Install a water meter.
You might be very surprised to find out how much water you are actually using. By installing a water meter you can raise your awareness and consequently reduce your water intake.
1.If you already have a water meter, learn how to read it. Among other things, it can be very helpful in detecting leaks. Read the meter once, wait an hour or two without running any water, and read it again. If it has moved, something is leaking.
2.Many water meters have a small wheel or gear that turns fairly rapidly if any water at all is flowing. In the photo, it's the little blue wheel. If you are sure all your water is turned off and you see this wheel moving at all, you have a leak.
3.If your water meter is underground, you may need to remove debris from the face to read it. Squirt it with a bit of water from a spray bottle.
Take shorter showers.
1.Take showers rather than baths. By taking a bath you are using up to 100 liters of water! Showering will generally use less than a third of this amount. See the water use table below.
2.Shave outside the shower, or turn off the shower while you shave.
3.Take a timer, clock, or stopwatch into the bathroom with you and challenge yourself to cut down your showering time.
4.Install a valve that fits just behind the showerhead. These valves are inexpensive and simply screw into place. Turn the water on for long enough to get wet. Then, use the valve to turn the water off while preserving the temperature of the water while you soap up. Turn the water on again to rinse.
Install low-flow shower heads and faucets or faucet aerators.
Low-flow devices are inexpensive ($10-$20 for a shower head and less than $5 for a faucet aerator). Most simply screw into place (you may need an adjustable wrench), and good, current units maintain the pressure and feel of the flow while using as little as half as much water as conventional units.
Turn the faucet/tap off while you are brushing your teeth, shaving, washing your hands, doing dishes, and so on.
Turn the tap off when you shower, too. Get wet, then turn off the water while you soap up. Turn it back on for long enough to rinse. Look for a twist valve that installs behind your shower head to keep the water temperature where you set it while the water is off.
Use waste water or gray water from the bath, washing machines or dish washing on the garden.
If possible, hook up a hose to the outlet on your machine to send the water outside onto your garden. To re-use bath water use a hand-operated Syphon Pump. When hand-washing dishes, rinse the dishes into a container, and empty the container into your garden.
1.Collect water for re-use anytime you are running the water waiting for a particular temperature. Simply run it into a bucket, watering can, or pitcher.
2.If you collect clean water (such as while adjusting water temperature), you also can use it to hand wash delicate clothing.
3.Also collect water that you use for rinsing produce and for boiling pasta or eggs.
4.Use garden-compatible soaps and cleaning products if you collect gray water for gardening.
5.If you're not sure whether gray water is suitable for plants, you can use it to flush your toilet. Either pour it directly into the bowl, or (provided there is no sediment) use it to refill the toilet tank when you flush.
You might be very surprised to find out how much water you are actually using. By installing a water meter you can raise your awareness and consequently reduce your water intake.
1.If you already have a water meter, learn how to read it. Among other things, it can be very helpful in detecting leaks. Read the meter once, wait an hour or two without running any water, and read it again. If it has moved, something is leaking.
2.Many water meters have a small wheel or gear that turns fairly rapidly if any water at all is flowing. In the photo, it's the little blue wheel. If you are sure all your water is turned off and you see this wheel moving at all, you have a leak.
3.If your water meter is underground, you may need to remove debris from the face to read it. Squirt it with a bit of water from a spray bottle.
Take shorter showers.
1.Take showers rather than baths. By taking a bath you are using up to 100 liters of water! Showering will generally use less than a third of this amount. See the water use table below.
2.Shave outside the shower, or turn off the shower while you shave.
3.Take a timer, clock, or stopwatch into the bathroom with you and challenge yourself to cut down your showering time.
4.Install a valve that fits just behind the showerhead. These valves are inexpensive and simply screw into place. Turn the water on for long enough to get wet. Then, use the valve to turn the water off while preserving the temperature of the water while you soap up. Turn the water on again to rinse.
Install low-flow shower heads and faucets or faucet aerators.
Low-flow devices are inexpensive ($10-$20 for a shower head and less than $5 for a faucet aerator). Most simply screw into place (you may need an adjustable wrench), and good, current units maintain the pressure and feel of the flow while using as little as half as much water as conventional units.
Turn the faucet/tap off while you are brushing your teeth, shaving, washing your hands, doing dishes, and so on.
Turn the tap off when you shower, too. Get wet, then turn off the water while you soap up. Turn it back on for long enough to rinse. Look for a twist valve that installs behind your shower head to keep the water temperature where you set it while the water is off.
Use waste water or gray water from the bath, washing machines or dish washing on the garden.
If possible, hook up a hose to the outlet on your machine to send the water outside onto your garden. To re-use bath water use a hand-operated Syphon Pump. When hand-washing dishes, rinse the dishes into a container, and empty the container into your garden.
1.Collect water for re-use anytime you are running the water waiting for a particular temperature. Simply run it into a bucket, watering can, or pitcher.
2.If you collect clean water (such as while adjusting water temperature), you also can use it to hand wash delicate clothing.
3.Also collect water that you use for rinsing produce and for boiling pasta or eggs.
4.Use garden-compatible soaps and cleaning products if you collect gray water for gardening.
5.If you're not sure whether gray water is suitable for plants, you can use it to flush your toilet. Either pour it directly into the bowl, or (provided there is no sediment) use it to refill the toilet tank when you flush.
