How to Save Water at Home: 20+ Ways
Published on May 11th 2017 by Madhumita Talukder under Green Living Ideas
With nearly 1.2 million people having no means to clean drinking water, and about 2,000 children dying from water-borne diseases every day, saving water has become one of our principal duties nowadays. Hence, before letting your tap to aimlessly pour water, go through this article that deals with water saving ideas at home.
12 Ways to Save Water at Home
Cutting-down water wastage in toilet
- Turn off the tap during shaving, or brushing to conserve at least 6 quarts of water per minute.
- Fix any kind of leaks in your pipes, or faucets to counter wastage of about 16 quarts of water every day.
- Take limited time to shower as it accounts for 6 to 48 quarts of water drainage per minute.
- Put a bucket under the faucet or shower to save the cold water, while you wait for hot water, to prevent wastage.
- Go for toilets with a low and dual flush that not only uses limited water for flushing but also varies the water content in accordance to the need of different purposes; less for peeing and more for pooping.
- Install a cistern displacement device that reduces the volume of water used in every flush.
- Use a duster or broom to clean up the dry dust, instead of using water to wash the floors.
- Insulate water pipes to get hot water faster and also to avoid wastage while it heats up.
Saving water when washing dishes or doing laundry
- Switch over to high-efficiency washers since they save about 3,000 to 9,000 gallons of water per year by using only 15 to 30 gallons per load.
- Use efficient laundry and dishwasher detergents that clean properly but do not require much water.
- Stick to employing the economy mode for both washing machine and dishwasher and always use full loads to avoid unwanted washes in between.
- Avoid rinsing chunks of food down the sink since they take up lots of water to dump off wastes. Load them in your garbage bin.
12 Ways to Conserve Water Outdoors
Saving water bill in your garden and lawn
- While watering your lawn, use a watering can and sprinkle only over those areas that need water.
- Sprinkle water deeply and slowly so that plants may grow long roots that would need less water in the long run.
- Water plants only at night to avoid excess evaporation during day time.
- Hand-water your lawn instead of using a hose or sprinkler whenever possible, to cut down water usage by half.
- Repair sprinkler heads and pipes if broken, to ascertain that they spray as directed and not waste water.
- Grow native plants that require minimum irrigation.
- Use mulch such as composted manure and wood chips that retain moisture around plants.
- Try planting small plants under big trees so as to prevent much evaporation.
- Consider aerating your lawn by punching small holes through the soil as it may help in reducing the amount of water needed.
- Cover your swimming pool to prevent drainage of 20,000 gallons of water due to evaporation.
Using less water for car washing
- While washing your car, use a trigger nozzle to avoid excess water flow.
- Stick to using environment-friendly cleansers so the waste-water can be employed in watering the garden or lawn.
Additional Water Saving Tips
- Filter the water of your tank and put it in fridge bottles for drinking purposes.
- Teach kids to reuse the water of half-drunken bottles and cups to water plants and grasses.
- When you keep a jug of tap water in the fridge, you would have your glass of cold water ready and won’t need to run the tap for ages.
- Save cooking water such as the water after draining pasta in a big bowl and allow it to cool so as to use it for watering plants.
- Go for rainwater harvesting.
Water Saving Systems and Technologies for Your Home
- Get hold of a foot tap or pedal that allows you to control the flow of water with your feet, reducing water consumption by as much as 50%.
- Fetch low-flow shower heads that save up to 10 gallons of water for showers in 10 minutes, thereby lessening your water bill by 25-60%.
- Buy toilet tank bags that reduce the amount of water used in flushing, saving about 0.8 gallons per flush.
- Purchase water flow valves since they check the discharge of water significantly.
It is a known fact that water covers nearly 70% of the earth but what’s often not known is that out of this, less than 2.5% is fresh and usable. Moreover, since only 1% of this is accessible, people worldwide face acute water shortage. Hence, it is high time that we become conscious about the way we use water so none is deprived of it.
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