Saving Money and Protecting Resources: Water Conservation

It’s likely that if you own a rental property, your tenants never see a water bill. But you do, and you probably would love to see water usage go down, both for your bottom line and for the planet. There are a few ways you can do it without having to get your tenants on your side.

Your landscaping might be one of the things that attract renters, but plants can also use a lot of water. To reduce water usage, slowly replace plants that need a lot of water with ones that can withstand a little less moisture. You’ll save money and the look of your property won’t suffer at all.

Installing aerators in all sinks in your building can do a lot to reduce water usage. Sinks without aerators can use up to 2.2 gallons of water per minute! Bathroom sinks can use an aerator with 1 or .5 GPM, but allow a little more water to go through kitchen sinks so all those dishes will get clean.

A change that might be more expensive up front, but will save you plenty, in the long run, is replacing all of your toilets with efficient ones. This is a big one, because you can save up to 10 gallons of water per toilet per day. You could replace toilets one floor at a time if that works better for your budget, but keep in mind that you might get a bulk discount from the company that sells the toilets to you.

Once you’ve put these changes into place, track the results by installing meters or watching your water bill. You can even set a building-wide goal and get your tenants on board. Once you meet a particular goal, reward your tenants somehow. Everyone working toward the goal of water efficiency is a wonderful thing to do for the planet.

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