Water is one of our most valuable resources, and its scarcity becomes really evident if you look at some of the world’s nations that are actually dealing with a constant lack of clean, drinking water.
However, you won’t have to do a lot to contribute to the preservation of water, and by conserving water, you’re also reducing the number of greenhouse gasses that get emitted into the atmosphere.
Despite all of this, saving water can still offer a wide variety of benefits, including the fact that it can extend the lifespan of your septic systems, as the pipes will erode much less due to less water passing through them.
Doing this also reduces the amount of sewage water that gets drained into local lakes and rivers, which further reduces pollution in the area.
Control the amount of water you flush
Every time you flush your toilet, you practically send 2 gallons of water down the drain, and while that water was most certainly not clean, it’s probably unnecessary to dump so much of it at one time.
What you can do is fill up your toilet tank with some sand or put two plastic bottles with water in it, which will help reduce the amount of water that gets flushed every time.
Another thing you could do is figure out a way to connect your sink and toilet tank, allowing you to reuse the water you’ve used to wash your hands as a means of flushing your toilet.
However, you should make sure that your toilet tank still has enough water to flush anything that’s in it effectively, as you’ll be wasting even more water if you’re forced to flush two or more times just to do something a single flush would’ve done normally.
Composting toilet
While it may not be for everyone, a completely waterless toilet is definitely an option, and it could be a great one if you’ve got a garden to attend to.
This way you’re preventing all the nutrients that would normally end up in your waterways from being wasted, all the while creating some highly efficient compost for your garden.
You should check with your area’s laws just to make sure a compost toilet is legal, as you could be facing some issues if you’ve already installed one in an area where they’re not allowed.
You can apply the same principle to your other waste, and while this has little to do with water preservation, it can be a great addition to your garden while also being a great learning experience for your kids who are being exposed to eco-friendly ways of life for the first time.
Laundry
A single press cycle in your laundry machine uses an extra 5 gallons of water, and you should try to avoid it at all costs.
Instead, keep collecting laundry until you’ve got enough to fill your washing machine, which will help you waste less water while also saving some extra money on laundry detergent.
On top of this, you could also invest in a high-efficiency washing machine, most of which use only 7 gallons per load of laundry, which is one hell of an improvement compared to a standard washing machine which flushes down 54 gallons of water with a single wash.
A high-efficiency washing machine quickly ends up paying for itself, and you’ll immediately notice its impact on your water and energy bill.
Washers rated with the New Energy Star label can sometimes use up to 50% less water and 50% less energy per wash.
If you’ve got enough saved up to pay for one of these machines, you should definitely consider investing in one.
Leaks
The smallest of drips from your faucet can cost you 20 gallons of water in a single day, and a larger leak could waste hundreds of gallons of water without you even knowing it.
While some of these leaks are easy to spot, others can go unnoticed for years, and they’ve contributed to millions of gallons of water being wasted every year, and this reflects on your water bill.
If you’re having a hard time figuring out where the leak is, thoroughly dry all your sinks and tubs and give them a couple of hours without use.
If any of them have water in them after that, you’ve got a leak on your hands, and you could be facing hundreds of dollars in repair costs in the near future.
Bottom line
Water is a precious resource that we should hold in high regard, especially considering how scarce it can be in some regions of the world.
In fact, millions of people don’t have access to clean, drinking water, even though it’s practically the one thing that’s necessary for human life.
Every drop of water you save is a drop of water that won’t be wasted, and your contributions to the preservation of water will make a huge change.