They say, “Time is money.” But, these days, with the growing population, changes in climate and many other environmental and social factors, we have a situation in which such a statement too sounds reasonable. Environmentalists and other scientists are escalating the fact that water is getting depleted, and that,.there is an urgent need to preserve water. On the other hand, we, the commoners, are being negligent of the enormity of the situation in every possible way. It is time to wake up and realize the importance of conserving water, so that, our children and grand children will not have difficulty in obtaining drinking water. Save water and thereby, save the future generations. But, this doesn’t mean that we have to limit drinking too much water,. It simply means that you have to reduce water consumption elsewhere, so that, you’ve have enough water for drinking. Here are a few ways by which, you could reduce water wastage in your day to day life.
Complexity Level: Moderate
Resources Required: low-flow shower heads, aerators, dual-flush toilet tanks, trash cans, dishwasher, washing machine, water-efficient products.
Instructions:
Water usage could be reduced mainly in three prime areas in your house, where its consumption is maximum.
The Bathroom:
Bathroom is a place where water is indispensable. So, it can be considered as the ‘water central’ in the house. With certain basic practices and installations, a large amount of water can be conserved here.
- In some families, especially the children start wasting water from the time they wake up. They just leave the faucet on, while brushing their teeth. In some cases, even the grown-ups do the same thing. When asked, they might just say that it gives them the ‘feel’ of brushing. Well, its time to put behind all these excuses and switch off the faucet. You save gallons of water by doing that.
- Also, the same rule applies for shaving. Men had better turn off the faucets while shaving, to reduce water wastage.
- Installing low-flow shower heads can save a good deal of water.
- Take showers instead of baths, as these could save almost about 30 gallons of water.
- Before filling your bath tub, make sure that you install the plug properly.
- Fix aerators in the shower and other faucets. This will add extra pressure to your water, by creating air bubbles. So, in case you operate aerators, you are enjoy the high pressure water flow and at the same time, save a lot of water!
- Install dual-flush toilets- one for high flow and one for low flow. But, do make sure that the flush handles do not leak. Otherwise, the whole purpose of the dual flush goes for a toss. You could achieve this by putting food color into your flush tank and keep it standing for about a half hour or so. If your toilet bowl shows color, it’s time for some serious repair job.
- Use trash cans instead of toilets for disposal of garbage, which, otherwise, takes half as much water to off the entire stuff.
The Kitchen:
Kitchen ranks the second in places where water is used utmost. Here are a few painless ways to save water in such cases.
- Do not rinse dishes before loading them into the dish washer.
- Always operate the dish washer on a full load. Also remember that your dishes will be done much well when the dish washer operates in this mode.
- When you have to wash the dishes yourself, instead of using the running water to wash them, you could first fill up your sink and then use the filled up water for washing.
- After washing the vegetables or fruits, do not just drain off the water. You could use it to water your plants or flush your toilet.
- Stop consuming processed food stuff as they require a lot of water.
Garden:
- Do not over water the plants. Who knows, they might even die! Try to find out which plants are suitable for your surroundings, how much water they need and water them accordingly.
- Watering could be done early in the morning or evenings to minimize evaporation.
- Deep soaks are good for your lawn since, they enable the moisture percolate deep into the soil.
Other random places:
- Washing machines too, just like the dish washers, should be operated on a full load.
- The machine uses water to rinse and hence, this water could be used to clean your bathrooms and flushing, instead of just being sent down the drain.
- Use car washers instead of washing the car yourself. You would save a lot of water by selecting the ones, which recycle the water.
- Wastes like oil and other hazardous materials are potential water pollutants and should be disposed off properly.
- While buying new products that require water for functioning, go for water efficient ones.
Frequently asked questions:
1. Is there a way to conserve rain water?
Oh yes! This is the perfect way to conserve water. At the basic level, you could just install a water catching barrel outside.
2. What can I use rain water for?
Rain water is said to be the purest form of water. But then, when it rains, remember that the water passes through the atmosphere and comes along with the dust and other possible pollutants. So, it is not suitable for drinking. Instead, you could use it for washing, flushing toilets and watering your garden.
Quick Tips:
1. Turn off the tap or shower while you are lathering.
2. You could bathe your pets in the garden. You could accomplish two things at the same time- bathing your pet and watering your garden, so that, you could also reduce water usage.
3. When you are back-flush your pool, the water could be used for your garden
4. Wash dark colored clothes in cold water. It helps in saving water and the colors on your clothes.
Things to watch out for:
1. Keep listening for dripping faucets or toilets.
2. Do not be lazy to turn off a dripping tap.
3. Keep an eye on your kids when they use water.
