Pakistan, like a lot of other countries in this world, is gradually losing its water resources. What’s worse, people are not fully aware of the magnanimity of the impact the water shortage issue would bring in the near future. Pakistan is on its way to becoming a water-scarce country from a water-stressed one and experts believe that it will face severe water shortage by 2025 – so that is only seven years to doomsday. Unfortunately, water has become a precious commodity and the onus is on us to conserve it. There are plenty of ways to save water at home. Here are some simple, helpful tips that can help you do your bit.
Effective Ways To Save Water At Home
The World Health Organization advises two gallons per head as daily water consumption and around 5 gallons of water per person to meet basic sanitation and hygiene needs. While reducing water consumption to 5 gallons per day seems impossible – especially when most of us are accustomed to using it as an infinite source – there are many smart ways through which you can reduce water consumption prodigiously.
- Install dual flush toilets
- Fix your leaky faucet
- Recycle water
- Turn off the tap
- Manage your lawn smartly
- Choose shower heads instead of bathtubs
- Load washing machines before use
Dual flush toilets
Introduce dual flush-toilets at home. These modern-day toilets come up with two buttons: One is smaller than the other. The dual flush option is better than the traditional flush. It has a half flush that uses up only 3 liters of water and a full flush that uses 6 liters of water. This allows less use of water.
For the liquid waste, you can push the half flush and only use the full flush feature for solid wastes. You can even take it up a notch by selecting a low-capacity model. It only uses 4.5 liter of water for a full flush.
The estimated water consumption that a household can save when using dual-flush toilets is around 20,000 liters of water annually than the traditional flush system. It is not only eco-friendly but it also helps cut down on your water bills.
Fix leaky faucets
Having a leaky faucet is a crime, figuratively, of course, owing to the severe water crisis in Pakistan. The water that drips from an unfixed tap, let’s say, 10 drops per minute would amount to around 3 liters of water a day! Check all the faucets in your bathroom or kitchen to find out if any tap fitting has loosened. You can also check your water bills and if you see an unidentified high water consumption you can investigate the source of the problem. Fix the tap before it is too late. Either use the DIY way to fix plumbing repairs or call a professional to deal with the problem. Meanwhile, you can always keep a spare bottle or a bucket beneath the leaky tap to save water at home.
Recycle water
You can reuse water in most of the cases. Whether you are washing vegetables, clothes or taking a bath. Store the water that would otherwise go down the drain. When boiling vegetables or anything don’t let the water go to waste, you can use it in flushing toilet or simply water your front lawn.
Some of the tips to conserve water at home is to keep your vegetables and fruits in a pot of water and rinse it. You can later use the water in washing utensils. When you turn on the air conditioner, keep its drainage pipe in a bottle and collect the AC water.
When washing your car, always use a low-flow hose pipe to conserve water. Using a bucket of water would be even better. Dry mopping your car first would also require less water in cleaning it.
Take a bath – The minimalist way
If you love taking a bath in a tub, then it is time to change the habit and switch to a shower instead. Taking a bath in a tub consumes approximately 70 gallons of water, compared to a five-minute shower, which only takes about 10 to 25 gallons of water. That said, if you don’t practice draining your bathtub after use then you can still save water by recycling it to flush toilets or water your plants in the garden. Don’t be lavish in your baths, though. Keep it in accordance with modern minimalist living.
In case you use a shower then go for a low-flow shower head. This avoids wastage of water and cuts down water bills significantly. A tip: Stand in a tub when bathing that way you can store water that would otherwise go down the drain. You can later use it to wash the bathroom, may be.
Simply turn off the tap
So, the next time you are washing yourself, just turn off the tap when you do not need it. This is perhaps the easiest way of conserving water at home. People generally have the habit of running the tap to its full strength while brushing teeth or washing face and hands. The correct way of washing hands while saving water at home is to moisten your hands first. Turn off the tap. Lather up using soap. Then turn on the tap and wash your hands. Similarly, brush your teeth without turning the tap on and wait for the time when you have to wash your teeth only. These simple ways to save water at home can go a long way in conserving this precious resource.
Also, fix aerators in faucets so that the water doesn’t flow with full strength. Aerators can be fitted in any tap and instead of a stream of water, it allows a mix of water and air to flow through – reducing water use to a great extent.
Use machines the right way
Only turn on your washing machine when it is loaded to its full capacity. If you have a habit of washing clothes as soon as you take them off, then you are using up more water than needed. You can easily save water at home by simply collecting dirty clothes and doing your laundry on the weekend. This way, not only would you save water but you would also have some spare time for yourself. Keep a bucket or a bottle in the drainage pipe of your washing machine. If you have a dishwasher, then load it completely and do not wash dishes separately. Washing dishes collectively in a dishwasher requires less consumption of water.
Manage your lawn smartly
Plants require water to survive and if you have a front lawn, your water consumption needs would also exceed as compared to a regular household. Follow these simple ways to save water at home and you can easily manage your garden.
- Managing your plants in summers can be a bit of a challenge. Water your plants in the evening and not during heat hours so that water doesn’t evaporate the surface
- Water your plants using recycled water
- Installing a water butt can catch rain water and save around 5,000 liters of water annually. You can water your plants using the stored rainwater
- Water your plants manually instead of using sprinklers. You can save around 33% of water annually
- Make deep holes in your potted plant or flower bed so that water can penetrate deep down the soil and doesn’t evade the surface
Apart from these tips to save water at home, you can also check out ways to conserve energy at home and go green. And if you want to adopt a sustainable lifestyle, then read our detailed piece on it. For more updates, stay tuned to the best lifestyle blog in Pakistan.
