If you are living in the Southeastern or Southwestern United States, you are likely well aware of the lack of abundance of water. Only 3% of the water on the planet can be used for human consumption and much of that has been contaminated by chemicals and pesticides. It has even been predicted that wars of the future will be fought over water – not oil.
Once you become aware of problems like these, you can’t help but reflect on your own consumption. How many times did I leave the tap running while I brushed my teeth? How much water did I waste by leaving the faucet running while washing dishes? Have I ever left the garden hose running unnecessarily? Guilty as charged on all accounts. Recognizing that water is a precious resource is the first step. Next, you start to look at what you can to to reduce your water consumption.
The financial impact of water conservation has much less relevance than it does with energy conservation, so I won’t focus on how much I have saved on water bills. They are already pretty low – averaging less than $45 a month.
Install a Low-Flow Shower Head Cost: $20.
Older shower heads can produce as much as 5 gallons per minute. That is more water than is necessary as you fumble to find your way to the shampoo and a dry towel. Energy Star shower heads are clocked at 2.5 gallons per minute or less. I tested my new shower head and it came in at 2.1 gpm.
Low Flow Showerhead
Reduce the time in the shower
- Keeping a shower down to 5 minutes or less is a good idea. After watching some of the green shows, people have been found to take showers for as long as 10 to 20 minutes a session! What’s going on in there?
I’m a practical guy – get in, get clean, and get out. ‘Nuff said. - I’ve tried taking a “navy” shower a few times and just haven’t gotten used to it. The idea here is that you jump in and get wet, turn off the water while you lather up with soap, and the turn on the water to rinse off saving many gallons of water per shower. I can see how much water it would save, but I’m just not ready to take this step. Try this on a cold winter’s morning as you are getting ready for work. There is a battle between the shower and the cold winter air – turn off the water at any point and you are a popsicle.
Take a Shower Instead of a bath
I have managed to switch my 4 and 6 year old girls from taking baths to showers. I’m a bit surprised that they don’t beg and plead to take a bath instead as they don’t spend time with toys as they used to.
Install a Low-Flow Toilet
If your toilet is flushing more than 1.6 gallons of water per flush, then you are wasting a considerable amount of water unnecessarily. Replacing an old water-waster toilet can save 17,500 gallons of water a year! Fortunately, in the house we just purchased, it is already efficient. The next time you are shopping for a new toilet, check out that latest development: dual-flush toilets. They have one button for fluids only (.8 gpm) and one for solids (1.6gpm). While these are quite common around the world, they are only now just hitting the market in the U.S. These should be required in every public building.
- A Dual Flush Toilet
Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth
Do you really need to keep the water running while you are brushing?
Dishwashers vs Hand Washing
We have 2 dishwashers in my household – one is my wife and the other is me. Until we are ready to remodel our kitchen, I will be stuck in front of the kitchen sink washing away. Dishwashers are generally more efficient in water usage than hand washing – especially when you keep the water running the whole time. According to National Geographic’s The Green Guide, dishwashers can reduce water usage by a third. In the mean time, I’ve come up with a couple of tricks to minimize the water I’m using.
- Begin washing while the sink is filling up with soapy water. I’m using the same water to rinse as I am to fill the sink.
- I turn the tap off unless I am rinsing.
- As I wash silverware, I dump them in a clean bowl and then rinse them at the same time when that batch is complete.
- Some suggest filling up the second sink with rinse water, but I worry about sanitizing the dishes. The rinse water won’t keep the water hot long enough to properly kill the rest of the germs. It is said that you need water at 140 degrees to properly sanitize a dish.
This is by no means a complete list of what can be done. It is a chronicle of what I’ve taken on so far. A green transformation is a work in progress.
