Cost-Busting Water Conservation Technique
“How to Save Water, in-fact 7,500 L of Fresh Water in 4 Weeks”
Today I’m going to show you how your household can save 7,500 litres of water in 4 weeks and every month after that significantly reducing your water bill and saving our precious water resource.
As a family man with two active children and a busy lifestyle, we used a lot of water and our water bill was through the roof. Long showers after football training (especially in winter), a lot of dishes washed and our toilet flushing mechanisms working around the clock!
Hundreds of litres of fresh water down the drain, every day, so it made me think, what can I do about it and how to make it so practical that everyone can benefit from it?
As a plumber, family man and ecofriendly person I came up with a practical and cost-efficient water saving solution, which can be easily implemented by every household in the developed world.
The Cost-Busting Water Saving Technique helped me and my family slash our water bill easily without changing our daily water usagehabits. Just think about it, 7,500 L of fresh water being saved every month by every household! A lot of fresh water being saved – right! It would certainly make a difference to our planet.
To help you and your household save 7,500 L of water in 4 weeks, I will show you my Cost-Busting Water Saving Technique and walk you through the EXACT step-by-step process that I used.
How I Used the Cost-Busting Water Saving Technique to Save 7,500 L in 4 weeks
Before I started using the Cost-Busting Water Saving Technique my family and I were using over 400L of water per day. Specifically, as I outline below, adjusting the toilet flushing tank saved 1200 L of water and installing a PVR valve saved a further 6,300 L of fresh water.
By implementing my Cost-Busting Water Saving Technique which will be explained in detail further down my family has managed to save 7,500L of fresh water as shown in the table below.
| Plumbing Fixture | Monthly Water Saving (L) |
|---|---|
| Toilet | 1,200 Litres |
| Shower | 2,700 Litres |
| Garden tap | 1,800 Litres |
| 1,800 Litres | 1,800 Litres (Avg – not calculated) |
| Total Monthly Water Saving | 7,500 Litres |
After implementing the 4 easy steps I will walk you through we saved 7,500 L in 4 weeks.
We did this without having to stop taking long showers, and without spending outrageous amounts of money on new water saving taps, toilets or gadgets.
Why is this important?
Saving money for your family and helping the environment is a very important reason to reduce thousands of litres of fresh water usage every month.
And you can do this without spending big and without cutting down on your shower time!!
Here are some facts about water usage in the developed world and the rest of the world to show that water is a precious resource taken for granted. We can all do our little bit and make a difference.
How?
Let me explain how this technique works.
Cost-Busting Water Conservation Technique: (Water Saving Solution for Households)
There are 4 easy to follow steps:
- Step 1: Check for leaks
- Step 2: Check your water meter
- Step 3: Adjust toilet flushing tank
- Step 4: Install PRV Valve
Step #1: Inspect all water outlets for leaks
Even a slow dripping tap can waste around 15,000 L of fresh water a year!
Leaking taps are easy to notice – they drip! However, I am going to show you some places where the leaks are not noticeable:
Kitchen and bathroom mixer taps tend to drip around the base and around the tap body with water slowly seeping into the sink bowl making the water leak hard to see.
Shower mixer taps have the same problem, they will usually leak in the same places as kitchen and bathroom mixer taps, again the leak is hardly visible as the water slowly trickles on the tiles and directly down the drain.
The best way to check for mixer tap leaks is a visual check – close up check or, alternatively, just use a bit of toilet paper and go around the tap. If the paper is completely dry – your taps are good.
External bib taps are often overlooked, mainly because they are out of sight! From my experience as a plumber these types of taps mainly leak from these two parts (see the arrows)!
Once you have completed all checks for your taps it’s time to check your toilets!
“This Is the Most Accurate Way to Check for Toilet Leaks”
Leaking toilets are a common plumbing issue, wasting a lot of water and often going unnoticed due to the fact that the toilet bowl is white and it is hard to spot water trickle. So the easiest way to check if you toilet is leaking is to use food dye (see instructions below).
After diluting tank water in the tank with food dye just wait about 5 minutes and then start observing for any coloured trickles entering the toilet bowl. If there is no colour showing your toilet is in good order!
If after 5 minutes you notice coloured water in your toilet bowl it means your toilet needs to be looked at and repaired. There are a few different parts which could be causing the leak so it is the best to get a qualified plumber to carry out necessary repairs!
Now, that you have completed all visual and dye checks confirming there are no visual leaks on any of the water outlets, it is time to move to step 2.
Step #2. Check you water meter readings
Now I am going to show you how to be %100 sure there are no water leaks at your property in a simple way using your water meter! Please Note: In order to get accurate readings make sure all your water outlets are turned off and make sure no one uses water for the next 30 minutes until this test is completed!
The first step is to find your water meter, it is usually located in your front yard, approximately within two meters of your front boundary line. Depending if you live in a house, villa, unit or apartment – it can also be located next to your building or in the service cabinet. It is easy to spot and it looks like this.
Now when all outlets are turned off get a pen and paper and write down the current water meter reading starting with numbers from left to right. Wait 15 minutes and compare the numbers.
The first idle is the most sensitive idle as each number represents one litre of water! After 15 minutes if the numbers have not changed, your home is LEAK FREE! However, if the first idle has moved you should be calling your local plumber to further investigate your piping system for water leaks.
For more information regarding water meter readings and different type of water meters in use, you can get more information by watching this video produced by our local water authority – South East Water based in Melbourne, Australia.
Once your property is LEAK FREE it is time to move to our next step – STEP #3, which is how to adjust the toilet cistern or as some call it “toilet tank” and save hundreds of litres of fresh water every month!
Step #3: Adjustment Of Toilet Flushing Mechanisms
This step is all about minimising amount of wasted water used to flush the toilet! I will explain this in three easy steps and the only tool you will need is a Phillips head screw driver. So let’s do it!
Step 1 – Mark the existing water level in the tank. Inside the tank, depending on the toilet there should be recommended water level mark printed by manufacturer – as shown.
Step 2 – Find adjustment screw on the inlet valve and using your screw driver turn the screw until the float drops down approximately 5-10cm. Flush the toilet and check new water level – keep repeating the process until you achieve the desired level. Please note: there are many toilet brands out there and flushing mechanisms do vary, however each flushing mechanism allows for water level adjustment and most are as shown in this picture.
I have adjusted this toilet to a suitable level. Depending on the size of your tank, the bigger the tank capacity generally means you can reduce the level even further! This tank has capacity of 8 Litres, it is quite small, so I have reduced the filling level by approximately 2 litres which saves 2 Litres of water per full flush! On bigger tanks you could save around 5 litres of fresh water per full flush!!
My household has 4 members – Two adults and two children. Each one of us uses the toilet minimum 5 times a day! So, 20 flushes each day multiplied by 30 days is a minimum of 600 flushes per month not counting regular visitors
This simple water saving technique saves us 1,200 L of fresh water each month – COST TO YOU – $0 !!!
And now is the time for our final – Step #4, where I am going to show you how one affordable water saving device can replace the costly exercise of installing water saving taps and water saving toilets in order to save our precious water!!!
For those who are concerned about the cost of installing this device I can only say this: The amount of FRESH WATER you will save in $$$ = installation of this device will pay itself off within 6 months (Depending on the size of your household!).
Step #4 – Installation of Pressure Reducing Valve
Firstly, I would like you to learn the benefits and functionality of this device, than I will show you step by step how much water you can save by installing this water saving device!
FUNCTION:
Pressure reducing valves are installed in residential water systems to reduce and stabilise inlet pressure from the water mains supply which is generally too high and variable for domestic appliances to function properly.
BENEFITS:
Keeping the water pressure at safe levels (pressure of 400 Kpa) has benefits for your home and your wallet! Installation of this valve can save you thousands of litres of fresh water each month as well as protect your home plumbing from high water pressure surges, which are the main causes of leaking taps, leaking toilets and burst water pipes in households.
FACT:
Our plumbing company – Your Choice Plumbers Melbourne services approximately 100 homes every week, the percentage of homes with high water pressure are well over 50%. In fact – 3 out of 5 homes in Melbourne require pressure reducing valves. Not only for water saving benefits, in fact it’s part of plumbing regulations issued by Australian Building Authority and Australian Standards state that maximum outlet pressure within buildings must not exceed 500 Kpa excluding fire service outlets!
Now, that you know a bit more about this device it’s time to see it in action:
Step 1. Check your existing water pressure and time water flow using the bucket and pressure gauge.
First thing I did is to connect the water pressure gauge to the front garden tap to check existing inlet water pressure to this house. As you can see the gauge shows high water pressure reading of 750 Kpa!
After disconnecting the gauge from the garden tap I used a 20L bucket, placing it under the tap to run the test! I wanted to show you how long it would take to fill a 20L bucket at the pressure reading of 750 Kpa using my mobile phone stop watch.
I used ¼ turn garden tap for accurate reading – It took just over 17 seconds to fill 20L bucked!
10 Min. of watering your gardens or hosing down your driveway :
10 Min = 600 Sec / 17 Sec = 35.29
35.29 x 20L = 705.8 Litters of fresh water being used over 10 min. period!
Following these two steps you will have all information on your existing water pressure and flow rates.
Step 2. Install PR Valve on the outlet side of the water meter and set desired inlet pressure Connect your water gauge to the garden tap again and start adjusting the pressure reducing valve using a flat screwdriver until you reach desired water pressure. I have adjusted the inlet water pressure from its original reading of 750 Kpa down to 400 Kpa. The PR Valve can be adjusted to as low as 100 Kpa, just get your plumber to adjust PR Valve to the pressure that you are comfortable with (check your shower pressure after adjustment).
Pressure reducing valve adjusting point is located at the top of the valve, using a screw driver you can adjust your water pressure to as low as 100 Kpa!
Now, let’s see how long it took to fill 20L bucket with reduced water pressure set at 400 Kpa!
It took more than 25 Seconds!!!
Calculation:
10 Min = 600 Sec / 25 Sec = 24
24 x 20L = 480 Litters of fresh water being used over 10 Min. Period!
In this picture, I have tested my shower outlet at the pressure of 750 Kpa and it took 1: 42 Minutes or 102 Seconds to fill 20 L water bucket
Let’s do some maths:
10 min Shower = 600 Sec / 102 Sec = 5.88
5.88 X 20L = 117.6 Litres of water per 10 Min Shower
in This picture shows that after installing Pressure Reducing Valve with new pressure setting of 400 Kpa it took 2:06 Seconds to fill the same bucket
Results are as follows:
10 Min Shower = 600 Sec / 126 Sec = 4.76
4.76 x 20L = 95.2 Litres of water per 10 Min Shower
The shower case study shows saving of 22.4 Litters of water per 10 Min. shower. With reduced water pressure our household saves 89.6 Litters of fresh water per day or 2,688 Litters per month!
Even though the shower outlet I used for this experiment is water saving type and designed to save water, you might find that your shower outlet is standard which means you will save even more water!
In this case study I have shown you how to reduce your water household water consumption by 10,000 L in 4 weeks with 4 easy steps.
Most of the articles about how to save water out there are telling us in order to save water we have to change our daily water usage habits:
- Turn you tap off whilst brushing your teeth!
- Wash fruit & veggies in a half-filled sink instead of running water!
- Take shorter showers…
Other types of articles would instruct us on how to save water by spending lots of money on new plumbing installations like:
- Replacing your toilets with new water efficient toilet suits
- Water efficient taps etc.
- Let’s face it, it all sounds good in theory but most of us don’t do it because we don’t find it PRACTICAL!
This Cost-Busting Water Conservation Technique shows you how to get real results with an easy-to-implement, practical and cost-efficient solution. If you found this case-study valuable please share it so others can benefit as well.
