27 Ways To Save Water At Home

Water is one of the most valuable things on earth. This natural resource is only about 0.5% of the available fresh water. With the rise in urban dwellers, there has been stress on the water supply and wastewater treatment systems. As a result, saving water has become an important public health issue. 

To this effect, local governments have encouraged and even enforced water restrictions like water-saving technologies and water meters on citizens.

The importance of saving water cannot be overemphasized. Our water bill is reduced, and we prevent the scarcity of this finite resource.

This article will discuss many ways to save water at home you may have been neglecting.

27 Water-Saving Tips At Home

Below are some of the tips to save water at home. They are explained in no particular order.

1. Turn off the Faucet While Brushing Your Teeth

Did you know that if everyone in the United States turned off their water while brushing their teeth, we could save more than 260 billion gallons of water annually? That’s enough water to keep the state of California going for more than two months. 

If you want to save water the next time you brush your teeth, turn off the faucet. Then wet your toothbrush and fill a glass with water to use as a mouth rinse.

2. Take Showers Instead Of Baths

About a third of the water used in a bath is used in a five-minute shower. Karen Gibbs, the senior policy manager for the Consumer Council for Water, recommends reducing the length of your shower.  

According to her, two people living together could save about £300 a year on their water and energy bills. 

That’s if they each reduced the length of their daily shower from 10 minutes to 5 minutes. They will be able to save a lot of money than letting it go to waste.

3. Rinse Things In Basins

When you run the faucet to rinse, whether it’s vegetables or dishes, you use a lot more water than you think. 

Fill a basin with water instead of holding something under the faucet to rinse it. This limits the amount of water you use.

4. Consider Things You Put On The Loo

Don’t flush make-up removers, pads or diapers. They take more water to flush and can also clog your toilet.

Your toilet might be blocked if it’s hard to flush or your drains smell bad. Not only does a clogged toilet waste water, but you may also have to pay a plumber to fix it.

5. Collect Rainwater

Rainwater is free. You can collect water when it rains and use it for other purposes. It’s a smart way to care for your yard. When you water your lawn with rainwater, alkalinity and limescale do not build up in the soil. 

Collect rainwater using a water butt. It’s a big tank or barrel-like container that can be connected to the drain pipes of your gutters to collect water that runs off when it rains. 

Once the system is set up, you can collect, store, and use the water each time it rains.

6. Stop Watering Your Lawns

During dry spells, it’s okay to let your grass turn brown. It will turn green again as soon as it rains again. This will help you save a lot of money on water bills in your home.

7. Check For Leaking Faucets 

Don’t look at a dripping faucet and assume the escaping water is small. When you hear that little drops of water make a mighty ocean, remember your leaking faucet. 

When there is a leaking faucet in the house, the best thing to do is to replace it. 

You can learn how to fix your taps, so you don’t need to run to the plumber for every little fix in your home.

8. Turn Off The Faucet While Shaving

Turning off the faucet while you shave is advisable to save water. For instance, if you want to rinse your razor, it’s better to put a few inches of warm water in the bottom of the sink. 

A running faucet can waste up to four gallons of water per minute. So leaving the faucet open while shaving for a few minutes wastes a lot of water. 

If you usually forget to turn off the water, you could buy a shut-off valve that will do it automatically.

9. Be Mindful Of Lawn-water Practices

A green lawn takes a lot of water. In the summer, it can use up to one-third of a household’s water. If you want to keep a traditional lawn, be careful about how you water it. 

Instead of watering daily, give your plants a good soak once a week. Water in the morning or evening instead of the afternoon, when water evaporates more quickly. 

Plant trees for shade to keep the afternoon sun off your grass and plants. Put mulch around plants to keep the soil from drying out. 

If your lawn needs too much water to maintain, you can remove the grass and replace it with gravel.

10. Don’t Fill Up The Kettle

This is another way to save money on your energy bill. Don’t fill up the kettle when it’s just a little amount of water that you need. You can use a mug to fill your kettle to the level you need. According to studies, 45% of UK households waste £15.55 every year by boiling twice as much water as they need for each cup of tea.

11. Buy The Right Size Dishwasher

When compared to hand-washing, dishwashers save both time and water. A small dishwasher is enough for a couple or one person living alone. You can also go for energy-saving dishwashers. They will help you wash your items at a lower temperature and with less water.

12. Don’t Run Water In The Kitchen Sink While Doing Dishes

Turn off your tap when washing the dishes to save water. To conserve water while doing the dishes, fill the sink with soapy water and turn off the faucet while scrubbing. When you are done scrubbing, turn on the faucet to rinse the dishes. Over time, this small change can save a lot of water.

13. Put The Lid On The Saucepans

Putting the lid on the saucepans while cooking conserves water. If you do this while boiling vegetables or rice, only a small amount of water will be lost through evaporation. This will also speed up the cooking process.

14. Don’t Drink Bottled Water

According to the Water Footprint Calculator, it takes about 1.5 gallons of water to make a single plastic bottle, which is as much as the water it holds. Drink tap water instead to conserve water.

15. Use Grey Water For Your Plants

Grey water comes from baths, showers, washing machines, dishwashers, and sinks. You can use it to water your plants. 

And if this greywater is recycled correctly, it can save about 70 liters of potable water a person uses daily in homes.

16. Wash Your Clothes Less Frequently

Instead of putting your clothes after each use, you can hang them up to dry, spot-clean, or steam them.

Unless its underwear, obviously dirty or covered in sweat, you don’t need to wash your clothes after you wear them. This will make your clothes last longer as you don’t wash them regularly. 

Also read: Best 10 Eco-friendly Dish Soap

17. Store Drinking Water In The Fridge

People who drink water from the tap are used to letting the water run until it gets cold, but this wastes water. 

Instead of drinking cold water straight from the faucet, fill up bottles with lukewarm sink water and put them in the fridge. This way, the water can get cold without running down the drain.

18. Use a Water-Saving Sprinkler

What kind of sprinkler are you using? Sprinklers make saving water simple. Use sprinkler heads that conserve water. You can set your sprinklers to water your lawn at certain times. You can also set them to stop so your lawn won’t be overwatered. 

Some of these sprinklers have a rain sensor, which means they won’t turn on when it’s already raining.  

19. Upgrade To A Water-efficient Toilet

With a dual flush toilet, you can save water in your bathroom. On top of these toilets are two buttons instead of a handle. 

But a traditional toilet uses an average of 1.6 GPF (gallons per flush), which is the maximum that a dual flush toilet can use. 

If you are still using a traditional toilet, you should upgrade to a dual-flush toilet to reduce the amount of water used to flush.

Another alternative is a tank bag. It takes up space in the toilet tank that would otherwise be filled with water. This bag will make your tank smaller by taking the place of water, which means less water will flow into the bowl when you flush.

20. Turn Off The Hosepipe

Some of the worst water wasters are hosepipes. They let out large amounts of water while watering plants. 

Hosepipes use about 1,000 liters of water per hour. Using a watering can instead of a hose to water your plants saves a lot of water.

21. Cultivate Drought-tolerant Plants

When choosing a plant for your yard, consider those ones that need little water than others to survive. Plants like rosemary and thyme that have leaves that are needle-like prevent water evaporation. 

Also, grow plants, herbs or flowers like Lavender, Rosemary, Sage, Copper Canyon Daisy, Blue Hibiscus, Verbena etc.

Choosing the right plant makes it easy to have a beautiful garden and save water simultaneously.

22. Wash Full Load

You can’t avoid washing dishes, but you can save water while at it. Form the habit of using dishwashers or washing machines with a full load to save water and even detergent. 

If conserving water is your priority, then you should only buy appliances like dishwashers and washing machines that are energy-saving certified. 

23. Water Grass Sparingly

Only water grass if there are signs of wilting. And do it early in the morning or in the evening to keep as much of the water as possible from evaporating. Use a sprinkler with a nozzle that can be adjusted to avoid watering the sidewalk. 

To know if the grass needs water, step on your lawn to find out. If it springs back up, it doesn’t need water. But if it stays flat, then you need to water it. 

24. Sweep Driveways And Patios

Sweeping is a great way to save water. When you sweep with the broom, you clean up your driveway or patio without having to use a hose. You will save time and water, and your outdoors will be clean.

25. Turn The Hose Off When Washing Your Car

Turn off the hose while washing your car to conserve water. You can turn it on again to get rid of the suds. When you utilize this simple trick, you will save several gallons of water.

26. Use Mulch In Your Landscaping

Mulch is a material that you spread over the soil in your yard. It helps save water from escaping through the soil’s surface. And it can also stop weeds from growing. 

Mulch can be used around trees, flower beds etc. Make sure to pull mulch away from the base of trees, so it doesn’t touch the trunk or stems.

27. Compost to Reduce Garbage Disposal 

You can sort your waste into septic and compost waste. It’s quite easy to sort things like eggshells or leftovers in a compost bin. Using it will make the soil retain more water which means your yard will need less water.

Bottomline

Water conservation is very important. We should be mindful of how we use water to avoid wastage. Not only will we save money by engaging in this healthy practice, but we will also help prevent this finite resource from being scarce. 

We would love to hear from you about these water-saving tips you intend to try in your home.