Why do we need to reduce our water use? Because only 1% of all the water on the earth is drinkable and that water is very precious. A considerable amount of energy is required in bringing safe drinking water to your tap. So water costs energy..
There are several ways you can save water around the house.
From turning off the tap when brushing your teeth to putting bricks in the toilet cistern – reducing your water use can be pretty straight forward..
Here are a few simple things you can do:
In the Bathroom:
- Turn off tap whilst brushing teeth.
- Take a 4 or 5 minute shower instead of a bath (try buying a egg timer for the shower).
- Fit a water saving shower head (not on an electric shower).
- Put a ‘water brick’ in the toilet cistern to reduce the amount it uses on every flush.
- Only flush the toilet when needed – you’ve all heard the saying “if it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down”.
In the Kitchen:
- Stop dripping taps. One dripping tap can waste a massive 5,500 ltrs a year!
- Use a washing up bowl and don’t leave the tap running.
- Fill up your washing machine and dishwasher fully.
- When needing to replace appliances make sure the items are not just energy efficient but also water efficient.
In the Garden:
- Get water butts for the garden to collect rain water run off.
- Avoid using the hose, always fill watering cans instead.
Did you know…?
Meat production uses a huge amount of water. “It takes roughly 20 gallons of water to make a pint of beer, as much as 132 gallons of water to make a 2-liter bottle of soda, and about 500 gallons, including water used to grow, dye and process the cotton, to make a pair of Levi’s stonewashed jeans.”
Grey water recycling
Grey water recycling – This is something on my ‘to do’ list. Essentially in the UK (and all developed countries) we use drinking water for everything. Cleaning the car, flushing poo down the toilet, washing the floor and for taking a bath. Clean drinkable water is something that takes a lot of energy to produce. It is expensive. Why do we use it to flush our poo down the toilet? It doesn’t make sense. Grey water recycling uses water from showers, washing machines and sinks and reuses it to flush the toilet instead of using drinking water. You can also harvest rain water not just to water the garden but it can also be connected up to the toilets to flush them. Check out this link for more in depth info on Grey Water Recycling