Water is every where but not all of it is usable. We can’t drink the water in our oceans as it is and the animals in the oceans and lakes need that water to survive. We have ground water that isn’t drinkable in places and areas that are prone to draughts which can cause water restrictions to be put into place on residents. There isn’t any need to wait until water supplies are depleted to begin conservation efforts. How do we reduce the amount of human water consumption?
Reducing human water consumption begins with paying attention to what you’re doing. Do you take long showers? Do you leave water running while you brush your teeth or leave the water running as you do the dishes? What about the appliances and fixtures in your home? Changing a few habits and examining the appliances and fixtures in the home will go a long way to reducing human water consumption.
Taking a look around the home there are all kinds of appliances and fixtures that use water. Replacing your shower heads and toilets with low flow models can automatically reduce water consumption. Are you still taking baths in the tub? You don’t have to fill the tub to the rim to take a bath, use less water or switch to short showers to conserve even more water. If you can’t afford to replace your current toilet you can place something such as a bottle of water in the tank to displace the water and use less with every flush. But what about the other appliances in your home and the water they use?
Do you still have a top loading washing machine? A front load washing machine uses less water due to the fact that the clothes are run through water instead of sitting in the water. If you haven’t got the funds to replace the old washer make sure that you’re only washing full loads of laundry to reduce the amount of times each month that you’re using gallons and gallons of water to do your laundry.
What about those dishes you have no choice but to wash every day? When using the dishwasher only run it with full loads in place and you’ll reduce your energy consumption by a ton. Are you still doing dishes in the sink? Don’t leave the water you rinse the dishes with running; instead get a small drain for the opposite side of the sink to stack them in and rinse them all at once.
There are dozens of people that love to see a nice green lawn all year long but this isn’t what nature intended or our grass wouldn’t die when winter came and the temperatures dropped. Stop watering the lawn, instead wait for a good rain and you’re grass will look as if you’ve been watering it for months. What about your flowers? Are you still getting water out of faucets and hoses to water them? Have you considering catching rain water in a bucket to water them with?
As we examine our lives and habits along with the fixtures and appliances in our homes we’ll find that we can reduce human water consumption by at least half for our households. We can reduce it even more if we are diligent in our efforts.
