With natural disasters and droughts happening across the globe, water conservation becomes more important. Other than allowing you to enjoy savings on your monthly utility bill, water conservation can help prevent water pollution in nearby watersheds, rivers, lakes, or oceans. It also prevents any gas emission associated with distributing and treating water.
Conservation Practices
It’s essential to pay importance to water conservation as you depend on it for survival. If you want to do it effectively, make sure to take note of the following tips and tricks to conserve:
Consider Collecting Rainwater
If you’re one of the homeowners who use water for various purposes such as food preparation, agricultural irrigation, drinking water, livestock and farming, and lawn irrigation, it’s wise to consider harvesting rainwater with steel water tanks to avoid wasting.
The best thing about steel water tanks is they’re designed to store huge quantities of water and can be beneficial in rainwater harvesting, which is needed in dry and arid areas. Such tanks are also great in urban areas for storing purposes.
Unlike other storing systems, steel water tanks are less expensive and can be made from stainless steel, durable aluminum, and corrugated steel to prevent rust and corrosion. If you don’t know which one to choose, check out the steel range from The Tank Factory and other reliable sources for your options.
Take Shorter Showers
Another way to conserve water is to take shorter showers. A 4-minute shower often consumes 20-40 gallons of water.
To cut down on water use, you can have a timer or you may also turn off the shower while soaping and just turn it on when you’re ready to rinse.
Moreover, it’s a great idea to consider low-flow and water-saving shower heads consuming less water compared to regular shower heads.
The best thing about these fixtures is they’re easy to install and can be a cheap way to preserve water.
Optimize Cooking Water
One of the ways in preparing food is through steaming, which may come in handy when conserving water because boiling vegetables require more water. Steaming, on the other hand, requires less.
If you’re cooking pasta or rice, you can steam vegetables in the basket over the pot. To cook pasta, use a pot big enough to accommodate your pasta noodles to ensure you won’t need to use more water.
Also, you can save the water from boiling before draining it. The starchy water can bulk up soups and sauces.
Check Leakages
Any kind of leaks in sprayers, sprinkler heads, or hoses can waste more water. After turning on sprinklers, check the connections and determine if there are leaks. To avoid leakages, add a rubber washer at the end of your hose.
Be Smart with Lawn Irrigation
When watering the garden, lawn irrigation has come a long way. If your budget allows, don’t hesitate to install weather-based irrigation controllers, which are capable of adjusting to the current weather conditions and would only water your lawn when necessary.
A sprinkler system also works wonders, but you have to know the ways to operate them properly. If you’d turn the system off and run every zone manually, it’ll help save water over time.
If you’re using old mist-style sprinkler heads, consider replacing them with today’s more efficient and newer rotator sprinkler heads using water at a slower rate to avoid drift and increase penetration. For improved water efficiency, install soaker hoses and new drip irrigation piping.
Use Dishwashers
Dishwashing often accounts for less than two percent of indoor water use, but using machines is more efficient compared to hand washing, particularly if you run a full load. When shopping around for dishwashers, choose the energy-efficient ones to help you conserve water effectively.
Purchase High-efficiency Washers
Washing clothes account for more than 20% of indoor water use. If you want to conserve water, use front-loading machines instead of top-loading machines as such units use less water. However, regardless of your preferences, always look for an equipment with Energy Star rating to ensure energy efficiency.
Turn Off Your Faucets
Don’t let tap water run needlessly when you’re rinsing or washing dishes, shaving, brushing your teeth, and washing your face or hands.
A bathroom faucet runs at about two gallons of water every minute, so turn off the faucet while doing other things to save gallons of water regularly. Also, if you have a leaky faucet, make sure to fix it immediately to avoid wasting water.
Keep A Bottle of Drinking Water
While the body needs to be hydrated regularly, running water from the faucet and cooling it to drink isn’t a good idea if you want to conserve. Store drinking water in your fridge using safe containers. If you’re filling the water bottles to bring on outdoor hikes, consider purchasing personal water filters that’ll help you drink from lakes or rivers safely.
Wash Produce in A Tub
Place a big pot or basin in your sink and fill it with enough water, then wash your produce in it. To drain the water, use a colander over your basin. It won’t only save water, but you can also use it for your plants.
Re purpose Grey water
Grey water is lightly-used water runoff from your sink, shower, or bath. Just place a bucket in your shower or sink to collect extra water or use the bucket to scoop up before draining the tub, then repurposed it by watering your lawn, car, or plants. You may also do this with a glass of water going stale on your nightstand.
Conclusion
Many people think the water supply on the planet is infinite, but what they don’t realize is the world may run out of clean water once conservation is taken for granted. That’s why saving water is essential as it keeps sources clean and pure while protecting the environment. It also enables everyone to use their supply responsibly and wisely.
Make sure to keep these tips and tricks to conserve water and help keep the supply pure and safe for many years to come.