Water is one of the most precious natural resources that is turning scarce with every passing day. However, the irony is that more than 75% of our planet’s surface is water. So, why is it still scarce, and if the polar ice caps are melting and that’s adding to the water resources, why do we still have a shortage. The answer is simple, while more than 3/4th of the earth’s surface is water, only a small percentage of it is water that we could drink.
Most of it is seawater and leave alone consumption, the salinity in the water makes it not suitable even for use around the house. This is one of the primary reasons why water is a precious resource. While the world is edging close to serious water scarcity, here’s how you could save water at home every day. These simple tips and lifestyle changes would eventually turn into a significant contribution towards maintaining ecological balance.
Use a Colander to Wash Fruits and Vegetables
You could use a colander to rinse and wash fruits and vegetables instead of washing it in running water. You could add some lukewarm water in this colander and rinse the vegetables. It will help you clean the vegetables thoroughly without spending too much water. If you don’t think this could have much of an impact, test it out the next time you’re in the kitchen.
Wash each fruit or vegetable individual under running water, which you can collect, and compare this with the water you would use if you had a colander to hold the vegetables together and wash them in one go. The difference would be alarming. You will soon notice the amount of water you would save. Remember, it’s the tiny steps that make a massive difference.
Water Your Plants by Hand
While using a garden hose or faucet to water your plants will be an easy way to water your plants, it helps you save a lot of water if you do it by hand. Besides saving the environment and ecology, you would also de-stress yourself when you spend time gardening.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, an automatic garden hose uses 33 percent more water than a manual one. However, this measure is only for a small garden or a kitchen plantation. For large gardens, you might have to rely on an automated irrigation system for efficiency.
Only Wash a Full Load
Every time you wash your clothes, always run the washing machine only with a full load. While it might be a matter of habit that you run the washing machine every day, it would be helpful to nature if you do it once a week. Most washing machines use the same amount of water for washing a pair of socks or a week-load of clothes, which is a lot of water going down the drain literally! So, start small by saving up the load until the machine runs full. Besides saving water, you will also find yourself saving ample time by not having to wait around the machine or folding your laundry every day.
Use Leftover Ice Cubes for Your Kitchen Plants
Every time there’s leftover ice cubes, we generally toss it aside. While these might seem negligible amounts of water, think about the number of times you do this. Instead, use these tiny cubes of water to water your kitchen plants.
Kitchen plants do not need a lot of water, so leaving a cube of ice in these pots will leave them moisturized and waters it so that the plant remains healthy while watering the plants regularly.
Leave a Bottle in Your Flush Tank
Well, this might sound ridiculous, this is one amazing way to save water. Every time you flush your toilet, you end up spending around 1.6 gallons per flush. While it might not seem like a lot, think about it this way. An average household uses around 16 gallons of water a day. Did you know that you need not waste so much water with every single flush?
You could save around 10 gallons of water a day. You should simply fill up an empty plastic bottle with pebbles and leaving it in your flush tank. When you do this, the tank fills up faster with lesser water, and each flush uses relatively less water. And you will be able to save water one flush at a time!
We hope these tips are helpful. Start saving water today, and do your bit to save the planet today. Remember, every drop counts!
