A list of ways you can save up on water

About 71% of the world’s surface is covered by water. This sounds okay until you learn that 96% of the water is in oceans that are too salty to be used by humans. Therefore, the amount of fresh water that’s suitable for human consumption is very little. Also, a good percentage of it is trapped in ice caps which we cannot consume.

This shows just how limited consumable freshwater is. Moreover, a report by NASA showed that freshwater resources are getting depleted faster than they are being replenished.

It’s, therefore, imperative that everyone pulls their weight to conserve water. This starts right from our households.

Below are seven things you can start doing today to conserve this valuable finite resource.

1. Fix Leaky Faucets And Toilets

A tiny drip from your faucets can waste 15-20 gallons of water in a day. If the leak is serious, the wastage can reach hundreds of gallons per day.

Meanwhile, a leaking toilet can waste up to 100 gallons per day!

Not only is this terrible for our planet, but it also inflates your utility bills.

Luckily, identifying leaks in toilets and faucets is pretty straightforward. For the toilet, simply add food coloring to the tank and give it some time. Come back later on and check if the coloring appears in the bowl. If it does, then you have a leak.

To check faucets, dry the sink completely and let it sit for a while. Come back in an hour or so, and if you observe wetness on the sink, there’s a leak.

Faucets and toilets aside, you must also check the pipes in your system. This is particularly crucial because leaking pipes can also contaminate the water in your home. Therefore, fix the leaks to protect the local water used in your house. This is also useful in reducing the strain on your water filter.

2. Take Short Showers

A standard shower uses between 5 and 10 gallons of water per minute. The figure can go even higher when using certain types of showers.

Limit the wastage of water by cutting your shower time. 

Strive to keep your shower time under 5 minutes. You can set an alarm or install a shower timer to help you with this.

Another way to minimize wastage is by turning off the shower when it is not in use. The few minutes you spend applying your soap and shampooing your hair will save you gallons of water per day.

Finally, consider installing water-saving showerheads. Restrictors work just as brilliantly. These simple attachments can cut your water consumption by half.

3. Turn Off The Tap When Brushing

This is one of the simplest yet effective water-saving strategies you can implement in your home today. Turn off your taps when brushing and shaving to save hundreds of gallons of water per month.

4. Monitor The Use Of Water In Your Garden

Gardens are great in so many ways, but they can easily bloat your water bills if you are not careful.

One way to avoid this is by monitoring your watering times. Water your garden early in the morning or late in the evening. This enables your plants to make the best use of the water without losing it to evaporation.

You should also watch your sprinkler placement. Ensure the water is distributed only where it is needed i.e., on the plants and not pavements and other areas.

Here are a few more tips on minimizing water wastage in the garden:

- Invest in a soil moisture meter to help you know when you should water the garden. 

- Get rid of weeds in your garden.

- Put some organic matter around your garden. This promotes water retention and absorption.

- Install an efficient watering system

- Plant some trees around the garden to reduce water evaporation

5. Harvest Rainwater

Harvesting rainwater will reduce your water consumption significantly. Invest in a good water catchment system or simple rain barrels.

The rainwater collected can be used for outdoor uses like watering the garden. In fact, plants thrive with rainwater rather than the treated water from your utility provider.

6. Use Efficient Washing Machines

High efficient washing machines are usually expensive, but they are worthy investments. Some HE machines will drop water consumption to around 7 gallons per load which is way better than anything you’ll get from a cheap traditional washing machine.

You should also know that high-efficient machines are only efficient when used with a full load. This means you should save up your dirty clothes until they are enough to fill the machine.

Water conservation at the household level is pretty easy. In fact, most of the solutions discussed above don’t require any tools or expensive investments to implement. And besides conserving the environment, these solutions will help you save hundreds of dollars from your monthly utility bill.