Collect rain water to later be utilized for watering indoor/outdoor plants.
Avoid overwatering your lawn and monitor your sprinklers. 30-60 percent of domestic drinking water is used for watering yards and gardens, and often large portions are wasted by over-watering, evaporation, and misdirected sprinklers.

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Bbb Solutions: Water Efficiency

Lou & Swirly Say: Follow These Septic System Do’s & Don’ts

What you do or don’t do for your septic system can make all the difference! To prolong your systems lifespan and avoid costly septic damage, review these do’s and don’ts and share them with your household.

Septic System Do’s

DO have your septic system inspected annually.
DO call a professional if you have issues with your septic system.
DO keep accurate records of septic system fixes and maintenance.
DO use household cleaners and chemicals in moderation.
DO dispose of food waste, non-biodegradable materials, and chemicals properly.
DO spread laundry and dishwashing throughout the week.

Septic System Don’ts

DON’T let water run unnecessarily.
DON’T expand the size of your residence without adjusting your septic system.
DON’T park over your drainfield.
DON’T use septic tank additives without consulting a professional.
DON’T put non-biodegradable materials down the drain.
DON’T wash chemicals like paint thinners, oils, weed/insect killer down the drain.
DON’T flush pharmaceuticals down the drain.

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Sewer Odors Inside

I was asked by a home inspector why there would be a bad smell inside a house that seems to be coming from the bathroom. Here is what I told him to look for:

Often, when a house has a few years on it, homeowners decide to upgrade their bathrooms. Many times, they change their flooring as a part of that process, and tile is a popular choice. When installing tile in a house built on a slab, typically you can just take up the original covering and cement the tile directly to the slab. It is a bit different when the house or bathroom is on a subfloor. You must first install a hard surface like HardieBacker cement board that adds roughly 1/2 inch to the height of the floor. Then you add 1/8–1/4 inch of cement and top it off with the tile, which is about 1/4-inch thick. When you are finished, you've added nearly a full inch to the height of the floor.

Why does this matter, and what does it have to do with odors?

When a house is first built, a flange is installed on the surface of the floor to which a toilet is bolted. A wax ring is used to seal the base of the toilet to the flange. Interestingly, toilets are different than any other drains in the house. All of the other drains like sinks, showers, tubs, washing machines, floor drains, etc., have a P-trap under them that always has a small amount of water resting in the bottom of a curved pipe. The purpose is to provide a vapor barrier to keep the sewer gases from coming back up through the drains.

The toilet has a P-trap built into it, and it's a straight pipe once it hits the floor. Which translates to this: If the floor has been raised by an inch and the flange is still where it was originally, there will be a gap where vapors can escape. The toilet won't leak at the base when you flush because it’s shaped like a funnel at the bottom and hovers over the flange. It will usually only leak if the plumbing backs up.

The remedy is to install a jumbo wax ring, which is on the same shelf in your hardware store and costs just a fraction more than the standard wax ring. This will fill in that extra gap and give you a good seal at the base of the toilet and should eliminate your odor problem.

Here’s another odor thought:

If your house has been vacant for a while, or if the kids have moved out and nobody has used their bathroom for a long time, the P-traps can dry out and allow sewer gases to escape into the house. This has an easy solution: Simply run water in all drains periodically to ensure there is always some water in the P-trap. You can also add a very small cap-full of vegetable oil to the drain. You only need to add enough oil to form a thin layer of oil on top of the water standing in the P-trap. The oil layer will protect the water from evaporating and water will easily break through it when the drain is used again. The key here is a thin layer. Don't overdo it.

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