3 Simple Ways to Lower Your Hot Water Costs

There are several ways you can save money and it couldn't be more important than right now. Home improvements and maintenance are the easiest ways to save a few bucks over the course of a year. One specific way to cut back on costs is to make improvements to lower your hot water costs. In this article I will show you how to lower your hot water costs and recoup your investments in a short amount of time. If you can go around your house and come up with easy ways to save money it will add up quicker than you think. Here are three ways to save money on your hot water costs.

First, you can install a faucet aerator which is a simple device that works by adding air into the water stream which results in a high pressure flow that uses less water than a conventional solid stream. Also you will find that an aerated system will alleviate the entire splash back that a solid stream creates. For the best results you should get a kitchen aerator that is rated at 2.5 gallons per minute or less and for bathrooms you should use one rated around 1 gallon per minute. It is quite simple to add these in your home and the directions cover all possibilities. One quick tip would be to make sure and take note of where the threads are on your faucet so you can get the correct aerator, if for some chance you can't find the right one you can always find an adaptor to make it work.

The next thing you can do to lower hot water costs is to replace wasteful shower heads. You would be amazed at how much water is used by a normal shower. You can save a ton of money by putting in a low flow shower head that is rated no higher than 2.5 gallons per minute. A low flow shower head is no different than a regular flow shower head when it comes to installation. Look up an article by myself called "How to Install a Shower Head" and you will be good to go.

The next thing you can do is maintain your hot water heater. What I mean by this is to keep if free of sediment and will make it more efficient. Hard water plays more havoc on hot water heaters than soft water so you should keep in mind that with hard water you want to keep your water temperature below 120 degrees. To drain sediment you have to turn off the water supply to the heater at the cold water intake pipe or at the house's main shut off. Make sure you turn the control knob to off before you begin work. Attach a length of garden hose to the drain valve and the other end to a floor drain. Open the drain valve and a nearby hot water faucet to let air into the system. Let the water run until it is not cloudy anymore but if that doesn't happen turn on the cold water and let it drain until it's clear. You are done, just put the hot water heater back the way it was and you are set.

These are a few very simple ways to save some money, you may think that these are small and insignificant but you will really be surprised at the kind of savings you will see. Try these tips and see what you think, they are all pretty easy and you could accomplish all three in a matter of hours. Hope this helps.