save water save life

The world is running short of water, and that includes India. But there are easy water saving methods to be had in all the main areas of domestic water use – showers, toilets, gardens and washing clothes and dishes. Start to save water now....

Key Steps to Save Water

Showers:

Take shorter showers (not baths) and fit a water-efficient showerhead. These are inexpensive and most shops selling showers will stock them.

Toilets:

If your toilet isn’t dual-flush, you can reduce the amount of water it uses for each flush by putting a full water bottle in the cistern so it holds less water. A simple device called a toilet hippo works in a similar way. Don’t use a brick as it can crumble and block your system. Don’t flush the toilet every time you pee.

Dishes:

If you wash dishes by hand, use the plug and don’t wash/rinse with running water. If you use a dishwasher, scrape plates first instead of rinsing them, only run full loads and buy a water-efficient machine. These use as little as 15 litres, while older models can use 90 litres.

Washing machine:

Only run full loads. When replacing it, buy a water-efficient one. Don’t wash clothes that aren’t really dirty; hanging for an hour on a clothes line will air out stale smells.

Be water-wise:

Turn off taps while cleaning teeth, put the plug in when washing hands, etc.

Fix dripping taps and leaking pipes:

16 per cent of water in homes is lost through leaks.

Want to do More..

Pee in your garden - it provides nitrogen for plants!

Once or twice a week, wash with a flannel instead of having a shower. (In the United Kingdom and New Zealand, a flannel refers to a washcloth or facecloth).

If you have a swimming pool, get a cover to reduce evaporation.

Wash your car with a sponge, and not a hose (A hose is a hollow tube designed to carry fluids from one location to another).

Install a water-butt or rainwater tank to use rainwater falling on your roof in your toilets, washing machine and garden.

Install composting toilets. A composting toilet is an aerobic processing system that treats excreta, typically with no water or small volumes of flush water, via composting or managed aerobic decomposition.

Put a couple of bricks in the lavatory cistern to reduce its capacity. Or, install one of the new flush toilets that use less water.

When brushing your teeth, shaving or washing your hands, never leave your tap running. Fill a glass or bowl with water for rinsing the mouth, shaving or brushing.

Wash your vehicles with a bucket and sponge instead of a hose which uses about 400 litres of water. By using a bucket, upto 300 litres can be saved.

Do not let your overhead tank overflow. Regulate the time.

Do not cut your grass too short. Taller grass holds water better and actually looks richer.

Do not pollute the water.

If you have to use a detergent, measure it instead of just guessing how much to use.

Use of shampoos adds to the detergent pollution. Use grandma's recipes using natural products like shikkakai. Shikakai means "fruit for hair" and is a traditional shampoo used in India. It is made from Acacia concinna, a shrub native to the warm, plains of central and south India.

Never flush garbage down the toilet. It will ultimately appear in our rivers, lakes and other water sources.

Divert Grey Water

In some areas with water shortage issues, some people have come up with an alternative approach. In order to conserve levels of potable water, some installations use grey water for toilets. Grey water is waste water produced from processes such as washing dishes, laundry and bathing.

Dishwasher/washing machine - Connect a hose to the outflow and let it drain into the garden, or (get a plumber to) fit a simple grey water diverting device.

Bathroom - Use containers to collect water from your shower or bath, or the initial cold water in washbasins, then empty it into your garden. Or get a low-cost siphon pump (A siphon (also spelled syphon) is a continuous tube that allows liquid to drain from a reservoir through an intermediate point that is higher, or lower, than the reservoir, the flow being driven only by the difference in hydrostatic pressure without any need for pumping). You can also pour it into the toilet bowl to flush your toilet.

Kitchen - Wash vegetables in a bowl, then empty water onto plants/garden. Empty dirty dishwater into the garden. For health reasons use grey water immediately, don’t use it on food or seedlings and don’t let it pool on the surface of your lawn. And make sure you use natural, phosphate-free cleaning products.