Watch CBS News

Survive This Economy: Cutting Your Water Bill

CHICAGO (CBS) -- It's something we all do: look for ways to cut our household bills.

The Wrights are no different. They were worried when their water bills starting going up.

What they found and what they did put $25 a month back in their pockets.

CBS 2's Dorothy Tucker reports the Wrights made that big savings, because they made a big discovery at their home in Bolingbrook.

The Wrights get water service from a private company and their bill was about $0 per month, but the past couple months, it went up to $120.

They knew something was wrong, and that's when they discovered the dishwasher was leaking.

They've stopped using the dishwasher until they can replace it, and they've taken other steps to reduce their water bill – such as cutting their showers from 20 minutes to 10, and saving 20 gallons of water each time.

They also make sure the faucets are off after every use, and they constantly check the toilet for leaks.

A leaking toilet could waste 500 gallons of water a day.

This month's water bill was $95. That's a savings of $25 from the past couple months. Add that to the other savings through the "Survive This Economy" series and the Wrights are up to a savings of $2,368.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.