31 things we can do at home to take care of water

In our home we can modify certain customs and make some technical changes to save water.

Only 1% of fresh water is easily accessible and represents only 0.025% of the planet's total water. Every day around four thousand children die from diseases caused by the lack of clean water.

Part of the solution to this serious problem is in our hands. We need to avoid wasting water and become aware of the water footprint of the products we consume. In this way, we will be helping to take care of our most precious resource.

1. When you bathe, take short showers. A 5 minute shower consumes 30 liters of water, while an immersion bath consumes 300 liters.

2. Don't leave bobbins leaking. A dripping tap wastes 100 to 500 liters of water per month.

3. Close the tap when you brush your teeth. You will save between 4 and 10 liters of water each time.

4. Close the tap while you shave. To clean the razor you can use a glass of water or put the stopper on the sink and fill it with a moderate amount of water.

5. Using low-consumption shower heads, single-control faucets and flow reducers (aerators) in the taps, you save up to 50% of water consumption.

6. Reuse towels as many times as possible. When you finish using it, spread it outdoors and preferably in the sun, to dry it and avoid the musty smell. Put it to wash only when really necessary.

7. Reduces water flushed down the toilet. In a new building, it installs toilets with double flush mechanisms (3 and 6 liters). If you don't have a double flush, a homemade trick is to place a plastic bottle filled with water inside the toilet bowl. In this way you save the equivalent of the capacity of the bottle each time the toilet button is pressed, generating a saving of more than 1,000 liters. year.

8. Don't use the toilet as a garbage can, put a trash can in the bathroom. You will save six to twelve liters each time.

9.In new construction, it places efficient pipes of the thermofusion type. Avoid the loss of water and heat.

10. A gray water recovery system allows capturing the water used in bathtubs and washings, being able to recover up to 50% of the daily water consumption. Then you can reuse it for garden watering, cleaning, backpacking of toilets and any other use that does not require drinking water.

11. If you live in a house without a sewer, instead of a septic tank, you can put a biodigester tank. You can treat the water locally and reuse it to irrigate the garden fence underground without contaminating the groundwater.

12. If you wash the dishes by hand, leave the tap closed while you lather them.

13. Contrary to popular belief, the dishwasher saves water and energy. Handwashing with hot water can be up to 60% more expensive than washing with a modern full-load dishwasher. If you need to rinse the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher, use cold water.

14. If you need to wash the dishes when the dishwasher is at half load, use the short, cheap or low temperature programs.

15. If you are going to buy a dishwasher, check that it is low consumption of water and electricity. I chose those with class A energy efficiency label .

Water in hands

16. Reuse cooking oil using a coffee filter. When you have to throw it away, collect it in a bottle and take it to a recycling point. It can be reused for the production of biofuels, soaps, organic fertilizer, lubricant or for the creation of candles, paints or varnishes. Never throw used oil down the kitchen drain. A liter of oil contaminates a thousand liters of water. If you can't get the oil to a recycling point, put it in a plastic bottle and throw it away.

17. Avoid drinking bottled water. Extracting and transporting it from the source of origin to your home generates a very important carbon footprint. Use activated carbon or reverse osmosis filters and always carry your reusable bottle or container with you.

18.Don't smoke, take care of your health. If you smoke do not throw the cigarette in the street or in the toilet. A cigarette butt can contaminate up to 50 liters of water.

19. Opt for organic foods, they are produced avoiding the use of agrochemicals.

20. Use environmentally friendly cleaning supplies. Choose the simplest ones, whose components are obtained locally or under fair trade schemes. For example, glycerin soaps are very good for the skin and the environment, and their main raw material is a secondary product of the industrialization of soybeans, a very abundant crop in our country.

21. If you are going to buy a washing machine, check that it is low in electricity and water consumption. Opt for those with a class A energy efficiency label .

22. Use the maximum capacity of your washing machine. You will reduce the consumption of water, detergent and energy. In addition, you will extend the life of the appliance.

23. To reduce the need for irrigation, use grass varieties according to your climate

. 24. Water at night or at dawn. If you water at noon 30% of the water you use evaporates and also the wet leaves burn in the sun.

25. Place a rain sensor to avoid water waste and waterlogging of the garden.

26. Use drip or spray irrigation.

27. Avoid the use of chemical fertilizers and weeds. Not only do they pollute water but they have negative health consequences. Use your own compost as fertilizer. To weed, you can use a mixture of vinegar and water.

28. Unless you are a professional diver, opt for a pool with a depth of no more than 1.70 meters. In this way you will be saving water, cleaning products and energy to filter and air conditioning it.

29. Take care that the pool water is clean throughout the year. You will reduce the consumption of water and energy.

30.Recover the rainwater and use it to water the garden and orchard. In addition to saving drinking water, rainwater contains high concentrations of nitrogen that allow better plant development.

You can implement a comprehensive water collection system by interconnecting the downspouts to modular plastic tanks buried in the garden or you can assemble a home system yourself using a 200-liter tank in which the materials commonly used in the works come.

You will have to place it on bricks, to one side of the rainwater drop, install a bypass to carry the rainwater over the tank in question. In the upper part, place a mosquito net to separate leaves and prevent mosquitoes from reproducing. Finally at the bottom place a tap and connect a hose to water the garden.

31. When washing the car, use a bucket and a sponge. Preferably use rainwater or reclaimed gray water. Never leave the hose open.