The kitchen has a large number of plumbing pipes and appliances serving it. The only room that uses more water for plumbing is the bathroom, and kitchens often have more appliances in them. This makes the kitchen a key place to focus in a home when it comes to finding ways to cut down on water use. And you do need to cut down: every home right now is probably using more water than necessary, and it doesn’t require many changes to start lowering your monthly water bills (and helping the environment in the process).
We’re going to look at some of the ways you can lower water use with your kitchen plumbing in Orlando, FL. Some of these methods need the assistance of great professional plumbers, and if you live in Central Florida, we’re the people to contact!
Install a new dishwasher
Using a dishwasher is a way to conserve water compared to hand-washing dishes, although many people think the opposite is true. As long as you only run the dishwasher with a full load, you’ll save money (and time) compared to doing the dishes by hand.
But not if you have an old dishwasher! If you have our plumbers install an ENERGY STAR-certified dishwasher, which only uses around 4 to 6 gallons in a normal wash cycle, you’ll reduce how much water the dishwasher uses by 15%.
Store cold water in the refrigerator
If you’re waiting for the tap water to cool off before you pour yourself a glass of drinking water, you are allowing plenty to go to waste down the drain. Instead, store water for drinking in the refrigerator in a plastic container. Pour a lot of water into the container at a time so you won’t end up wasting water washing the container on regular basis! (We don’t recommend purchasing bottled water to drink, however. If you’re looking for purifier water, we’ll install a water treatment system for your house.)
Have WaterSense faucets installed
Your current water faucets may be wasting water each time you turn them on. Basic aerators on the faucets can help to lower water flow. But an even better solution is to replace the old faucets with new low-flow models. These faucets use a maximum of 1.5 gallons per minute, which lowers standard faucet flow by 30% or more. You can end up saving 700 gallons or more per year.
Repair leaky faucets
Never ignore a leaking, dripping faucet. Bathroom faucets are usually closer to sleeping areas and are therefore more likely to create an annoyance so people will have them fixed. Kitchen faucets usually don’t receive this same attention. The water waste from a leaky kitchen faucet can add up fast, often to the equivalent of enough water each year for 40 showers.
There are many other options to look into for conserving water that our plumbers can help you with. For example, have you considered changing out your old storage water heater for a tankless model? You could also have our plumbers check your kitchen piping to see if there are hidden leaks are that draining away water without you knowing it. Schedule an appointment with us today for help with saving water with your plumbing.
Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc. has proudly served Central Florida since 1975.