All of you might think that water is a renewable resource. After all, that is what science says. And there’s so much of it, with 71% of Earth’s surface area covered by water. But only 0.3% of all the water that is available on the earth is potable. Still, there is enough freshwater to sustain the current world population. But that may be changing soon, as many places on earth are already suffering from water scarcity. This is why mankind must make a collective effort to conserve as much water as possible. And this effort starts at home! In our last article of the series, we talked about how you can create a water efficient home. Today we will be discussing ways to conserve water at home.
Conserve Water At Home
You might not realize, but you end up using hundreds of liters of water every day without even knowing. Flushing the toilet once consumes more than 10 liters of water. Taking a shower consumes around 50 to 60 liters of water. A running tap ends up consuming more than 6 liters of water per minute. So every time you visit the toilet, take a shower, or even brush your teeth, there is a cost. The cost is not only monetary. It takes a toll on the environment. More water wasted means more water pollution in rivers and lakes, and even water scarcity in extreme cases. Which is why you need to check your water usage at home.
Bathroom
Firstly, do not use your toilet as a wastebasket or ashtray. Flushes take up a lot of water, which makes flushing down garbage an absolute waste of water. Just put such things in the garbage or recycle them. Taking shorter showers can also save a lot of water. Only use as much water as it takes to rinse off the soap and shampoo from your body. Also, while brushing your teeth, remember to turn off the tap after wetting your toothbrush. This will save many liters of water. And, when shaving, do not turn on the tap to rinse the razor. Instead, plug your sink and fill it with water, or use a specific bowl filled with warm water when shaving.
Household
Then there’s laundry. There isn’t much difference in water consumption when you’re doing small batches when compared to big batches. It’s just more efficient to do full loads of laundry. Also, when washing dishes by hand, use a big bowl of water or fill your sink with water to rinse off the plates instead of running the plates under the tap. Do the same thing when you’re washing vegetables. Purchasing a dishwasher instead of hand washing dishes can also help conserve water at home.
Outside Your House
Water is not only consumed inside the confines of your home. There are plants to water, walkways to clean, and cars to wash. Consider utilizing greywater produced by baths, laundry, and dishes to water the plants. And when the walkway is being cleaned, use a broom instead of a hose to clean it. Washing a car consumes more than 300 liters of water when done with a garden hose. It’s better to use a bucket of soapy water to clean the car than only rinsing the car with the hose.
Leaks
A leak might not seem like a major issue, especially when it’s just a droplet of water that is leaking. But just a drop of water leaking over time can waste more than 70 liters of water every day. A larger leak would end up consuming hundreds of liters of water. Thoroughly checking for leaks in faucets and pipes inside of your home and fixing them can result in a lot of water being saved at home. Do the same for pipes and taps outside.
In the end, we can say that humans consume a lot of water without even realizing it. A few tweaks to our lifestyle can help conserve water at home. This, in turn, will reduce water pollution and help tackle water scarcity. And if these things are done collectively, it will have a very huge and positive impact on our environment. If you want to read more articles like this, head over to the Bproperty blog, where we have numerous lifestyle articles. Do let us know in the comments below if you found this article to be helpful.
