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Simple Water Saving Tips At Home

posted July 8, 2008 - 2:49pm
Simple Water Saving Tips At Home

Simply Save Water at Home

Water is the most easily available resource yet inadvertently wasted. Domestic use of water at homes is over 40%. So there is a huge potential for its saving. Most wastage happens through carelessness or lack of awareness. Here are few simple but powerful practical tips on saving water at homes:

  1. Ease Pressure - Plug Those Leaks

    Leaks - both seen and unseen. This is the most unnoticed channel of wastage. More often one is not even aware that the tank or toilet cistern is leaking as the water leaks silently. Put a few drops of coloring into the tank and watch. If you see color, then you should see red(call the plumber). Same for leaks in taps washers. Have the plumber check water pressure in the pipes. A reducer fitted steps down the pressure and cuts wastage.


    To check for hidden leaks note water meter reading and recheck meter couple of hours later without using any water. If the meter reading is unchanged you are in luck else more moolah for plumber.

  2. At Bath

    Bath tub, shower, bucket bath - you can save water in that order. Shifting to left most option is the best. If you prefer shower - less time is more. Avoid flushing of toilets for disposing dry rubbish like cigarette butts, tissue etc. Dispose them in bins instead. For more extreme measure you can place a voluminous object like brick inside the toilet cistern. That will mean less water at each flush. Retrofit all wasteful household faucets by installing aerators with flow restrictors. Also close taps while brushing/ shaving.
  3. Washing Appliances

    If you use washing appliances for the purpose notice how often we use it without much forethought. We run them on very less loads. Washing machines and Dishwashers are water guzzlers. So plan their use on full loads only. That way you save both water and power.
  4. The Three Bucket Formula

    Lets say we start with washing clothes. Take one full bucket of fresh clean water - lets call this blue bucket. Rinse the soaped clothes in this blue bucket. Now do not throw away this soapy water - yellow bucket. Use this water to mop your floors and veranda. Do not throw the resultant dirty water yet - red bucket. Use this for lawns or garden. You can group your work to suit respective buckets. For example - Blue bucket activities are vegetable washing, thawing foods, washing before dinner utensils etc. Like wise yellow bucket and red bucket activities can be grouped.

If we all do our bit we can really go a long way in conserving this precious resource and putting to rest skeptics who profess that the next major global conflict will be over water.



Comments

Buckets Idea

Bobbi Hunter, Like mentioned by Idlewild, these buckets method is for application only if you do not use a washing machine. And whether or not i get things done through my maid, idea is to use novelty and save water; a great resource - purportedly even more important than oil. Thanks for writing in. DO the Write Thing & Get Paid Here

Kukku's Xombyte
[url=http://www.xomba.com/referral/7778408a]DO the Write Thing & Get Paid Here[/ur

I didn't know that you can

I didn't know that you can save water this way. But I know how so save energy with some new Kenmore Parts without a lot of money. I bet you will love it.

Bucket brigade

That was a point I made earlier... the bucket technique works if you wash your laundry by hand, but not with a washing machine, since water goes in & out of the machine through pipes. (I do wash some stuff by hand, but not often enough to make a huge difference in my monthly water use.)

Kukku - You don't do it ~ LOL

Kukku then you don't actually do it yourself. Your maid does it. : ) Please tell me how you (or I should say - your maid) gets the water out of your washing machine before the spin cycle every time??? Does she stand there and cyphen or pail it out? I use most of these methods all ready. Not buying it about you using the first bucket in your method with the rinse water... Make money writing ~ http://www.ehow.com/make-money-online.aspx?tcid=jun08_ref606

But Wouldn't Killing the Devil Be Murder, Publius?

We don't defeat the Devil by doing things the way he understands them (i.e. the ~quid pro quo~ of evil), we defeat him by REFUSING to understand his way as we do things the way we understand them (the ~quid pro quo~ of good). The difference? The evil ~quid pro quo~er has to see/know the effect, has to see the 'half full/-empty glass' as something to either drink or -fill. I'm sure my bathtub holds 40-1000 gallons, but that's not how I gauge my bathwater! Just because water is as abundant as the pavement in your automotive-traffic world doesn't mean it flows so abundantly in all places. Assume no reward, and so every reward is an extra blessing! YOU CAN'T MAKE MONEY HERE! but you can let people grant you great wealth! Search around to find out how! Uncle MythMan---His Mission? http://www.xomba.com/the_new_mythman_plan -P.S. HotGirl33705 is Heavenly (NO SIG. HTML!)

---when You Join Xomba, you can join this- and MythMan's other-hot discussions!

Water use

"I thought the next global conflict was going to be caused by global warming, not a shortage of water. " It could be argued that the two are tied together: as many areas of the world have higher temperatures, they are becoming dryer, so water is becoming a more scarce resource. Whether one believes in global warming or not, areas of the U.S. Southeast and Southwest have had serious droughts in recent years, and some legal skirmishes have already broken out. One southern state is actually looking to have its border with a neighbor redrawn based on an old map, because the new border would mean access to a river that isn't now considered part of its territory.

"Domestic use of water at

"Domestic use of water at homes is over 40%." I'm not quite sure what this means. Are you saying that domestic use of water is 40% more than some other amount that is not mentioned? Or are you saying that 40% of the water that we use is wasted? "Bath tub, shower, bucket bath - you can save water in that order." Taking a bath instead of a shower is actually not a way to save water. Most bath tubs have about a 40 to 50 gallon capacity, but most shower heads have a flow rate of about two and a half gallons per minute. So, unless you're taking a 20-minute shower, it would be a bigger waste of water to take a bath. (There are also shower heads available that reduce the flow to about one and a half gallons per minute.) And I will not be taking a "bucket bath" any time soon. Where do you live? "The Three Bucket Formula" Most people who do laundry at their home and indoors (with modern plumbing) use a washing machine. This really isn't very applicable in modern civilization. And I don't have a lawn or garden, but I'm not sure I would want to water my (vegetable) garden with dirty mop water that has cleaning chemicals and/or bleach in it. I think I'll take my chances with rain. "If we all do our bit we can really go a long way in conserving this precious resource and putting to rest skeptics who profess that the next major global conflict will be over water." I have not heard this one yet. I thought the next global conflict was going to be caused by global warming, not a shortage of water. If you're going to take up a cause for conservation, the best way to promote it is to show everyone how much money can be saved. Talking about "precious resources" and avoiding "global conflicts" doesn't really resonate with many people. But if you tell them that they are throwing away their money, more of them will perk up their ears and pay attention. They may not listen to everything you have to say, but they will at least give part of it some consideration. *If you're interested in reading my articles, Click Here.

Why Don't They Ration Gas Like That?

Several guesses: because oil executives are greedier than they are 'economy'-cal; because manual locomotion is so much more fun! (once you get the gears and chains connected to the wheels); because The Established Rich are afraid that--if people start thinking without the encouragement of the Rich--that the power shift will a) move outside of the Ol` Boys' Club and/or b) be too difficult for the Great Unwashed Masses to handle! YOU CAN'T MAKE MONEY HERE! but you can let people grant you great wealth! Search around to find out how! Uncle MythMan---His Mission? http://www.xomba.com/the_new_mythman_plan -P.S. HotGirl33705 is Heavenly (NO SIG. HTML!)

---when You Join Xomba, you can join this- and MythMan's other-hot discussions!

Efficiently Use What You Have as if There's No More, but ...

Don't be worried if you can't; and don't regret that you didn't before if you can now! Although it ~is~ true that the water you waste does not *directly* go back whence it came, all its matter and -energy goes exactly where it was meant to--which often-times is exactly where you actually want it to be! (but there's no guarantee) YOU CAN'T MAKE MONEY HERE! but you can let people grant you great wealth! Search around to find out how! Uncle MythMan---His Mission? http://www.xomba.com/the_new_mythman_plan -P.S. HotGirl33705 is Heavenly (NO SIG. HTML!)

---when You Join Xomba, you can join this- and MythMan's other-hot discussions!

So much more can be done

Everybody I know and I mean everybody is moaning about the prices of gas at the pumps. Not many people were moaning about water shortages - until now that is. Here in Cyprus, we are now on water rationing, meaning we get water 3 days a week. Monday 7pm to Tuesday 7am Wednesday 7pm to Thursday 7am Friday 7pm to Saturday 7pm It's amazing how much we take for granted. Point in case - water. Turn on the tap and H2O comes out. Thirst quenched. It's only when you turn the tap on and all you get is the O, that you start to question your way of life. Totally agree with the water saving tips from kukku. Here's a few more:
  • Put a brick in your WC cistern. This limits the amount of water you use when you flush and still gets rid of what needs getting rid of
  • water used for washing vegetables is still perfectly good for simple cleaning jobs or watering plants
  • share showers - my favorite tip and one which has bought much joy to my husband (who says life needs to end at 65?). This is getting a bit more difficult for us and we will probably be changing this to shared baths some time soon but for the time being it's great fun PLUS we are helping the planet
Jan M Wellness and healthy living coach

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