Save water during summers – How to save water at home

Explore easy tips to save water at your home during water shortage season, summers. Find tips to save water during daily routine activities at home

You must have heard the saying – save water, save a life – these four words, put together, say so much. Yes, water is essential to any lifeform. The presence of water and oxygen makes the Earth a suitable place for life – and that’s one excellent reason to save water. But there are many more. Water, apart from being one of the essential five elements, is our most primary need as humans’ beings. Thankfully, in our homes, we have the luxury of tapped water, filtered water and also stored water. And while enjoying the luxury of water, we tend to forget a significant fact about it – the fact that it is limited and scarce. 

Now, water scarcity is not a new topic – we all are aware of it. Although we can count that our planet Earth is about 71% covered by water. But you might be shocked to know that only 2.5 % of water is drinkable or portable. Once we account for the many domestic, commercial and industrial uses of water, the issue of water shortage becomes severe and urgent. Do you know almost 21 cities of our world can run out of water in our lifetime? Yes, water shortage is a critical global issue. Luckily, you and I can make a difference, right from within our homes. Let’s see how.

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Water at your home

One of the best comforts at your home is to get tap water as and when we need. While your household enjoys the luxury of easy access to water, you should also focus on conserving it. Let’s make every drop count. Now, to save water, let’s first see how all do we consume water at our home. Here are some of the essential applications of water for a typical household:  

• Drinking
• Cooking
• Bathing
• Brushing
• Washing utensils
• Toilet flush
• Moping
• Gardening

This is an obvious list, and also a long one. Here, let me share that it does not include everything. I am sure you can add a couple or more uses to the list. The list above covers the essential water-related activities; however, it excludes the occasional water consumption such as car washing. Surely, you can think of a few more water uses. While you are at it, can I also ask you to think of some water saving tips? Can you list some water saving tips? Do you implement any water-saving strategies at your home?

Tips to Save water 

We have two simple strategies to save water at your home:

1. Using water-saving fixtures and fittings
2. Practising better water using habits

You can quickly implement the two strategies and reduce wastage of water. Below, we are sharing our suggestions on save water in every room of your home.

Room	Fittings	Habits
Bathrooms	Tap aerators	Bucket bath
	Low flow shower heads	Tap off during brushing
	Dual flush cistern
Kitchens	Tap aerators	Recycle washed water
	Automatic sensor pumps	Tap off during brushing
Gardens	Garden hose nozzle	Bucket watering
	Drip irrigation

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Saving water in bathrooms

Here are a few water-saving fittings and fixtures for your bathroom:

Low flow aerator fittings

To lower the water consumption, you can choose to fit a low flow aerator the basin tap and bath spout. You can install a low flow aerator to all the faucets in your bathroom. This will help reduce the water flow from the tap and also keep the pressure constant. Before you buy an aerator, make sure your water supply pipe is pressurised. You can ask your plumber for a pressure pump installation.

Provision for a bucket bath

Typically, a bath with one bucket of water uses 15 litres of water. But if On the other hand, a 5-minute shower bath consumes 35 litres of water. So, every day, you have a great chance to save 20 litres of water – just by choosing a bucket bath. We hope you choose wisely.

Low flow shower head with a flow timer

Today, most popular sanitaryware brands provide for Low flow shower head – this fitting reduces wastage of water by 40%. Also, another effective way to monitor your bath water use is by installing a shower flow timer. This timer stops the water flow after a pre-defined time – say 5 minutes. And as you now know, 5 minutes of the shower is worth 35 litres of water.

Dual flush cistern

Dual flush cisterns can push out the trash with a lesser amount of water. First, it has a more considerable trap-way, hence making it easier for the waste to drain quickly. Second, this type of cistern comes with two push buttons for half-tank flush and full-tank flush. Altogether, the Dual flushing can save you at least three to four cistern tanks of water.

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You can also practice some good habits to reduce water wastage. Some of them are:

• Prefer bucket baths over shower, and avoid tub baths: You may be thinking what’s wrong in having a tub bath? Tub baths will approximately use 50 to 60 litres of water. Hence you must always avoid tub baths
• Close the tap while washing, brushing, scrubbing, use a tumbler when brushing: You may have a habit of keeping the tap open while cleaning or washing, you won’t realise that by following the faucet open for even 5 mins will waste 3 to 4 litres of water.
• Regularly check all faucets, toilets, and showerheads for leaks: Checking leakages will stop the unnecessary wastage of water. A leaking tap will waste up to 3000 litres per year 
• Run your washing machine with full loads: A regular washing machine will use 14 to 20 litres of water per wash. Using a washing machine for less load will consume more water than required.  

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Water saving in Kitchen

Water-saving fittings and fixtures for your kitchen are: 

Low flow aerator in the basin

Fitting a low flow aerator in taps to lower water consumption, just like the aerators for bathroom taps, you can fit them in your kitchen, and they’ll serve the same purpose.

Automatic sensor pumps

Auto-cut water pumps and water filters are devices to help in reducing the water spillage from storage tanks. By controlling the motor functions with time sensors, you can save water by stopping excess overflow of water; and also reduce your electricity consumption.

Make space for recycling water

Our kitchens generate plenty of refuse water – left from washing vegetables, fruits. You can save this water and reuse it to clean the kitchen counter or sinks or to water your garden pots.

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Some better kitchen habits for you:

• Turn off the tap while washing dishes so that you don’t waste 3 to 4 litres of water
• Water plants with the wastewater that comes off the washing of food items and this reduce water wastage by 10-15%
• Wash utensils using collected water in a bucket instead of washing directly under the running tap. Washing utensils directly under the tap will waste 40 to 50 litres of water. Hence you must always use the collected water to wash utensils.

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In Gardens

Fittings and fixtures to save water in your garden:

Watering with a hose

If you think you cannot avoid using a hose, then fit a garden hose nozzle. With a garden hose nozzle, you can control the water flow as required. This means minimal spillage or wastage of water. 

Drip irrigation

Implementing sprinkler and drip irrigation in your garden can save water and also provide sufficient water to your plants.

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Practice these useful habits:

• Use water cans to water your plants instead of using a running hose. A running hose will use 17 to 23 litres of water. Hence using a watering can is beneficial
• Use kitchen wastewater for home gardening. Do not throw away the kitchen wastewater instead use it to water your garden. This will reduce the consumption of freshwater.
• Watering plants in the morning and evening can reduce the evaporation of water. Water wastage can be reduced if you don’t let the water evaporate. 

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Why save water?

Water is the most important primary need of human beings; you should not forget that it is equally essential to all other living people too. And sadly, the critical element to our life is facing a crisis – a water shortage. And this is the main reason why we should worry about saving water and beginning to alter our habits.

Do you think your lifestyle doesn’t have an impact on nature? Think again. Today, it is necessary to realise that water is a limited resource, and we as living beings require it endlessly. To save water is not an option; it is our everyday need and concern for more than one reason:

Water is life

Water scarcity will make it difficult to survive. It can take away the lives of all living beings and destroy the ecosystem. You must know that about 1 million people die every year due to a lack of clean water and sanitation.

Water is limited

Today, it is imperative to realise that water is a scarce and finite resource. A tiny percentage of pure water is left, and we conserve it by choosing to reduce water wastage. The only way to balance nature and life is by saving water for yourself and others.

Water conservation is a need

India currently recycles only 15 per cent of wastewater and captures less than 8 per cent of rainfall. Insufficient water storage management results in severe water scarcity. Dry summer months increases the demand for pure water. Being in a tropical region, India also faces long summer months; this expands our water consumption and wastage too. It is a critical situation, and everyone, including you and me, should attend to it today.