Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink.
Everyone says this is what will be the situation in some days, unless something is done about the water usage today. There are innumerable sites and resources to read up on what and how things can be done to save water in a daily routine.
Mohan has hosted a contest on his blog on this topic, and this post is my entry for it.
I would like to list a few items which many a times are not thought of, and unknowingly many waste water through these actions.
- How many of us think of water saving when you are out looking to buy a washing machine?
If you are out, I would suggest that a front loading one would be any day lighter on the water usage as compared to the top loading kind. They might seem more expensive at first, but using less water also means using less electricity to heat the water etc.
- Many families I have seen wash clothes every other day, irrespective of the quantity of clothes. They decide its best to wash soiled clothes as soon as possible rather then keep them till a full load of the machine. And here they use the ½ load option to wash their cycle. What is not known is that a ½ load usually consumes around 65 % of the water as compared to the full load. This should not be too difficult to understand, considering the equipment was optimized for the full load capacity.
- How many of you drop the cigarette butt or toilet tissue into the toilet bowl?
I have been told by many that, the toilet tissue should disintegrate and not cause any issue to the drainage network. But, why is it that we have never thought of the water that this extra bit of matter requires to be pushed around. And, this water does come from the same source that we are trying to conserve.
- Many of us love gardens, so ensure that you water them during the early hours of the day to ensure the roots are able to absorb the water with least amount of water evaporating.
- While wet cleaning any premise, watch out never to use the water hose as a replacement for a broom. We often face maids employing this method while washing out the bathrooms.
- Another interesting aspect is many of us tend to wash vegetables and fruits under a running tap as opposed to filling a deep container with water and proceeding to washing the fruits and vegetables in that.
- A friend of mine had an aquarium, and what he used to do was whenever he cleaned his aquarium, he emptied the water into a bucket and he would proceed to water the plants with it. The water in the aquarium is nutrient rich, and this being used to water plants, I thought, was a great idea!
- In relation to pets, many a times when we give our pets fresh water, we throw the old water down the drain. Why? Why not use the same water to water plants!
- There are numerous times we are sipping on the aerated drinks or cold coffee and all that’s left is the ice. We promptly chuck that into the closest dust bin. That’s great, but what would be greater is if we chuck the ice into a planter and then the cup into the dust bin.
- In the garden, try to leave the dry leaves on the surface of the soil in the pots; this keeps the soil cool, prevents evaporation and over time will serve as manure too!
These are many things which I try to follow, not very difficult stuff, but I think on doing this, it shall certainly make a difference, in my small way. I hope there are some small things which you would have come to know in this post, and I hope you shall also try to do your bit!
Superb tips Aathira. Luved the gardening ones and the one bt the aquarium :) Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteGood one Aathira! Thanks for your intuitive ways of looking at water consumption.
ReplyDeletegood pt on ice
ReplyDeleteI could never forget the drought during 80s..as a kid i wud spent around 3 hrs daily to get water...but when we get enough water , we come back to our usual ways of wasting water....
ReplyDeleteInfact the more you read such messages, i tend to feel..shall i remove my aqaurium at home etc...
i do try to save water...my wife finds it disgusting with my ways of saving water..i feel one day we will be forced to do all these things..
before going to bed , oh we all piss...so i ask my daughter not to flush without explaining further..it is one flush of water for 2....hmm
Hi, The new look of the page is nice...
ReplyDeleteby the way i am plannng for a visit to masai mara , kenya next month..did you take any injection to protect against yellow fever?
@sunder: Yes, you have to take the shot for yellow fever prior to leaving for Kenya. The shot is usually available at major ports. The shot needs to be taken a min of a week prior to departure. There is no requirement for entering Kenya, but on returning all countries require you to have taken the vaccination prior to leaving as Kenya ( esp national parks) is a high risk yellow fever zone.
ReplyDeleteGood points. But please don't follow the 6th one. Fruits and vegetables have to be washed in running water to remove the pesticides used on them.
ReplyDeletegreat tips!!
ReplyDelete@ sunder,
ReplyDeleteYour water conserving methods are really good specially the piss one. Whenever i piss i dont flush it rather i use i mug of water. I remember my mother used to wash all the utensils with just half tub of water. Now even i get water enough however always water is precious for me. We will not waste it only when we feel its precious, even gold is just a metal. But we preserve it so carefully only because its precious.