Are Water-Saving Ways
Worth All the Trouble?

March 27, 2002 -- Hoping to save a little water -- and money -- Carol Tanzi recently invested in a bunch of new drought-busting features for her home, including a special new high-tech washing machine and fridge. So how much did the save on her last water bill? Five dollars. "It's minuscule," says the interior designer from Burlingame, Calif.

As homeowners all over face an unusually dry spring, more Americans are thinking green -- replacing old water-wasting appliances and fixtures with everything from dishwashers with electronic dirt sensors to split-second heaters. The result: Water-saving models, once slow to catch on, now make up 17% of appliance sales at Sears alone, up from 10% last year.

All that's good news for the environment, but when it comes to saving money, the industry can still be, well, green. The new models can cost as much as 10 times more -- far beyond what most buyers save, at least initially. In one study, consumers who replaced not only their old clothes washers and dishwashers, but also their faucets and showerheads, saved just $17 a month. At that rate, it would take the new gadgets 10 years to pay for themselves -- longer than many washing machines actually last.

But water savers are the wave of the future. In two years, federal rules will require new kitchen faucets to use half as much water per minute as they do now. Clothes washing machines will have to be 22% more efficient and still spin laundry almost dry. Sure, the rules won't apply to existing equipment, but homeowners who do major renovations will be affected. "We've spent millions and hired doctors of fluid dynamics," says Jim Kukla of Kohler, a major fixture maker, one of many companies scrambling to meet the expected demand.

So what products to buy? We took at look at many of the new water-savers, and talked to contractors and homeowners who've installed them. Below, a room-by-room guide:

Kitchen

Forget the humble dishwasher. The latest models now have built-in sensors that monitor just how dirty dishes are and figure out how much water is needed to get them clean. Whirlpool says its Gold 1000 dishwashers (about $550) save water through something called an Automatic Purge Filtration System that allows the unit to fill and drain simultaneously while skimming the water for food particles; other sensors tell how many dishes are actually being washed.

But if dishwashers are getting smarter about water use, many people aren't, says Ed Pollock, of the Department of Energy. While new washers are designed so that dishes don't need to be pre-rinsed, 60% of people go ahead anyway. "Much of the water savings are lost," he says.

Baths

About the only people who don't consider low-flow toilets a joke are builders and plumbers, who've had to install them for nearly a decade. "The new ones work well," says Charles Clayton III, a Winter Park, Fla., builder. The proof: He's put them in his own house.

Makers say they've improved designs and some have added things like gravity-fed siphon jets or electric pumps that cut water use even more. For instance, Kohler's Power Lite model has a two-horsepower pump and a split-button flush. The water flow is calibrated to what needs to be swept away. The company says it'll save the average household about 2,000 gallons of water a year. But at a cost: The toilets are as much as $2,000 each, or about 10 times a standard fixture.

Meanwhile, those motion-sensitive faucets often used in public washrooms are turning up in homes. Delta's "E-flow" electronic faucet uses "digitally calibrated infrared sensors" to control water flow -- a company spokesman says it's "targeted at the Palm Pilot crowd." Cost: $400 and up. Meanwhile, showerheads that aerate water can reduce waste by almost two-thirds.

But, of course, these things save water only if you don't stay in the shower longer to compensate. Joanne Breger recently put in a low-flow showerhead when she remodeled her bathroom, but now her teenage son takes such long showers, he uses up all the hot water. "I hate it," says the Vienna, Va., teacher. "By the time it's my turn, the water's freezing."

Basement

Every time you turn on the faucet and wait for hot water to appear, two or three gallons go down the drain. Some manufacturers are attempting to cut that time using high-speed pumps that get hot water running faster. Energy engineer Gary Klein installed one, Metlund's D'MAND, in his 2,400-square-foot Sacramento home. He says he used to wait four minutes for his shower to warm up; now it's under a minute. The downside: Because the city charges a flat rate for water, Mr. Klein's $400 system, which he installed himself in about an hour, doesn't cut his bill.

Of course, the most dramatic way water gets wasted in a house is when something breaks and leaks. Each year, more than five million water heaters rupture, flooding basements across the land. DynaQuip Controls' WaterCop, a small black box that attaches to the main water supply, automatically shuts off the water when it detects a leak. It runs about $350 and can be hooked up to a home's alarm system, too.

Laundry

Clothes washers are some of the biggest water-gobblers in the house, using as much as 55 gallons a load. Most of the new water-saving machines are front-loaders, which use about half the water of older models and cause less wear and tear on fabrics.

But some users, like Patricia Schuler, says the machines can stink -- literally -- from mildew, which tends to collect in some of them. "I walk into my laundry room and am knocked over by the smell," says the Tyngsboro, Mass. homeowner, who recently bought a Maytag Neptune front-loader. She says the company sent her a "refresher" kit and suggested running the machine empty once a week. Isn't that a waste of water? It is "self-defeating," says company spokesman Dale Reeder, who says the problem was "pretty rare" and that Maytag made some changes in the model to reduce the mildew.

Other makers have been improving front-loaders, adding tilted doors that allow water to sheet off, better mechanics, and bigger doors and tubs. Among the most popular is the Kenmore's Elite He3t, which uses 16 gallons a load. It costs a hefty $1,450, but, a Sears spokesman says it doesn't seem to matter. "We can't keep up with demand," he says.

Email your comments to rjeditor@dowjones.com.