Saving water at home

With shortages of safe water supplies projected world wide – some immediate, some long-range – I’ve been thinking a lot about what I could do to conserve this precious resource. Here are some simple ideas that have worked for me. Please share yours!

Buy dry. If a product (like detergent) is offered in powder or liquid form, go for the powder. It saves water in manufacturing and energy in transporting less weight. It also saves you money at the store when you're paying for product instead of water. If powders aren't available, see if there's a concentrate, which is a good compromise.

Wash only full loads of laundry and use the soak cycle (unless you’re washing fabrics that might bleed) a few minutes before the agitator starts.

Mark your shower control or faucets exactly where the water temp is best for you. It saves the water running while you’re trying to fine-tune temperature. More importantly, it allows you to turn the shower off while you’re lathering your bod and then easily on again to rinse.

Reuse water whenever feasible. For example, when I’m cleaning our betta’s bowl, I pour the nutrient rich fish-water into the sprinkling can for my houseplants. The pan of water (cooled) in which corn was cooked could be dumped in the garden.

If you’re creative, it’s possible to use the same water (and heat) to cook two or more items. For example, place eggs in cold water and heat until the eggs are hard-boiled. Remove the eggs with a spoon and use the hot water for cooking pasta, with vegetables simultaneously in a steamer above the water surface.

Keep a jug of drinking water in the fridge so you don’t have to run the faucet to get it cold.

Avoid watering your lawn. If you have a sprinkler system, set it manually to run only when needed, and don’t leave it programmed so that it operates when it’s raining.

When cleaning fruits and veggies, wet them all quickly, turn off the water, scrub, and then rinse quickly.

If you’re lucky enough to have a dishwasher, it will save water over doing dishes in the sink, but only if you run it when full. That said, of course, there’s a tradeoff to consider with energy conservation.

Keep a pump of dilute dish detergent at the kitchen sink and use it on a dishrag for those “justacoupla” dishes. Then rinse.

Uh, don’t flush unless you really have to. This is decidedly one for personal values, but at the least something like a used tissue doesn’t deserve the full royal flush.

Think about decorating your yard with an old-fashioned rain barrel to use as a water source outside.

Most of all, just be aware of your water use. Billions of people on our planet – mostly women and children – spend significant portions of their day seeking water for home use, often carrying it distances that are staggering. It’s a precious resource, and it’s one that belongs to us all. Thanks!

Copyright 2008, Pat Grauer