Jon Clift - Water: Use Less-Save More: 100 Water-Saving Tips for the Home

First published in 2006 by Green Books

Foxhole, Dartington

Totnes, Devon, TQ9 6EB, UK

Copyright 2006 Green Books

All rights reserved

First Chelsea Green printing July, 2007

Text design concept by Julie Martin, jmartin1@btinternet.com

Printed on 100-percent postconsumer-waste recycled paper

Printed in Canada

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 07 08 09 10

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Clift, Jon.

Water, use lesssave more : 100 energy-saving tips for the home / Jon Clift & Amanda Cuthbert.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

eBook ISBN: 978-1-603581-61-5

1. Water conservation. 2. Dwellings. I. Cuthbert, Amanda. II. Title. III. Title: 100 water-saving tips for the home.

TD388.C58 2007

644'.6-dc22

2007021273

Chelsea Green Publishing Company

P.O. Box 428

White River Junction, VT 05001

(802) 295-6300

www.chelseagreen.com

Contents

Introduction

Water. We all need it, we cant live without it, and we are using more and more of it.

Although we appear to have plenty of rain in the United States, our water resources are under pressure. We use 127% more water today than we did in 1950.

Our population is growing

Our climate is changing

Our lifestyle demands more and more water

Quite simply, we are consuming too much. Our demand for water increases yearly, to the extent that no matter what the water companies do, eventually they will not be able to keep up. Water also requires huge amounts of energy, both to treat it and pump it to our houses, so our thirst for water is damaging our planet in more ways than one.

The good news is that there are many simple things we can do at home and at work to reduce our consumption of water. As well as helping to secure our water supply both for ourselves and for future generations, by doing these things we also benefit in many other ways.

By cutting down our water use, we can:

Save money, especially if on a water meter

Reduce the possibility of water shortages and summer water rationing

Reduce emissions of greenhouse gases responsible for climate change

Reduce the amount of energy and chemicals used in the treatment and pumping of water

Reduce damage to wildlife habitats in wetlands and rivers

Reduce the fall in groundwater levels, thereby reducing stress on woodlands

Here are 100 water-saving tips for the home and garden if each one of us does just one of them, we can help reduce water shortages, water rationing, and our impact on the environment.

We use 127% more water than we did in 1950.

How much water do you use?

Are you letting money flow down the drain? Find out how much water you use: how much is it costing you?

The kitchen

1 Never leave a tap running.

2 Use a bowl to wash vegetables or to wash and rinse plates.

3 Use the leftover water to water your garden or house plants, provided it is not too soapy (see also ).

Overall, only 3% of the water entering the average home is actually used as drinking water.

4 Store drinking water in a jug in the refrigerator, rather than waiting for the tap to run cold.

5 Fix that leaky tap.

Leaky faucets that drip at the rate of one drop per second can waste up to 2,700 gallons of water each year.

6 If you are making a hot drink, fill the kettle with only as much water as you need. You will save energy as well as water.

Most of us couldnt survive for a week without water. Health experts figure that we need at least 68 glasses of water every day to keep us fit and healthy and aid our concentration.

7 Tap water is around 500 times cheaper than bottled waterchill it in the fridge and see if you can taste the difference!

A gallon of bottled drinking water can be more expensive than a gallon of gas.

Dishwashing

8 Only use a dishwasher if you have a full load. If you just have a few things to wash, use a bowl.

9 While waiting for your water to run hot, collect the cold water and use it on your plants.

10 If you have to replace your dishwasher with a new one, choose a water-efficient model.

A water-efficient dishwasher will use as little as 4 gallons per wash cycle, whereas some older models use up to 13 gallons per cycle.

Waste

11 Garbage disposals use a considerable amount of water. Start composting put the vegetable peelings in your compost bin.

12 Avoid pouring used grease, fat, or cooking oil down your kitchen sink or drain, as these quickly cool and solidify and the fatty deposits build up and cause blockages. This is generally noticed only during periods of heavy rain, when blocked sewers can overflow onto gardens and into properties. Put all your used fat and grease to good usemix it up into a bird cake with some nuts, seeds, and raisins and hang it out for the garden birds to feed on.

www.rspb.org.uk/feedthebirds

Laundry

13 Hand-wash small amounts of clothes in a bowl.

14 Only use your washing machine with a full load; half-load programs are generally neither water- nor energy-efficient.

Older washing machines can use up to 40 gallons per cycle, whereas new ones use about 27 gallons.