20 Important Water Saving Techniques To Help The Drought And Save You A Ton Of Money

20 Important Water Saving Techniques To Help The Drought And Save You A Ton Of Money. Photo – Adobe Stock (under license)

The drought situation in California – and other places – is serious. Many other places in the world also are experiencing desertification and shortage of fresh water. But are you doing everything you can do about it?

We’ve got a ton of great, simple tips and we’d like to draw your attention to the fact that if you do these things, you can save cash money. As well as helping ease the situation for the good of all.

When you save hot water, the monetary saving is even greater – because not only are you saving water, you are also saving the energy it took to heat the water. So, hot water saving techniques are ultra valuable because you can take those savings and then plough them back into other systems to save more water and more money!

INDOORS

1) Have a hot water heater jacket fitted. This will insulate it, keeping it hotter and reducing the energy bill.

2) Put half a house brick in your toilet cistern. You will hardly notice the difference, but it will save this much volume each time you flush. If everyone did this, we could save an incredible amount of water.

3) Have your entire plumbing system checked for leaks. You’d be amazed at how much water is wasted by a small leak. Your local water authority can also check the line against the water meter for underground leaks and having these fixed can save a huge amount of water.

4) Capture “grey water” (from dishes, shower, bathtub) and use it to water plants or to flush toilets. Some countries that are more experienced in saving water have some clever systems set up for this. For example, in some parts of Australia, the hand washing basin sits on top of the cistern in a clever arrangement that allows the water used to wash your hands to be stored and used to flush the toilet. It’s also possible to have a plumber re-route greywater to plants, giving them at least as much as they need.

5) Don’t leave the tap running when doing dishes, brushing teeth, shaving and so on. This can save up to 4 gallons per minute.

6) Fit low-flow showerheads. The shower is one of the household systems that uses the most water. Some showerheads are now fitted with a “soap up” switch. This shuts off the water (while still maintaining your heat setting) while you soap up, then you can switch it back on when you rinse – this saves gallons!

7) Only do laundry or run the dishwasher when you have a full load, if possible.

8) Consider switching out high water use appliances with more efficient, water saving ones.

9) Fit low-flow faucets that use less gallons per minute when running.

10) Steam food instead of boiling it. This typically uses less water.

OUTDOORS

11) Don’t use a hose to sweep down paths, driveways etc – use a broom.

12) Design your garden in a way that will require less water. Lawns require continual watering in summer – consider a patio instead.

13) Use mulch around plants to help retain soil moisture. Clay pot irrigation can also be used – a clay pot is buried up to the neck near the plants and this will retain moisture for longer, protecting the plants from drying out.

14) Fit a “trigger” nozzle on a hose, so that it is not running water continually while you move it from one location to another. Seek to water only that which needs water and not all the space in between…

15) Make sure your pool or spa has a cover to limit evaporation.

16) Consider not installing or filling a new / empty swimming pool.

17) Only run irrigation during evening or early morning hours – less will evaporate. Also, try to minimize the schedule. Less water, less often. Learn how to set the timer well, so that the water use is optimized.

18) Design irrigation systems so that they don’t overspray and “water the road” wastefully, as we so often see. Install a rain sensor so that it doesn’t run when it is raining!

19) Leave your car a little longer between washes. It doesn’t actually do you any harm if it gets a bit dirty…

20) Do you know where your master water shutoff valve is located? If there is a leak, finding this in time could save many gallons.