Along with longer days and sweeter fruits, the hot summer months also mean less rains and water shortage. On an average, each person uses up around 150 liters of water every single day. This number might seem shocking to you, but there are several easy steps you can take around your home to bring down this number drastically. Here are nine ways you can do your part for the planet by saving more water this summer.
Contents
- 1 1. Fix Any Leaky Faucets
- 2 2. Choose a Bucket over the Shower
- 3 3. Turn Off the Tap While Doing Dishes
- 4 4. Re-Use Your Cooking Water
- 5 5. Change Your Morning Routine
- 6 6. Do Your Laundry Only When You Need To
- 7 7. Soak Vegetables to Clean Them
- 8 8. Use Dirty Water to Flush Toilets
- 9 9. Don’t Waste Water from your RO Purifier
1. Fix Any Leaky Faucets
A dripping tap can do a lot more damage than you realise. In fact, if your tap leaked one drop every second, you would be wasting almost 20 liters each day! Fixing leaks should be the top priority on your summer home maintenance checklist. To prevent this from happening, do a quick check of every water outlet in your home as well as your pipes. If you notice any leakages, you should call your plumber immediately to take care of it. There are also times when we don’t close our taps fully, leading to a lot of water accidentally being wasted. Always make sure your taps are tightly closed to prevent this from happening.
2. Choose a Bucket over the Shower
A long shower can be a great way to relax, but is it worth wasting around 64 liters of water? Showers might have more features, but if you want to conserve water, a regular bucket bath is the best way to go. Using a bucket gives you greater control over how much water you use and also ensures that nothing goes to waste. Each standard bucket can hold 10 liters of water. So even if you used two buckets, you wouldn’t be wasting half as much water as you would with a shower.
3. Turn Off the Tap While Doing Dishes
Many people leave the water running right from when they first begin to do the dishes until they have rinsed the final plate. Doing this can lead to a lot of water unnecessarily going to waste. But a simple change to your dishwashing routine can drastically reduce the amount of water you use. Start off by first rinsing all of your dirty vessels and then turn the water off. Scrub each of them with dishwashing liquid and only then turn the tap on again for the final rinse. Having a water-efficient dishwasher can also help you cut down on the amount of water you use while doing your dishes.
4. Re-Use Your Cooking Water
If you boil rice, lentils or vegetables frequently, don’t let all that water go to waste. Instead of throwing it down the sink, you can use it to water your plants. This water usually contains a lot of nutrients, so re-using it can actually help your plants grow better. Just make sure that the water has been cooled down to room temperature first or you might end up accidentally killing them! When you are watering your plants, it’s also a good idea to do it first thing in the morning while the sun’s heat is still comparatively weak. If you do it in the afternoon, the water might evaporate too quickly for your plants to be able to absorb it.
5. Change Your Morning Routine
Most of us waste a lot of water in our morning routine without even realising it. If you keep your tap on while you brush your teeth, you could be wasting 7 litres of water or more. Leaving the water running for the entire duration of your shower can also use up more water than you realise. By just turning off the tap when you don’t need it can save a lot of water every single day.
6. Do Your Laundry Only When You Need To
If you have an older washing machine, you could be using up as much as 170 litres of water in each wash cycle. Even newer, more efficient washing machines, still use up to 113 litres of water per cycle. This is why you should try to cut down on the number of times you do your laundry. Run a cycle only when you have a full load as this can reduce the amount of water used each time. You should also consider re-using certain clothes like jeans more often, so you don’t have to use as much water.
7. Soak Vegetables to Clean Them
Washing your vegetables under running water can be very wasteful. For dirtier vegetables like potatoes and cauliflowers especially, you might be using several litres of water without even realising it. A more water-efficient way to clean vegetables is to use a single bowl of water and soak your vegetables in them. This will loosen up dirt particles and drastically cut down on the amount of water you are using.
8. Use Dirty Water to Flush Toilets
Dirty or soapy water can’t be reused to water your plants. However, that doesn’t mean you should just throw it down the drain. Every time you flush, you use around 6-10 litres of water. Reusing your old water to flush toilets can be one of the best ways to make your home more eco-friendly. You can keep aside water from your laundry and dish loads and fill up your cistern with it. Make sure you turn off the water supply to your toilet otherwise, it will automatically fill up again after you flush.
9. Don’t Waste Water from your RO Purifier
If you have an RO purifier at home for drinking water, you might be surprised to find out that it could be the biggest source of water wastage in your home. Since RO purifiers convert hard water into soft water, only about 400ml of water is converted into drinking water per liter. The remaining 600ml just goes to waste. While this water isn’t drinkable, it can still be put to use in a number of ways. You can use it to mop your floor, wash your vehicles or even to give your dogs a bath. Just by doing this, you could be saving dozens of liters of water each day.
Conserving water at home is one of the most important steps you can take to protect our natural resources. This is why, at Lancor, we have implemented several water conservation features like sewage and water treatment plants to reduce water wastage in our residential projects. Visit our website to learn more about our beautiful homes and the unique amenities they offer.