Tips on how to save water

The most precious liquid we have in this earth is still being taken for granted. Education in how to save water has to start at a very early age. The sooner we begin teaching our children how to save water the greater chances they will have in the future. Very easy tips on how to save water can help us reduce its consumption by thousands of liters a year and of course, save you money.

I lived in the city all my life and water was available every time I opened the tap, and now that I’ve been trying my luck in farming and not having mains water, one late summer a few years ago my borehole was running dry due to poor rain fall the two previous years. I had to reduce irrigation time so that the pump wouldn´t run dry and burn itself out, which would give me, repair expenses.

So, in short terms, my produce did not meet the standards because of the lack of irrigation and went to the juicing factory instead of the supermarket, which I only got symbolic revenue out of it that put me on the red. I learned a great lesson and changed my way into saving water here and there that at the end altogether makes a big difference.

Easy tips on how to save water in your home, garden or plantation will not take much of your time.

• You can start by keeping the tap closed every time you wash your hands, shave and brush your teeth.
• Take showers instead of baths. Turn the tap off when shampooing and soaping.
• If you need to take a bath, don´t empty the tub straight away, you can always do a pre-soak of your laundry before filling your laundry machine and using much shorter programs at lower temperatures, saving you water and electricity.
• Visit your local hardware store and get water flux reducers for all of your taps at home, just there you can save water up to 50%.
• Still in the washroom and how to save water you can fill bottles, buckets or jugs when you`re waiting for that right mix between hot/cold and use it to wash dishes, pre-soaking laundry, washing the floor or watering your plants.
• Another way on how to save water is reducing the amount of water every time you flush the toilet. You can insert a 1 or 2 liter bottle full of water in the toilet tank, make sure it doesn´t interfere with the float or mechanism, or you can even acquire 2 two button tank that you can control the flow… It´s not a big secret, I know, but 1 or 2 liters less of water flushed… Just calculate on how many times you flush the toilet a year and imagine the savings.
• Make sure you haven´t got any leaks at home, close all taps and carefully check your water meter, it is a precise instrument that will tell you if you have a leak somewhere in the system.
• When washing dishes don´t leave the tap always running, wash your dishes, put them aside still with detergent and when you´re done half fill the sink and dip them in with the tap slowly running for the final rinse.
• Get a clean bucket and wash your fruits and vegetables in it and save the water for your plants.

• Outside you can get 200 liter barrels and fit them to collect rain water so you can use it later on for your plants or washing around the house.
• Now that we are outside, let me suggest for your garden a drip irrigation system instead of your normal sprinkler system.
• Drip irrigation tubes lay flat on the ground so evaporation is minimal. You can set your drip irrigation system in a way that the drippers are right next to the foot of the plant or tree were water is most needed.
• Always irrigate late in the afternoon when the sun is going down to promote better irrigation with much less evaporation.
• A garden that looks good doesn’t necessarily means that it is getting lots of water, but just the right amount.
• Washing your car? Don´t leave the hose always running, park the car on a shaded area and leave it there for a while to cool down.
• Yes, a car looks cleaner after a wash when it is washed cool, there’s much less water evaporation stains left.
• Get a bucket with water and your favorite car wash detergent and get an angled soft bristled broom just for washing cars, lightly sprinkle your car and start washing from the top circling down leaving the tires for last and rinse off.