Penny Pinching: Using the Water Saver Line

I have been mindful of my water consumption over the past year as a means of being kind to the environment but also to save money. I have put a half gallon jug of water in each of our toilet tanks to keep at least a little bit of water from going down the drain with each flush. I use water from the dehumidifier to refill the toilet tank after flushing. I also use leftover water in drinking glasses to water the plants.

Our shower water takes a while to heat up. So, another way we save water is to let the water run into a bucket until it is warm enough in which to shower. It's a 10 quart bucket. Depending on a variety of factors (i.e. whether the hot water has been used recently and therefore more quickly ready to go), it may only collect a half gallon or so. Other times the bucket may be completely full by the time the water is at a comfortable temperature. I use that water to refill the toilet tank after flushing too.

We rent a townhouse built in the early 1980s. We aren't in a position to make energy and water saving upgrades that a homeowner could. So, I look for other ways to save. In the case of our toilets, they aren't the new water-efficient models. But I've noticed there are two different fill lines in the toilet tank: the regular one (up at the top) and a lower one marked "water saver line." I couldn't figure out how to make it automatically use the saver line. So, I turned to Google.

I found a great video on ExpertVillage.com with a representative from the City of Santa Barbara's Water Resource Department explaining how to adjust the toilet tank's float to use the water saver line. I made the adjustments on our toilets earlier. It was easy!

So just when I thought I was stretching our water use as much as realistically possible, I found yet another way to save a little more. The adjustment I made today alone should save us about $40 to $50 per year. Again, not huge...but there's no point literally flushing that much down money down the toilet!

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