The mere mention of the word “water” lately causes me to think of the relentless rainy weather and flooding that we have dealt with down here in the Low Country. Even though we have no shortage and probably haven’t had to water lawns during the past month or so, we still can find some cost effective ways of saving water in your home and lowering your bills!

I grew up with parents who were constantly reminding my sister and I to conserve water. We were two females (with really long hair), and it sometimes took 30 minutes to shower…and that’s 2x!  Dad would  strongly remind us that we could probably get the job done in 10 minutes, (this from a man with no hair)!! At any rate, his attention to water conservation has remained with me in the way I try to live my life with less waste and more energy efficiency.

As time has gone on, technology has come up with some nifty ways to minimize water waste and cut utility bills. You can do this easily as a tenant. One way is to install Dual Flush converters in your toilet tank. They are very convenient water-saving devices which can be installed on literally any toilet without the need for complete bowl and/or tank replacement. It controls the amount of water per flush at an affordable price!

Another way is to install an Aerator on your faucets.They can be easily screwed onto any indoor faucet head to prevent splashing, reduce stream noise, increase water pressure and shape the flow released from the spout, thus conserving water and energy needed for heating up water. These Aerators are very cheap. Check to see if the faucets in your rental already have them.

Showers use lots of water and the amount of water waste is significant. For a switch to better water management, try a water-efficient shower head with stream control features.

On top of saving water, these smart devices will also cut your electricity bill as you won’t need as much energy to heat up water – hitting two bills with one tool!