Saving water – a quick and easy guide
Water may seem like a never ending commodity to householders – after all, we turn on the tap and its there – but the truth is that a complicated procedure is needed to ensure that each and every home in the UK has a constant supply of usable, clean water.
It’s important, therefore, that we do our bit to keep consumption to less than excessive levels, and here we look at a few easy and recommended methods of saving water in the home.
In the kitchen
A lot of our water usage takes place in the kitchen; and a lot of our wastage too. Take that simple appliance, the kettle – how often do you fill it to the brim, then only use half, or less? Not only is that an excessive use of water, but the more after in a kettle the more energy it will take to boil it. Fill a kettle to the minimum – or with what is required – and save water as well as energy.
Then there’s cooking, a regular occurence that uses a vast amount of water. We’ve all taken a potato, or other vegetable or fruit, and washed it under a tap. This is very much a waste, as the great majority of the water is not used for its purpose but goes straight down the drain. Rather than running a tap, fill a bowl with just as much is needed. Once used, that water can be used on plants, thus killing two birds, so to speak, with one stone.
Rather than running a tap untill the water is as cold as you want it to be, why not keep a jug or bottle in the fridge, thus having cold water in tap without the excess wastage that comes with running the tap?
In the bathroom
The greatest volume of water usage takes place in the bathroom, yet a large proportion of it is unnecessary.
For instance, a standard five minute shower has been proven to use less than a third of the water used in an average bath. Take note that this applies not to the modern power showers, which can use more, but to an ordinary electric shower unit. Bathwater can be used to water the garden, too, rather than simply drained away, thus utilising the volume twice over.
Running the tap while you brush your teeth is, like washing the vegetables, a wasteful act, and can easily be negated by pouring a little water into the sink for that use. The same applies to washing at the basin – never leave a tap running unnecessarily.
Flushing a toilet uses more water than is necessary, and there are several devices on the market that can be put in the cistern to replace some of the volume of water that is usually used in a single flush.
Never flush substances like cotton wool down the sink, as these can cause blockages that are not helpful to water consumption – put them in a waste bin.
Other appliances
Washing machines and dishwashers are notorious users of excess water, particularly if routinely run on a half load. A half load will not use half the water as a full one, but much more, hence waiting for a full load with each of these appliances is a worthy consideration.
For those whose water is metered, the above advice – and there are many more that I’m sure you can think of and would love to hear of your particular favourites – are not only helping to save water, but money too.
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