How to Save Water in Your Home – Do Your Part in Saving
Gaia. Conserve Our Natural Resources
You can save water in 3 ways – use less water, reduce
wastage and reuse/ recycle water.
Using Less Water
We use water for personal hygiene (bathing, washing of face
and hands), laundry, cooking and dish washing as well as maintenance of the house
(plant watering, floor washing, and window cleaning)
Plan your usage so that you do not use more than necessary.
For example, do not use the washing machine for anything less than a half-load.
You may be able to adjust the water level but it is still sub-optimal in term
of water usage.
Take short showers instead of long baths. Install
ultra-low-flow showerhead. Turn off the tap when you are soaping. Also, stop
the water from flowing while shaving or washing your face. Use a tumbler for
brushing teeth instead of washing from a running tap.
Wash dishes by hand. Use the sink or a basin filled with
water for the first rinse after soaping. Then quickly rinse under a slow
flowing stream from the faucet.
There is no need to thaw frozen foods with water if you
defrost the food overnight in the refrigerator or by using a thawing board.
Avoid using the defrost setting on your microwave to save on electricity.
The kitchen sink garbage disposal system requires a lot of
water to operate effectively. Consider starting a compost pile to handle food
waste instead of using the kitchen sink garbage disposal. Garbage disposals can
also contribute to maintenance problems by adding substantial solid waste to
the septic tank.
Do not use hose for washing car. A bucket and sponge is just
as effective and uses much less water.
Water-Saving Device for Toilet Cistern
Install water-saving devices like a dual flush toilet or
water closet. If you have the old single flush system, you can improvise a simple
device to reduce the amount of water used for each flush. For a more complete
flush, simply flush twice. To reduce the amount of water used for flushing, use
a suitable size water container. It can be a plastic can or a mineral water bottle.
Do not use plastic bag. Fill the container with water and place it inside the
water tank of the cistern. Make sure that the water container will be obstruct
the flushing mechanism of the cistern. Plastic bags cannot be used because they
will easily foul up the lever and valve. The amount of water saved for each
flush will be equivalent to the size of the water container. You can experiment
with different sizes of water container to determine the best one for a single flush.
Most older cisterns are 9 litres capacity while the water saving dual flush
system uses half that volume. So you can save up to 4 litres of water for each
flush. To avoid flushing the toilet unnecessarily, dispose of tissues and hand
paper towel in the trash rather than the toilet.
Water- Saving Devices for Taps
Installing a simple rubber thimble in your tap will reduce
the flow rate. It does not necessarily mean a less efficient or effective flow
rate. For example, the flow rate of the faucet or water tap is often too much for
normal washing of hands. By reducing the flow rate, you will save up to 80% of
water usage for washing of hands. You can make your own water saving thimble.
What you need is a rubber disk the size of the faucet. Punctuate a few pinhead-size
holes and you have a water-saving thimble. You can also use a large round clothing
button if you can find one that is the right size. To install, unscrew the outlet
end of the faucet. Place the water-saving thimble inside and screw back. Test
the water flow rate to see whether it is acceptable. If the flow rate is too
weak, make the punctuated holes bigger.
Reduce Water Wastage
Do periodic check to verify that your water pipes, cisterns
and faucets are leak-free. One quick way is to check your water meter at two-hour
interval when no water is being used. If the meter reading is not exactly the
same, there is a leak somewhere in your house.
If the toilet flush handle is often stuck in the flush
position, replace or repair it. This is a common source of water wastage.
Reuse and Recycle Water
Do not let water go down the drain when there is another use
for it such as watering a plant or garden, or general cleaning. By using a basin to wash your face, you can collect the water for flushing the toilet. Here is an example of tripling usage of water before it flows down the drain. Water from the last rinse of the washing machine can be collected for moping the floor. After moping, the water is used for flushing the toilet.