Every month, we vow to ourselves that from now on we will turn on the austerity regime and begin to conserve water. But in the next period, everything returns to normal: washing dishes under great pressure, and faulty. And only when there is a gap in the wallet due to low salaries or job loss, we begin to look for effective ways. There are a lot of options on how to save on water, both legal and illegal. Today, the editors of the online magazine site will tell you how you can save about 40% of your finances, and warn about the consequences of illegal ways to save on water.
The first source of water saving at home is this. Daily and washing dishes is an everyday life. How can you save on water?
Many families do not notice a thin trickle of water under the rim. In a month, this adds up to a tidy sum. First of all, you need to repair or replace the drain device. Saving water on the toilet according to the results will be immediately noticeable.
Advice! Water leaks can be detected using regular food coloring. To do this, you need to fill it in a tank and leave it for half an hour. If the color of the water in the toilet is stained, then it's time to call the plumbers.
The biggest water consumption is in the bathroom. In order to save personal finances, use the following tips.
Properly organized life in the family will turn saving water into a habit.
Use is already savings, but it can be made even more efficient. To do this, use the following tips:
Especially effective for large families, it not only helps the hostess, but also saves 30-40 liters of water per day in the usual mode. Now calculate how much it is per month. The whole secret of such efficiency is that the dishwasher purifies the used water and supplies it a second time under high pressure. As a result of this, the dishes are washed with a small amount of liquid.
The reducer allows you to reduce the pressure of the liquid in the mixers, saving up to 70% with its help. Installation is not difficult, you can do it yourself.
For a large family, experts advise installing, since the cost of hot water is several times higher than cold water. This is a savings for the future, its price will pay off very quickly. In addition, during the preventive shutdown of hot water, you will not experience discomfort. If the houses are not equipped , the manufacturers produce . The cost is also high, but after all, water-heating equipment is only needed for taking a shower or bath, so the light consumption will be small.
You can buy a special nozzle on the faucet to save water, its installation has several advantages:
To save money, choose a toilet bowl with two modes or replace the native button with a double one. For one drain, up to 12 liters of liquid are consumed, while with the presence of the second key - only 6 liters.
Advice! If it is not possible to replace the tank or button, put 1-2 plastic bottles filled with water inside. With their help, the filling of the tank will decrease, respectively, and less liquid will go to the drain.
The regular increase in water tariffs makes many people think about saving. Not all proposed methods are legal, and before you cross the line of the law, you need to know about the consequences of such an action.
On the Internet, forums often give advice on how to save water by using water meter readings to roll back. You need to know that it only acts on the impeller of a dry-running meter. There are many nuances of the correct selection of a magnet; different products are used for each meter. In the event of a selection error, setting it will either not give the expected results or disable the counter. To install the magnet, you need to perform the following algorithm of actions:
You can stop the meter without a neodymium magnet:
During control checks, inspectors will definitely detect fraud with water consumption using the Teslameter device. These actions fall under the article fraud, and the guilty person faces certain consequences:
This should be known! If the guilty person does not pay the fine on his own, the property will be described for its repayment. In addition, from the moment the decision on monetary punishment is made, a fine is accrued.
In Europe, the proverb is considered good form: "Saved - earned." For our tourists who stay in the homes of the local population, many methods bring a smile:
You need to save water from a small point, gradually it will become a habit for all households. For young children, you can draw a colorful poster in pictures over the washbasin on how to save water correctly, which will step by step in an accessible form resemble the order of brushing your teeth and washing your face. Gradually and gradually, this will all become a habit, and the owners will receive significant cost savings.
And how do our readers save water? Tell us in the comments how long ago and in what ways you began to thrift with utility costs.
More clearly about all the ways to save water can be viewed on the video.
In my opinion, a water meter should be in every home. Only seeing the real consumption figures, many begin to think about the careful use of water resources. Therefore, today we will talk about how to save water in an apartment where there is already a meter.
Perhaps older readers remember this song from the cartoon from the time of perestroika. Many have begun to understand its relevance only now, when the increase in the cost of a communal apartment is running in a race with a decrease in income.
Saving water should begin precisely with the search for such "drops" with which your family budget also leaks. It could be a leaky faucet, a leaky pipe, or a broken toilet cistern mechanism.
More or less serious leaks will help to detect a simple way. Leaving home in the morning, write down the meter readings, and check in the evening. If they have changed, it means that you have a large loss of water in your apartment. If you remain in place - do not rush to rejoice, because the counter may simply not respond to small "digging".
The results of my little experiment showed the following. If one drop per second falls from the tap, then a little less than a liter of water is collected in an hour. This is about 22 liters per day, 660 per month, almost 8,000 per year. Needless to say, if we are talking about a trickle, and not a drop, then the numbers will be much larger. Here is the ocean. Therefore, eliminate even minimal leaks in an apartment with a meter.
If your pressure is constantly jumping or it is too large, you can save a lot by putting it on the input to the apartment.
The use of water in the kitchen, one way or another, is associated with food. It turns out that the less you cook and eat at home, the less consumption. Sometimes lunch at a nearby canteen or fast food restaurant will cost even less than home-cooked. Plus saving time. True, this option is more suitable for bachelors and childless couples, so let's still go back to our kitchen and see how we can reduce water consumption.
1. When choosing a sink, give preference to one that has two trays. It opens up many more opportunities for saving water. In one compartment, you can use a flowing jet, and close the other with a cork and use it to wash vegetables or dishes.
2. Use special water-saving faucet attachments. They are able to reduce water consumption by one and a half times.
3. Train yourself to fill a pot or kettle with exactly the amount of water needed for cooking or making tea. By pouring "with a margin", you waste not only water, but also the gas or light used for heating.
4. Everyone knows that microwave ovens have a defrost function. But for some reason, many, in the old fashioned way, put frozen meat in the sink, under running water. Like, why waste electricity? It is commendable, of course, but since when did water become free? Believe me, the microwave will do its job faster and more economically. And the best option is to leave the meat overnight in the refrigerator.
5. Burnt or dried food residues should not be tried to be washed by zealous rubbing under a hot stream. It will be much more economical to fill the dishes with water and leave for a while in the sink. After an hour, washing it will become much easier.
6. It's amazing how many housewives wash dishes under the maximum pressure of water. At the same time, they are sincerely surprised when they find out that up to 100 liters of water are spent on washing dishes after 4 people. Therefore, if you want to save water in an apartment with a meter, you need to immediately get rid of this habit. Close the sink with a cork, fill it with warm water, wash the dishes, and then just rinse it with running cold water with minimal pressure. Similarly, you can wash vegetables and fruits.
7. Many people buy dishwashers to save time and get rid of routine work. And only then do they learn about one more of their pleasant features: much lower than the "manual" washing. Modern dishwashers spend from 10 to 15 liters per cycle. For maximum savings, use it only at full load, optimally distributing items.
Some of the above tips apply to the bathroom as well. For example, the use of water-saving nozzles (including shower heads) or sink plugs. The following little tricks will help you save water as much as possible in an apartment with a meter.
1. Carefully check the toilet for leaks. You can do this by adding a little dye to the tank. If the water in the toilet changes color after a while, then the system is faulty, it needs to be repaired or replaced.
2. Old toilet bowls were not designed to save water, so every time they ruthlessly pour 10-13 liters into the sewer. Replace it with a more modern one, which needs 5 liters for a high-quality flush, and some even 3. The two-button flush is the greatest invention of mankind, which saves a significant amount of water.
3. If it is not possible to replace the toilet bowl, you can reduce the volume of flushed water using “folk” methods. Place one or more plastic bottles filled with water in the tank, securing them so that they do not dangle and interfere with the operation of the mechanism. By displacing 2-3 liters of water in this way, you will reduce the volume of the drain by the same number of liters. At the same time, you can demonstrate to children the practical application of the law of Archimedes.
4. We already talked about the fact that a shower is three times more economical than a bath. This is true with a slight amendment: the shower should be "quick". Consider for yourself, about 150 liters of water will fit in a standard bath (along with you). A shower consumes up to 15 liters per minute. It turns out that if you bathe for more than 10 minutes, singing arias or playing with soap bubbles, then it will be more economical to do it in the bath than in the shower.
5. When taking a shower, try not only to reduce the time spent under it, but also turn off the water when it is not needed. Wet - turned off the tap, lathered, then opened. Do the same in the sink, while shaving or brushing your teeth.
6. If you need to rinse your hands, open the tap not completely, but only partially. Try to use cold water more than hot.
7. Do not confuse the trash can with the toilet, throwing everything in it and flushing it every time.
Big and warm hello to all! If you are not happy with the impressive amounts of water consumption, then it's time to think about saving. How can this be done in legal and affordable ways, what are the useful life hacks?
Water is the source of all life on planet Earth. If we thoughtlessly spend it, then very soon the supply of clean fresh water will run out. Literally 20 or 30 years ago, no one could have thought that pure bottled water would be sold. But now it is.
Not only do we not think about how much water we spend per day, but also what its price is. It turns out that we pay twice, with the loss of clean fresh water and with our own money. How to save water in an apartment with a meter and save an impressive amount? If you make a decision to use the liquid wisely, then after a while it will become a habit. And it will help not only reduce financial expenses, but also take care of the state of the environment in your region.
You should also take into account the fact that, depending on the area of residence, municipal authorities can set their own tariff rates. They can significantly affect the final amount on your receipt for the month. Since in some regions the issue of water is especially relevant, in this case it is simply necessary to master the basic ways of rational use of these resources. First of all, it depends on ordinary citizens who introduce ways to save water on the ground, and not on the authorities.
The most common ways to save water on the meter in the house include the following:
The use of these devices will allow you to monitor the amount of water spent and the cost of it. Those who have already installed meters have been able to benefit from this. You only the amount that you spent during the billing period. In the absence of this device, the management company makes a calculation based on the readings on the common house meter.
As you know, in an apartment building, someone has less consumption, someone has more, and someone does not consume the resource at all. Therefore, the financial costs in the latter case will be much higher. Since the beginning of 2016 Tariffs for water consumers without meters have increased significantly. Therefore, if you have not installed such devices yet, then it's time to deal with this issue.
It should be noted that the meters must be verified at regular intervals. Otherwise, you may be fined. The same applies to lovers of illegal methods of reducing readings on metering devices. An artificial reduction in the amount of water used may result in the imposition of an administrative fine. Therefore, refuse to use the "miracle of magnets" and various ways to reduce cheating.
Faulty and leaking plumbing in the literal sense of the word drains money into the sewer. If you decide to implement ways to save water in your daily life, then you need to start with troubleshooting.
A faulty tank, leaking faucets and pipes are all additional and unnecessary expenses. Broken plumbing gives a loss of water in the amount of 100,000 liters of water per year or more. This is still according to the most modest calculations. If we translate this volume into the amount according to local tariffs, then it is easy to be horrified. With this money, you can repair the same plumbing or buy half the car.
These costs arise simply due to the fact that the owners of the premises are simply too lazy to do this.
The main points of cost reduction due to plumbing include the following:
Constantly monitor the health of plumbing. This is pretty easy to do. Try not to turn on the water for one day. Considering a small error, check the readings of the counters. If the difference is large, then it is obvious that there is a leak somewhere and it needs to be fixed. It is estimated that up to 30 liters of water can leak into the sewerage from a poorly closed tap, drop by drop per day, which will amount to additional costs of 2,000 rubles a year.
Leaks are still dangerous not only with large amounts of water, but also with the risk of flooding neighbors. If you plan to leave somewhere, then turn off all the taps in the apartment so that some kind of trouble does not happen.
This design of the crane, in contrast to the lever, has already shown in practice its cost-effectiveness and efficiency. Now, this type of valve is used almost everywhere.
The main types of mixers include the following:
In the hot season, instead of a bath, it will be good to use a shower. When using it, you can save 60% of the volume of water that you would spend in the bathroom. You can also install special nozzles - aerators on the shower head, which will reduce the amount of water consumed by enriching it with air bubbles. It seems that it becomes "voluminous" and it needs less.
Turn off the water when you lather in the shower. This will reduce the amount of fluid leaking into the sewer. Currently, there is a trend when the bathroom is completely cleaned and a shower cabin is installed. It takes up less space and saves money.
Separately, here we can say about the dangers of the bathroom. Frequent "lying" in hot water increases blood pressure, and impairs the functioning of the heart and blood vessels.
Purchase special aerator nozzles that will significantly reduce the amount of resource consumed by the meter. This is a small design, which is a system of mesh filters that saturate the liquid with oxygen bubbles. As with any device, it must be monitored and periodically cleaned from dirt and salt deposits.
In most cases, taps have an internal thread at the tip. All aerators are focused on this. If you have a faucet with an external thread, then a device such as an adapter will avoid problems with installing an aerator.
Buy and install a dual flush toilet, this will save up to 2-4 liters per day.
We ourselves do not notice how we use a large amount of water to wash dirty dishes. It will be much more economical to purchase a dishwasher, which will reduce these liquid costs.
When replacing old pipes, it is better not to use metal ones. They quickly become unusable and leaks appear. Well suited, in this case, polypropylene, which will last much longer. They are more resistant to corrosion, however, do not buy cheap Chinese fakes that do not withstand Russian standards for hot water temperatures.
Try to keep clean water when working in the kitchen. Dirty pots and dishes can be washed in a basin or sink. For these purposes, you can purchase a sink with two pallets. One for washing dishes and the other for rinsing. Thus, the savings will be up to 300 liters of fluid per day.
Try to use less detergent, this will make it easier to rinse off the dishes and less contaminate the liquid. Use natural cleansers such as mustard.
Wash vegetables and fruits in a basin, not under a tap. Defrosting fish, poultry and meat is also best done in a special container.
Liquid after washing vegetables (without synthetic detergent) is good to water houseplants. Clean water, which simply flows into the sink when you wait for the right temperature, can be collected in a container and watered the beds.
Make sure that water irrigates only those places near your house that you want, and not the house itself and outbuildings, including. This will save on unnecessary fluid costs and save the cladding of the house and barn from premature destruction.
These methods will help you save water in the apartment according to the meter, and, accordingly, money.
It is better to do one large wash, instead of several small ones. This will save you money and reduce costs.
It is not only economical, but also beneficial to health. It has excellent tonic effects and strengthens the circulatory system.
In this case, a triple saving is obtained. You support the environment, reduce the cost of detergents, reduce the cost of water.
Try to spend any liter of clean fresh liquid with benefit. This will not only teach you to save money, but also to respect nature.
If the management company violates the quality of the supplied resource, then by law you may not pay for it at all. For example, if rusty water or with an unpleasant odor flows from a tap, there are constant interruptions in its supply. In this case, you can go to court.
Hot water in the tap must be of the appropriate temperature. According to the regulations, the temperature regime is 60-70ºС. If in fact the temperature is lower, then you can contact the management company to recalculate the amount for hot water.
This is typical mainly for large cities, where chlorinated water flows in apartments so much that it is difficult to drink it. Therefore, residents of megacities prefer to purchase bottled water for drinking. To save on this, purchase a special filter. Which will clean the liquid from impurities and odors.
Those who do not have metering devices pay according to rates that take into account not only your needs and expenses for general house needs, but also cover the loss of water from the pipes that always flow in the basements. That is, only citizens who agree to pay according to such a scheme will be at a loss - especially if hot water is also supplied to your house centrally.
By putting metering devices on the water, you will be pleasantly surprised how much the numbers in your payments have decreased, even though you will be charged ODN on a separate line - for water spent on the general needs of the house (washing and repairing entrances, watering lawns, etc.). ). Otherwise, you will only pay for the actual expense.
So, for those who still pay according to the norms, advice number one is to put a counter. We do not recommend doing this yourself, because if errors are made in the installation, the device will not be sealed for you.
The easiest way is to contact the water utility with an application for installation and registration of the meter. The device can be bought not only from them (as a rule, they are more expensive there), but also in any specialized store - only it must be of an established sample. It will be installed for you, an acceptance certificate will be issued, the date of acceptance and initial indicators will be entered in the technical passport of the meter, and the date of the next verification, which should be carried out every 4 years, will be indicated.
After acceptance into operation of the device by the body supplying water, you can start paying only for the volume actually used.
Water meters
Even if you have set, you should not relax, because there are many more ways to help make the monthly water fee even less. The main thing is to monitor the condition of the devices and pipes, and in case of leaks, eliminate them in a timely manner. In the picture you can see how much water flows into the pipe in case of this or that malfunction - and this is your money.
Advice! The biggest problem in this regard is the toilet bowl, since it is not always possible to identify a leak in it visually. Experts recommend checking this: pour any coloring matter (for example, potassium permanganate) into the tank, and if after a short period of time colored water collects in the bowl of the device, then it's time to invite a plumber - well, or make repairs yourself.
In most apartments of our citizens there are compact type toilets. On the example of such a device, we will consider the principle of its repair.
Table 1. Tank repair
Steps, photo | Operating procedure |
---|---|
The tank lid is screwed through the release button, which must be unscrewed. | |
After removing the lid, we look to see if water flows through the overflow. If not, then the reason is not in the breakdown of the drain mechanism, but in the petal - the sealing gum. | |
Shut off the water and dump the contents of the tank. Unscrew the drain fitting, which is a single block, and take it out for inspection. | |
Turning the block over you will see the same petal. Sometimes it is enough just to clear it of silt, and it will fit snugly against the hole. | |
Step 5 - Cleaning the drain hole | Wipe with a rag and gum, and the perimeter of the drain hole. |
After removing the dirt, which may have been the cause of the tank leakage, put the valve in place. This is very simple, as it is held by small round protrusions on the sides that snap into the corresponding grooves. | |
After installing the mechanism, turn on the water and check the operation of the tank. If it continues to flow, remove the block again. Now try to remove the elastic and flip it from one side to the other (embossed down, smooth side up). Sometimes it helps. If not, you just have to put in a new seal. | |
Install the valve again. After making sure that the water no longer flows, screw the lid back into place - and you can use the toilet. |
As you can see, tank repair is very simple and cheap. True, if the case turns out to be a breakdown of the drain mechanism, it will need to be replaced completely. It costs about 1050-1250 rubles, but, believe me, it will save much more.
Also pay attention to the water consumption of the toilet model that you have installed. It can vary from a couple of liters to ten, which, you see, is very significant. But in any case, the tank fittings can be configured for an economical drain, especially since 4 liters are enough for this (this is the maximum).
On a note! One liter is enough to flush liquid waste, so many manufacturers offer models with two buttons, each of which is set to a different flush volume. The large button releases twice as much water as the small one. These devices are by far the most economical.
To save water, you can also install a toilet bowl, the tank of which is combined with a washstand. In addition to using waste water for flushing, your bathroom will also free up space due to the sink.
Toilets, urinals, bidets
If you are making major repairs in your apartment or just moving into a new building, it's time to think about choosing plumbing that will help you save on water bills. Most of all, it is spent by the familiar two-valve faucet with rubber gaskets, which wear out very quickly. A dripping faucet can take up to 700 liters of water from you in a month.
It is much more convenient to use a single-lever mixer. By moving the lever vertically you dose the water supply, and horizontally you adjust its temperature. Such faucets almost never leak, because inside they do not have a faucet box, but a cartridge. Another thing is that this element is more sensitive to water quality and wears out faster if scale and dirt get into it. But in such operating conditions, any crane will feel uncomfortable.
Modern single-lever devices have long begun to displace models with two valves. However, any plumbing, even the most expensive, wears out over time. We will tell you how to repair a mixer tap with one handle.
In public institutions with a large flow of people, sensor taps are installed almost everywhere. They are equipped with a thermostat, which sets a comfortable temperature for users, and the water opens only when you bring your hands to the spout of the mixer. A battery-powered sensor installed on it detects movement and gives a command to start the water. It is worth removing your hands - and the jet is automatically blocked, which gives significant savings and will not allow you to ever forget about the included tap.
Note! Such mixers are quite expensive (about 8-10 thousand rubles), but given their longer service life and a significant reduction in water consumption, these costs pay off quite quickly.
Faucets
For many, one of the reasons for overspending is centrally supplied water, which does not have a comfortable bathing temperature. At first, it generally goes cold, it has to be lowered for a long time, until it finally warms up. But even then, its temperature is not prescribed by the norms of 50 degrees, but at best 40 - 45. A familiar picture to many - isn't it?
If you are tired of writing complaints and swearing about this, refuse such a service altogether - especially since public utilities are tearing up for heating water. Install in a boiler-type apartment (which always has a supply of warm water), and you will save on one more item on the receipt.
Such a device can reduce your hot water costs by up to 40%, even though it is powered by electricity. Yes, and a lot of space for its installation is not required - you can always choose a model that is suitable in volume and shape, which can be installed either under the countertop in the kitchen, or above the bathroom in the bathroom.
On a note! For those who suffer from annual summer hot water outages, this solution to the problem will be the best.
Water heaters
Instruments and equipment that help account for water and reduce its losses are just a few ways to save money, which are not the only ones. A lot also depends on us, or rather, on our habits.
In general, if you take a bath with a thin, barely noticeable stream, the meter may not notice such an expense at all. True, the water will cool down while it is gaining at such a pace, and you will no longer want to swim in it. But you can take a bath in this way at night, and use the water for all other needs, including the tap during the day only to fill the kettle.
Everyone needs water, but there is not enough water for everyone. Life in big cities has spoiled many with the availability of necessary goods and made them forget about reasonable economy. Utility tariffs wake up from such carelessness and make you think twice before taking a bath every day, turning on the washing machine to wash one T-shirt or not turning off the taps.
There are many ways to save on water bills, some of them are illegal, and some of them allow you to use the planet's resources wisely, which means you pay less. If you're doing building work and want to add these tricks to it, use . With their help, the renovation will take place without holes in the budget, and the room itself will not need to be redone in the future.
Careful attitude to the consumption of water must be brought up in yourself and your offspring. To do this, you should properly organize your life and lifestyle, turning an economical approach into a habit:
Daily use of these principles will reduce water consumption by 500 liters.
If your minimum income is less than the living wage, you can apply for a housing subsidy. Also, families who spend more than 22% of their income on utilities can count on government assistance. Muscovites have the right to count on a subsidy at 10% of the costs of their total income.
The active increase in tariffs for housing and communal services has generated a lot of talk. Specialists who know how to save on bills began to be invited to radio and television programs. Here's what they recommend:
In order to take a shower comfortably, study in advance.
However, sometimes you can pamper yourself and soak in the bathroom without harm to the budget. It will take a little patience and time: to get a bath, you need to turn on the tap on a small trickle of water. The meter will not be able to calculate the water flow, since the pressure will be minimal. According to this principle, you can take a bath overnight, and then use the water for domestic purposes.
For minimum water consumption, special taps are used. Often they can be found in cafeterias and fast foods with a large flow of people. Such plumbing is equipped with touch sensors: capturing the warmth of the hands, it supplies water at the optimum temperature, and when there is no movement, the water automatically turns off. This method helps to save water with the greatest comfort for consumers. It can't be called cheap, but thanks to savings on bills, it will quickly pay off.
Toilets need to be updated. For flushing outdated samples, a large amount of water is required - about 25 liters. Whereas modern models consume no more than four liters. This is an expensive way to save, but very effective.
A dripping faucet can hurt your budget a lot. Every day, he "steals" about ten liters of water, a leak consumes more than three hundred liters in a month, and deprives you of 27 baths during the year.
In order not to waste resources and money, eliminate the leak in time. Finding them is not always easy, so you can invite a plumber to assess the condition of your plumbing fixtures.
You can independently check the drain tank - pour food coloring into it and watch the toilet bowl. If after a short time it becomes pigmented, then it's time to fix the leak.
Installation of settlement devices is the most reasonable solution in a situation of constant increase in tariffs for utilities. With water meters, you will not overpay for extra cubic meters of water, which are charged in a certain amount for each resident of the apartment. You will only pay for the amount of liquid you used.
Counters are individual and common house. According to the principle of operation, they are classified into tacheometric, electromagnetic, vortex and ultrasonic. The first option is most often installed in apartments, as they work without power supply. But they should be regularly cleaned of contaminated water and change filters.
Counters practically do not take up space, but it is important that they have constant access. This should be taken into account.
You can install the devices yourself or invite the master. In the latter case, you will have to pay not only for the meters, but also for installation. If you decide to install the device yourself, you need to make sure that the installation is correct, otherwise the representative of the water utility will not seal the meter.
Water meters allow you to save water at times, and also bring up a thrifty attitude to the consumption of resources. You will have to pay only for the consumed water, because without settlement devices the bill amount is divided into registered residents. Often you have to pay for commercial organizations connected to the communications of a residential building, when their expenses are divided between residents. The counter saves you from unnecessary waste and allows you to pay only after the fact.