Basic need
Water is a need, a want and a basic human right. Yet this basic resource of clean water is not available equally around the world. This grave inequality claims lives every single day, and the problem is getting bigger. If we all knew the ways to conserve water, more of this precious resource would be saved.
If we want to sustain life on earth, then we need to stop wasting water. Planet earth might be called a blue planet, but only 3% of the water is clean drinking water. That’s not a lot given the ever increasing human population and the demand for goods.
Here are 7 ways to save water at home :
Ways to save water at home
Doing the dishes
- Don't run the dishwasher unless it's full. Water saving on a half load setting is less than 15% of a full load.
- Don't pre-rinse your dishes when you load the dishwasher. Scrape it & stack it.
- Fix that leaky tap.
With food
- If you are boiling rice, pasta or vegetables, don't throw the excess water away. Reuse it in other dishes like soups or curries. The nutrients or starch in the water adds flavour to the dish.
- It takes 17,657 litres of water to produce 1 kilogram of beef. The global average for producing 1 kg of pork is 5,988 litres of water. Reducing meat in your diet reduces greenhouse gas emissions and saves water. The blog post on eating in an eco friendly way - Check it out for more ideas.
- Here's a blog on 3 reasons why you should be a vegetarian
- Vegetables and cereals also take a lot of water to produce. It approximately takes 1,608 litres of water per 1 kg of bread from wheat. So, let's cut back on food waste.
- Cold water - Fill a jug & keep it in the fridge ready rather than run the tap.
Eco tip: Conjee
Did you know drinking boiled rice water is good for you? It’s called conjee and traditionally South & South East Asians have it for breakfast.
With laundry
- Wait till you have a full load of laundry to do as half load uses as much water as a full load.
- Don't wash your clothes unless dirty and necessary, especially your jeans. Don't throw everything at the end of the day into the wash basket. Less clothes to wash means more water saved.
In the bathroom
- Apparently 30% of water used in the house is in the toilet. The newer toilet cisterns have the dual flush option and this reduces the amount of water we flush. If you have an older style cistern or if you are not sure, then do install a water saving device. Depending on the size of your cistern, you could save between 1 and 3 litres each time you flush the toilet. This is one of the easiest ways to save water at home.
- Check if you have a leaky loo and get it fixed. Easy way to test it is to drop few drops of food coloring into the toilet cistern and leave the loo unused for an hour. If you see the color dripping in the toilet, you have a leak.
- Showers in general, are more water efficient, but not always. You can install a water saving showerhead or an aerated shower head. Or you can get yourself a water saving device that is fitted to the pipes that feeds the shower.
- Turn off the tap when you brush your teeth. If you are already doing this, well done!
- Fix that leaky tap.
Leaky Loos
A leaky toilet cistern can waste between 200 & 400 litres of water per day. That’s 72,000 to 146,000 litres of water wasted per year – water wise
While gardening
- If you have a garden, make sure you use a watering can instead of a hose – a hose pipe can use up to 1000 litres of water an hour.
- Use mulch and bark over the soil, it will help to reduce evaporation by up to 75%.
- Check the weather before you water. If it's going to rain, then save your water and let rain do its job.
- Get a water butt for your garden if you have the space. Or simply leave a plastic box or a large pan to catch the rainwater. This is one of the simplest ways to save water at home.
Eco tip: Water saving devices
Water companies send out water saving devices for free. Check your local water company’s website on water saving devices to see what’s on offer.
With your wardrobe
You probably don’t associate water with your clothes. But to produce any kind of textile, water is super important. From growing fibers to manufacturing and even to recycling -water is necessary. So, here are some of the ways to conserve water with your wardrobe.
- Buy wisely when you buy new. Every kind of fabric comes with a vastly different water consumption associated with it.
My choice:
Organic cotton consumes 92% less water than inorganic cotton. This is because of how Organic cotton is farmed, irrigated and manufactured. This is one of the biggest reasons why my leggings are made from Organic cotton.
With community action
Around 3 billion litres of water is wasted by the water companies every single day because of leaky pipes. Even with the government issuing fines, this problem is actually getting worse every year. The reasons for this are so complex and beyond my understanding of why the water companies aren’t able to fix all the leaky pipes.
So, if you spot a water leak, write / tweet / call your water company immediately. Don’t leave it to someone else to do it. If it happens repeatedly at the same spot, escalate the issue. Complain till it gets sorted.
Even though this is technically not one of the ways to save water at home, being proactive in getting issues fixed will help us in the longer run.
Eco tip: Find your supplier
Use this link to find your water supplier by using the postcode: Find your supplier | Water UK
With so many different ways to save water at home, find two or three ideas you can implement straight away. Start with the easy wins always. And tell everyone you are doing this. Boasting is not bad in this respect, as you are increasing your circle of influence.
Some further reading
