Saturday, September 3, 2011

5 way to combat water loss .....at home

Everyone knows the importance of water in our day to day lives. Life on earth is sustained due to water itself. It is this very quality that differentiates our planet from all the others. However, the amount of ground water, the water that is used by humans beings and non marine creatures is rapidly dwindling. This is because of over-usage to such an extent, that it is being used 25% faster than it is replenished. The rate at which industry is rapidly growing is another area of concern.

Listed below are 5 ways to combat Water Loss, which, while being extremely simple to follow, also lead to amazing results.

 

Make smart use of water in everyday life:

you’d be real surprised at how easy it is to waste water. Something as trivial as leaving a faucet open leads to around 2 gallons of water loss every minute. Make use of a dishwasher only after it is completely loaded. Better still, wash your utensils in a sink full of water with your hands. Make sure that you leave the faucet closed when not washing. Even your washing machine must be used only when it is completely loaded. Instead of watering the dirt away from the driveway or the sideway, sweep the place. The use of a hose leads to 10 gallons of water loss every minute.

 

Turn down the power of the shower:

After the flush in your toilet, your bathing activities take up the most water in your house. Showerheads that are low-flow are now being made compulsory by many governments. Roughly 20 thousand liters of water can be saved up in a year by a family of four using a low-flow shower. Another simple idea that anyone can employ is to have a quicker shower than usual. On an average, a person bathes for around 8 minutes, making use of about 17 gallons of water. A quick shower leads to a huge saving, both in terms of water, and money. Also keeping a bucket in the shower while bathing facilitates the use of excess water for watering the plants. If you have young children, let bath-time be play-time. This way you have more than one kid clean, you have saved money, time and a whole lot of water.

Make your flush a little less plush:

This definitely is the monster of all water consumption in the house. In the US alone, 4 billion gallons of water is flushed. Everyday. But it need not be this way forever. Newer toilets in the market are a lot more efficient than the conventional ones. While the older toilets use up around 4 gallons of water per flush, the newer ones use only around 1 and a half. If you wish to further save water, then you can do so by using a displacement device in your flush tank. For example, keeping a brick or putting pebbles in the tank will lead to lesser amount of flushed water.

Tweak that leak:

This one problem can only be fixed by not being negligent to the conditions of pipes and other water-related fixtures in your house. Not repairing a leaky faucet could mean 20 gallons of water being wasted everyday, and a leaky toilet, 200 gallons. A simple way to detect leaks is to put some food coloring in the water tank. If 30 minutes later you see color in the bowl, then you got a leak. Fix it ASAP. Fixing these leaks are not difficult and can be done by anyone. Also keep your water meter in check.

Make use of smart landscaping:

Use plants that do not use too much water in and around your house. Even while watering plants, use only as much water as needed. While managing your lawn, water it early in the morning or late in the evening, when the rate of evaporation is least. And don’t water the lawn everyday. This will make the roots of the grass grow deeper. Avoid use of fertilizer, as it directly increases the amount of water that your plants need.

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