Water is often called the stuff of life and for good reason as humans, plants and animals use it to drink, wash and cook with to name but a few uses of water.
What does saving water mean? Saving water means cutting down on the amount of water that you use, whether on an individual or on a corporate scale.
So, to save water means to preserve water, and to keep it safe. This can apply both to our day to day life and also to the lives of future generations who get to enjoy the water that we have saved for them. Saving water will not only cut down on your water bills: it will also help you to save the environment for future generations as well.
Saving water can be interpreted in two ways.
- Firstly, it can mean cutting back on our superfluous water usage.
- Secondly, it can mean ensuring that our water supplies are fresh, secure, sustainable and health.
Both are important.
To help you out with this, below you will find a list of 25 ways to save water.
1. Measure the amount in your kettle.
When making a cup of tea, we often just fill the kettle from the tap, boil much more water than we need, then pour the excess away once we have filled our cup. Measuring out water in the cup first before pouring it into the kettle will ensure that we only use as much as we need.
2. Stop water leaks.
A leaking tap or burst pipe can pump out gallons of water in just an hour. So, make sure to be vigilant about leaks in your home or business premises. And, if you spot a water leak when you are out in the town, make sure to alert the authorities as soon as possible.
3. Equip your taps with water saving devices.
An inexpensive plastic device is all that you need to limit the flow of water from your taps.
4. Collect rainwater.
Rainwater is generally not safe to drink unless you have a proper water purifier. However, the unsterilized rain water can be used to water plants in the garden or to wash your car with: much more environmentally friendly than a garden hose.
5. Turn the faucet off when not in use.
Even simple things like not overfilling your bath and not leaving the tap running whilst you brush your teeth can save you gallons of water every day. Wet the toothbrush, then switch off the water flow as you brush. Only turn the water on again, briefly, when you need to rinse your brush at the end.
6. Cut down on your purchases of new products.
Not many people are aware, but gallons of water are used in the production of cars, plastic furniture and everyday garments. Cutting down on the amount of new products that you buy can help to save these ‘invisible’ gallons of water. So, trying to live a less consumerist lifestyle will help you to save water.
7. Install a water saver in your cistern.
Each time you flush the toilet, several gallons of water are wasted. Toilets are, in general, very inefficient: you need less than a gallon of water to flush the toilet properly. Fitting your cistern with a water saving device will prevent it from filling up superfluously (in fact, we do not need the cistern to fill up so much for the toilet to work).
8. Use a mop and bucket.
Do not use running water to wash the floor, opt for a single bucket instead.
9. Share bathwater.
If you must have a bath, consider letting your kids use it after you: this avoids running two bath loads of water. Used bathwater isn’t that dirty at all!
10. Observe hosepipe bans.
Do not flout hosepipe bans during drought conditions: be community minded!
11. Wash your hair using a bowl.
Switch off the shower completely and wash your hair in a bowl or small tub of water instead (many hairdressers do this, so you could even invest in a special hairdresser’s bowl). This can be super relaxing - especially if you get somebody else to do it for you.
12. Reuse cooking water.
Do not throw away the water you used to cook those potatoes. Turn it into gravy or use it to cook other veg in later.
13. Don’t pollute the water
Do not pollute the water: agricultural and industrial chemical spills, fragments of plastics from cosmetics and other human made products, and waste that has not been disposed of properly all pollute the earth’s water on a massive scale. Use household cleaners, cosmetics and so on that do not contain toxic chemicals that pollute the water in our streams, rivers and seas.
Using eco friendly sprays and other products at home and at work (as well as campaigning for other companies to do the same) will help to keep the water that we have free of pollution.
14. Donate to a water conservation charity.
Help others at home and abroad! Even when we cannot always take direct action ourselves, we can always help others to do so by giving them our money. Donate to charities that safeguard water supplies in countries at risk of drought and that educate others about the importance of saving water.
15. Spread the word.
Saving water is a global issue, and as such it should be everyone’s business. The more people who work together and take the above measures to save water, the more impact those measures will have. So, use every platform available to you to encourage others to save water. Spread the word by social media, by public speaking, by chatting with people on the street and by generally making your views known.
16. Write to authorities.
Write to your government and to local authorities to remind them how important it is to safeguard water supplies and not to squander this precious resource. It is very easy to send an email to a member of the government expressing your views, or you can write them a letter, speak to them face to face when they are meeting with members of the public, or get in contact with them via social media.
17. Lobby large corporations.
Do some research and find out which corporations could make water conservation more of a priority. Write to them to let them know how important this is.
18. Save leftovers.
Coffee left in a pot can be warmed up and drunk for several days after it was freshly made: no need to toss it out. The same goes for soups, jugs of squash and other water based foods and drinks.
19. Cut back on ice cubes.
Do you really need ice cubes in your drink? Why not just put it in the refrigerator for a few minutes instead?
20. Create a ‘trickle down’ system in your garden.
Place pot plants beneath hanging baskets. Water the basket only, then let the pot plants drink up the water that trickles down from it.
21. Fix taps that are dripping.
Dripping taps can waste a lot of water!
22. Fill that washing machine right up.
Using full loads will cut back on the amount of times you use your washing machine, thus conserving water.
23. Get a water meter.
This will help you to keep track of how much water you use and how much it costs: it’s handy to have a visible reminder of these things.
24. Keep a jug of cold water in the refrigerator.
Many people let the cold tap run for several minutes so they can get a super cool drink. No need to do this if you have cold water ready to hand.
25. Put your pot plants in plastic trays.
When we water our plants, sometimes the water can trickle away into the soil, or the cracks and crevices in a patio. Keep your pot plants in plastic trays, so no water is lost this way.
Conclusion
Saving water is an urgent issue, especially with global warming and the earth’s rising population. It is essential that we ensure that there is enough water available for everyone. And so, we should all do our bit, every day and starting right now, to save water.
It is easy to save water: every drop of water saved soon becomes an ocean!