The cost of water depends on where you live. When I lived in Durango, Colorado, the cost of water seemed really high. My girlfriend taught me how to save water by not flushing the toilet every time it’s used. The saying goes like this: “If it’s yellow, let it mellow; if it’s brown, flush it down.” That means if it is urine, don’t flush. If it is poop, then flush.
I remembered that saying when I was trying to decrease the cost of my utilities bills in the house I bought on Lakeshore Drive. So I started the “saving water” routine and it seemed to help. Now I am in a rented house and my first gas bill was $138! So I figured I should find a way to save money on heat.
I started a project the day after I got that gas bill: use the HVAC in the day and at night turn the temperature down to its lowest. In this house it’s 45 degrees. I use space heaters for the night: one in the living room, one in the room where cats sleep, and one in the kitchen/dining room area. I won’t know until I get the next electric bill if this is a good thing to do.
[I got that bill; using space heaters cost slightly less than just using the HVAC.]
Back to water: I started the Durango thing about toilet water hoping that at least one bill would be lower.
And then the incredible cold came where night temperatures were in single digits and the high was in the 20s. (BTW: it’s colder here than it is in Durango!)
For longer than a week, I have had to keep all faucets including the showers, dripping 24 hours/day. I have one in the kitchen, four in the bathrooms. That’s a lot of water! I’m hoping that my toilet thing (don’t flush for pee) works for countering the dripping water.
It did not. I just saw my water bill on USPS Daily Digest (1/27). The dripping water cost about the same despite the fact that I was not taking a shower every day and I was not flushing for urine. I’m guessing it was the same because I spent more than a week letting all five faucets drip.
Till then,
Please be kind to everyone, for we all have our hidden sorrows. ~Tzaddi
skatingthru2012 