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Newsstand Locations Subscribe Renew Books Advertise Contribute Commentary Editor's Blog Sustainability Statement Ethics Statement Back Issues RSS Feed Natural Life On Facebook Reprints Return to Home Page   Stay informed and inspired with Natural Life and its publisher Life Media. Type in your email address and we'll send you our free e-newsletter. from Natural Life magazine, March/April 2007 Steps to Conserving Water at Home Saving water is good for your budget…and for the planet by Rolf Priesnitz Most of us take for granted an abundant supply of good, fresh water. However, we shouldn’t. Although almost 80 percent of the Earth is covered with water, only three percent of that is fresh water. Less than one percent is available for human consumption; the rest is bound up in glaciers and polar ice caps. Unfortunately, our thirst for water – to create electricity, grow crops, run factories and for household and sanitation needs – is increasing faster than the population is growing. Global water consumption rose almost tenfold in the last century and many parts of the world are now reaching the limits of their supplies. According to the United Nations, if current trends continue, two out of every three people on earth will suffer moderate to severe water shortages in little more than two decades from now. Globally, one in six people still have no regular access to safe drinking water, and more than twice that number (2.4 billion people) lack access to adequate sanitation facilities. North America is one of the biggest water wasting areas of the world. According to the American Water Works Association, the average U. S. resident uses about 110 gallons (416 liters) a day. Statistics Canada says that Canadians use 335 liters (89 gallons) per day – 35 percent for bathing, 30 percent for toilet flushing, 25 percent for laundry and cleaning, and 10 percent for drinking and cooking. Aside from the issue of declining supplies, water uses a great deal of energy to pump, move and purify. So if you want to do your part to tackle this looming water problem, here are some ways to conserve water in your home. Bathroom When you brush your teeth, don’t keep the tap running continuously. Instead, half fill a glass to wet your brush and rinse your mouth. When you shave or wash your hands, put water in the basin and dip your razor or hands as needed, rather than letting the tap run. Don’t flush the toilet unnecessarily. Don’t use the toilet as a waste receptacle. Take short showers, not baths. Wet yourself, turn the water off, lather up and apply shampoo, then turn the water on to rinse. As you wait for shower water to heat up, collect the cold water in a bucket for watering plants. Bathe small children together. Turn faucets off completely but carefully to avoid drips and slow leaks. Install flow restrictors on faucets, to automatically reduce flow (aeration reduces the sense of reduced flow.) Install an adjustable showerhead and set to the lowest setting. Turn the valves under the sink to reduce the rate of flow or install a pressure reducing valve on the main water supply. Replace an older toilet, which uses five gallons (19 liters) per flush, with a more modern one, which uses about 1.6 gallons (six liters) per flush, or a dual-flush or ultra low flow model that can give a half gallon (two liter) flush. If you can’t replace your toilet, place a filled one-gallon (3.8 liter) plastic container in the tank to displace an equal amount of water. Install a composting toilet that doesn’t use any water. Be alert to potential faucet and toilet leaks. Put a little food coloring into the tank; If the color trickles into the bowl before flushing, there is a leak. Install an insulated recirculating hot water line or a wall-mounted hot wter boiler in the to provide instant hot water and reduce the need to run the faucet while waiting. Kitchen Select the proper size pans for cooking. Large pans require more cooking water. Use tight-fitting lids on pans to keep water from boiling away faster. Cook food in as little water as possible (which also prevents loss of nutrients.) This often means steaming. Refrigerate and re-use the water left after you cook vegetables for soups or for cooking other raw vegetables. Follow recipes carefully and do not overcook or measure out more water than necessary. Drink warmer water, or keep a covered bottle or pitcher of water in the refrigerator so you won’t have to let the tap run. Use a small pan of water to wash, peel or clean vegetables rather than letting the water run. Limit use of in-sink garbage disposal equipment, which requires a sizeable amount of water to operate properly. Wait and use the disposal only once rather than several times. Compost as many food scraps as possible. Hand wash cooking utensils and serving dishes that take up a lot of dishwasher space. If you use a dishwasher, wash only full loads. Scrape/wipe dishes rather than rinsing if they are to be washed immediately in the dishwasher. Follow your dishwasher manufacturer’s instructions on how to best save water and energy. Select shorter cycles when possible. When hand washing dishes, use a pan of soap water for washing and one of hot water for rinsing, rather than running the faucet. While waiting for faucet water to warm, catch water and use it for meal preparation and dish washing, or to water plants. Prepare meals that do not need much water. Fix one-dish meals where vegetables and meats are cooked without water or provide their own cooking liquids. Laundry Wash clothes when they are dirty, not just to remove wrinkles. Hand wash several items at the same time. Use the final rinse water from one group of items as the wash water for the next group. Launder full loads. If the washing machine has a water-level control, adjust it to the laundry load size. Use good laundering techniques — sort clothes and follow the detergent or bleach recommendations carefully. Before using a permanent press cycle, read the washing machine manufacturer’s directions. This cycle may fill the tub an extra time, which can add up to 20 extra gallons. If so, use a different cycle. Turn your washer’s water supply off when not in use. Check the hoses and look for leaks periodically. Purchase a front-loading washing machine, which, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, will use about 40 percent less water and 50 percent less energy than a conventional washer. If you use a water softener, check how often it backwashes and how many gallons of water are used for regeneration. A weekly cycling is usually more than enough for a family of four. Run unsoftened water lines to the toilet and other select faucets. Cleaning Clean up spills quickly so you won’t have to mop floor or shampoo the carpet as often. Wash outside windows with a pail of soapy water. Rinse quickly with a hose using high pressure, low volume and a pistol-grip nozzle. Plan household cleaning chores so that you can reuse water for certain activities. Clean the driveway, patio, sidewalks and garage floor with a broom rather than a hose. If you wash your car, park it on the grass. Use a bucket of water without detergents, then rinse quickly with hose. Wash your car in the rain. Garden When planting a garden, group thirsty vegetables so you can water efficiently. Mulch shrubs and small trees to retain moisture. Pull weeds to eliminate competition for water. When building or remodeling, plan your landscape and garden using xeriscaping principles. Replace herbaceous perennial borders with native plants. Minimize lawn, replacing it with less water-hungry plants. If you must have grass, try a variety that withstands dry weather. Water your lawn thoroughly but less frequently to encourage a deep grass root system. “Trickle” or “drip” irrigation techniques use 25 to 50 percent less water than standard hoses or sprinklers. Water overnight to avoid sun evaporation. Check hoses, outdoor faucets and water devices periodically for leaks. Household rinse water can be used for watering outdoor plants, as long it doesn’t contain bleach or borax. Rolf Priesnitz is the co-founder and Publisher of Natural Life magazine. He has also been a plumber for 40 years. Read more about him. July/August 2009 May/June 2009 March/April 2009 January/February 2009 November/December 2008 September/October 2008 July/August 2008 May/June 2008 March/April 2008 January/February 2008 November/December 2007   |  About Us  |  Contact  |  Subscribe  | |  Advertise  |  Contribute  |  Privacy Policy  |