Guest Virginia Dawn Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 If you have 6 people in your home, how high do your water bills run? Our water bill for our family of 6 people at home has been about $70 a month for the last 3 months.This is about $20 higher than it used to average. Granted the rates were increased this year and we have four grown up bodies that feel the need for daily showers, but I'm still begrudging this extra money going out. I only wash full loads of laundry and full loads of dishes. Am I being picky? Are there any tricks to lowering the bill that I might not be using? ETA: I could also use all your electricity bill lowering tips too, if you have any tried and true ones. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 I guess it will be different around different parts of the country, but ours is consistently hovering around $54.00/month. I am in SoCal I like to set my washer, dryer, and dishwasher to turn on during the middle of the night when rates are cheaper. We live in the forest so no yard to maintain probably helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingM Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 Do you already have a low-flow shower head? How about your toilet? Is it older, or one of the newer models that can use ~1/3 of the water of an older toilet. At $70/month, a 1.5 gallon/minute shower head will pay for itself almost at once, and a toilet (assuming you install it yourself), will pay for itself in less than a year. You might also look at your dishwasher, your washing machine, and your outdoor use. Sprinklers can use a lot of water. Just sprinkling at night can make a big difference. ETA: You can cut your electrical use by about 20% without a huge amount of effort if you haven't done anything yet like replacing incandescent bulbs with CFLs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stacim Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 Wow! I guess I should consider myself lucky. I am in MO and only pay about $80 per quarter. There are six of us, with the two oldest kiddos taking daily showers. We only wash full loads of dishes and laundry, take pretty quick showers, don't use a lot of water for the lawn, etc. Not sure of how to lower that one other than shorter showers (if not short already) and doing more drastic things, like not flushing every time. :blushing: ~Staci Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
********* Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 (edited) a toilet (assuming you install it yourself), will pay for itself in less than a year. That's the truth. When we bought this house, (which is our first, we always rented an apartment before), one of the toilets 'ran'. It got worse and worse, until we couldn't 'fix' it anymore (if you call reaching into the tank and manually bending the metal rod thingy 'fixing' it, LOL). Anway, we ended up replacing it at the same time as we remodeled the whole bathroom (and boy, do I mean remodeled; at one point, someone was standing up through the floor of the bathroom from the crawl space!). Anyway, we didn't know, since this is our first home, and therefore the first time we ever paid a water bill, just how much our running toilet was costing us! Our water bill, which is paid quarterly, went from a high of $300 to now it averages around $90ish a quarter. So, our new toilet paid for itself in one water bill! There's dh, myself, ds6, ds3, and then dss12 and dsd15 who spend half there time here. Dh and I shower daily, ds3 and 6 take a bath together every day to every other day, and dss and dsd shower daily or every other day when they're here. I only do full loads of laundry, only run full loads of dishes, and we don't water our grass, except for the new grass we just planted this season in the back yard. So, all that to say, the best way I know to cut a water bill is to replace a running toilet! :D Edited August 18, 2009 by bethanyniez add more info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5KidzRUs Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 About $60+ a month here - 6 people - 5 bathrooms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tadbhoward Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 About 20 a month but we are on a septic tank, not a sewer line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 We're anywhere from $9-15/mo, no sewer, for 5 people. When we were in major water conservation mode in the thick of the drought last year, we found that taking showers every other day instead of every day made by far the biggest difference in water bills. And kids get baths less frequently...usually once or twice a week, with generous spot cleanings in between. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 Free!!!! We don't have metered water - it's all bundled into our municipal taxes. But I'm a good girl & try to conserve anyway, even if it doesn't affect my pocketbook. 1) have you heard of ship's showers? You wet yourself, turn water off. Soap up & scrub & apply shampoo. Turn water on to rinse. If you're conditioning, you'll need to do this step now, & rinse again, otherwise, you're done. if this seems too draconian, then try this idea: 2) have a timer on the bathroom counter & set it to whatever you decide is a reasonable time for a shower. It's best to get the type which gives you warnings at 3 min, 2 min, 1 min so that folks know it's time to move on to rinsing. Everybody taking a shower must use the timer. 3) cut hair. Long haired people spend ages in showers b/e long hair is a pita to wash & condition & comb out..... 4) rain barrells under every downspout on your house. This water can be used for watering your garden. In an emerg, this water can be used for washing. In an extreme emerg (total breakdown of civilization) you can drink it - it may have weird chemicals in it from the roofing material which is why I would exhaust other options before quaffing this stuff. 5) low flow toilets & showers. Though I have to say I'm ambivalent about some of the showerheads because I actually did the experiment once & discovered that a really low flow shower head just meant I needed to spend extra time under the shower trying to rinse my hair. I used the same amount of water & just spent more time. A moderate low flow shower head is ok though. You can test how they're working by plugging the tub & seeing how much water you use..... The toilets, same thing. My parents live in a fancy schmancy eco high rise which installed super low flow toilets. Even in this highrise which has wonderful water pressure, you end up having to flush 2-3 times because the bowl doesn't empty. So if you're going low flow, make sure it's a good design. I've been reading reviews of toilets (how is that for fun!) as I'm getting ready to redo our bathrooms. 6) check for leaks & drippy taps. Those can really add up! If it's an outside tap, you might not notice so readily so check all those too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwka Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 about $30 for 5 people Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeekingSimplicity Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 WOW! we have a family of 5 and ours is $30 a month. I thought that was high! We have a base rate of $19, and before 3 kids we spent about $20. Right now, we're all taking showers on pretty much a daily basis, I was 2-3 loads of dishes and laundry everyday, and I have toilets that don't flush properly and have to be flushed several times with each use. Aside from eventually getting toilets fixed, we plan to route rain water into the bathroom somehow. I want to fix it to where we can switch from county to rain water at the tap-- I gotta work out the details on that one. If you're using a lot of water on plants, one thing you can do is keep a bucket in the shower to catch the water while you're waiting on it to reach the perfect temp. That way it's not just running down the drain. You can use that water in the bucket for plants, or moping your floor or whatever. You might also consider how you could use your grey water to water your yard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 $130 for 5 bimonthly. That's water/sewer all rolled into one. It's gone up about $20 in the last 1.5 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Virginia Dawn Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 I forgot to say that the bill includes sewer as well. So we are paying about 35 bucks for water alone. It doesn't sound so bad put that way. But I still think it seems high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 Wow! Y'all have cheap rates. We've been watering 2x/week here since we've had over 100 degree days almost every day all summer long with less than 1" of rain all summer long. We have a sprinkler system divided into 9 zones that waters each zone for 10 minutes. Our water bill this month was $113. $49 of that was water, $48 was sewer, and $15 was trash pickup. The rest was tax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 Our sewer is not included. We pay $35/month just for that:glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mabelen Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 Wow! Y'all have cheap rates. We've been watering 2x/week here since we've had over 100 degree days almost every day all summer long with less than 1" of rain all summer long. We have a sprinkler system divided into 9 zones that waters each zone for 10 minutes. Our water bill this month was $113. $49 of that was water, $48 was sewer, and $15 was trash pickup. The rest was tax. Thanks for posting this, I was beginning to get depressed! We recently moved to So Ca and I am still in shock. Our water bills here are in the same neighborhood as yours, a huge increase from our bills in the Mid Atlantic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber in SJ Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 Wow! Apparently we pay too much for water! Ours was right around $145 for 2 months. This is water & sewer. We have a large garden & a tiny lawn that we are letting die. The 6 of us are here all day. We go to some crazy water saving extremes like using the bath water to water the garden but it still stays up there. We have rain barrels, but we have had very little rain this year. We have low flow toilets & shower heads and we only run full loads of clothes & dishes. We also pay more than average for garbage/ recycling and don't even get me started on electricity. Amber in the very dry state of California Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mabelen Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 Wow! Apparently we pay too much for water! Ours was right around $145 for 2 months. This is water & sewer. We have a large garden & a tiny lawn that we are letting die. The 6 of us are here all day. We go to some crazy water saving extremes like using the bath water to water the garden but it still stays up there. We have rain barrels, but we have had very little rain this year. We have low flow toilets & shower heads and we only run full loads of clothes & dishes. We also pay more than average for garbage/ recycling and don't even get me started on electricity. Amber in the very dry state of California I share and feel your pain! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 Our water/sewer bill is $80/month. Most of that is the base rate. eta: When we lived in NC our water bill was only around $20/month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdie Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 Wow! Y'all have cheap rates. We've been watering 2x/week here since we've had over 100 degree days almost every day all summer long with less than 1" of rain all summer long. We have a sprinkler system divided into 9 zones that waters each zone for 10 minutes. Our water bill this month was $113. $49 of that was water, $48 was sewer, and $15 was trash pickup. The rest was tax. That is the same as our water/sewer/trash bill for a family of 5 + pool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adams101 Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 We live just outside city limits, so we don't pay city taxes, but get city water. We are on septic, so without sewer, we pay a minimum of $75 (even if we don't use a drop). The last couple of months it has been $82. Our rates are higher since we don't pay city taxes. This does not include trash either. All added up, it is still cheaper than paying city taxes though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaik76 Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 Our water just went up and will go up again soon. It averages out to about $70/month...that does not include sewer. That's just the water bill. We're a family of four. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janna Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 I like to set my washer, dryer, and dishwasher to turn on during the middle of the night when rates are cheaper. Am I the only one who didn't know there were different rates based on the time of day for water!? We are on a well, so our water is free. But even when we were on city water at our previous homes, I didn't know about different rates. Is that everywhere, or only certain cities? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in FL Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 Well, thank you all! Sometimes living on a well and septic can be a pain, but I'm glad I don't have any water bills! I'm going to share these prices with dh next time we have to repair something! Melissa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomLovesClassics Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 You do already only use cold water to wash clothes? also unplug things like the coffee pot when they are not being used. Turn off the printer when not in use. Keep those lights out. If that energy bill passes, we will have to figure out ways to make the power bill even lower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 Ours runs @ $140-$150 for 12 so that doesn't sound off to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 we have no water bill. we collect our rain water and store it in concrete water tanks. it is very common in rural Australia. we use the water very frugally. in the dry summer/ autumn we are extremely frugal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moxie Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 I haven't read the other replies so maybe this has been mentioned. CHECK YOUR TOILETS! In the middle of the night one night, I noticed a water sound while standing in the bathroom. I looked the next day and I could see that the water in the bowl had the absolute slightest wave to it--I knew the water was running but it was so slight I wasn't concerned. That month our water bill was DOUBLE the normal amount. I couldn't believe one tiny little toilet could waste that much water. DH tightened something in the back and it was fixed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkle Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 Ours runs $35-40/month for the 6 of us. We don't do any outside watering at all. We switched from flat rate to metered about 9 months ago, and our water bill actually went down a tad, but the rates are set to go up soon (of course!), so we're looking at an increase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.