There are a multitude of ways how to conserve water and several reasons why you should do so. Not only does conserving water save you money in the short term and long term, but it also puts less strain on your house, the environment and your city. Furthermore, you’ll feel better about yourself!
Reasons You Should You Conserve Water
Water isn’t a limitless resource, despite how many Americans freely waste it as if it were. While it’s considered a “renewable resource,” different phases of the water cycle can take longer to complete. Droughts have run rampant in the past decade and have had a considerable impact on the environment. When wildfires have spread in California, there wasn’t even enough water to put out the fires quickly.
Water is located in various places around the world, but in uneven quantities. This means that sometimes, depending on your location, water can be very difficult to access. Furthermore, 97.5% of all water on Earth is saltwater, so obtaining freshwater or filtered water can be costly. Only 2.5% of all water on Earth is freshwater and the final 2.5% is permanently frozen, meaning it is unavailable for human consumption.
Even though freshwater is the water humans mainly intake, most freshwater still isn’t safe for consumption without proper filtration or reverse osmosis processes. That’s when Basin Water Solutions comes in to provide cost-effective and environmentally efficient water solutions. Whole house water filtration systems and reverse osmosis systems are great ways to supply you and your family with healthy, filtered water.
There are other ways to conserve water (such as a conveyance system, rain barrels and ultraviolet light system) that can both collect and filter your water. These solutions are relatively inexpensive and we have some instructions to help you on your way.
Water Conservation Tips
Bathroom
If possible, a quick way to cut down the amount of water you are using is to avoid or limit taking baths. However, taking short showers is the ideal solution to significantly conserve water. Low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators are easy ways to trim your water bill, as well.
It’s recommended to brush your teeth twice a day for two minutes each, but many people run water while they scrub the molars. Turning off the running water while brushing your teeth is a huge avenue to minimize water usage. Filling the sink to shave is another option.
Leaky or running toilets are also notable culprits for water usage. Bringing a plumber out to evaluate your situation is an easy solution to toilet leaks. If you’re on a budget, YouTube is a great resource to help nail down any possible leaks without professional help.
Kitchen
Conserving water can be easy if done the right way. Water loss in the kitchen is one of the biggest areas you can trim your water consumption. For starters, when cooking and cutting up vegetables, use a bowl to clean them instead of using running water.
Avoid running water when cleaning dishes by filling the sink with water to wash or rinse. Faucet aerators can provide a more spread out stream of water to reduce the need to turn the water all the way on.
It’s important not to ignore leaky faucets and they are oftentimes easier and inexpensive to repair than one might think. Turn off the valve under the sink until you can repair the leak as a slow drip can waste as much as 170 gallons of water each day while adding to your water bill in the process.
When using the dishwasher, packing it with as many dishes as possible and selecting a “light wash” cycle before running it will help conserve water and minimize dishwasher soap use, as well.
Composting is a good alternative for using the garbage disposal or just throwing the leftover food scraps straight into the trash.
Laundry Room
Sometimes you might need to do a quick load of laundry and you might not fill up your washer all the way, but that uses more water than needed. Try to reasonably pack your washer to a full load to maximize the amount of water you’re using. Also, adjusting your load size on the washer settings is a great way to be efficient with your water and some washers have a water-saving mode on them as well.
Outdoors
Perhaps the biggest culprit for water loss is right outside of your house. Naturally, the grass and plants that surround your house need water and there are efficient ways to keep that grass and plants alive and thriving.
When it comes to making sure your lawn is flourishing, there are some simple solutions you can employ to make sure it’s growing well. Setting the mower to an optimal height of two to three inches can aid in retaining moisture while helping it to grow thicker and requiring less water overall. Keeping the grass at a medium length will aid in staving off drought conditions, insects and unnecessary fungi.
Creative landscaping can be your friend as choosing the right water-efficient or well-adapted plants can alleviate the need to constantly water. When watering your lawn, consider watering just once a week in conjunction with rainfall. The timing of when you water is very crucial. Avoid watering on overly hot or windy days, and opt to water in the morning or at night.
A properly installed sprinkler system is key, too. Water your landscape in cycles by trimming the amount of watering time while using multiple start times spaced one hour apart. That can reduce water consumption greatly and it allows the water to soak into the soil to avoid wasting it to runoff.
Making sure the sprinkler heads are working properly along with rain shut-off functions can really make a difference. Soaker hoses are great for watering your foundation, plants and mulch to help retain the moisture in plant beds. Moreover, overwatering increases the likelihood of fungi on your grass.
There’s always that natural desire to make your lawn look its best and sometimes water is used to hose down exterior areas. There are water conservation ways to go about that. First off, sometimes hosing down your sidewalk, walkway or porch might be a natural decision, but a broom or leaf blower is just as effective to remove debris and dirt — and can help you save water in the meantime.
Next Steps
From conserving water to environmental effects to saving money, there are plenty of methods for using water efficiently. There are easy solutions for inside your house as well as finding pragmatic methods to keep your lawn and plants healthy without being wasteful.
Contact Basin Water Solutions today for your whole house water filtration needs.