Washing Dishes
Bathing
Toilet
Brushing
Gardening
Cleaning
Best Answer
WASHING CLOTHES - If you are using a washing machine, do larger loads. This reduces the amount of water used per article of clothing. Also, use cold water to save energy.If you are buying a washing machine, look for one that conserves water, as these are available.
WASHING DISHES - If you are washing them in the sink, turn off the water when you are scrubbing, then turn back on to rinse. Plug up the drain so that the dirty dishes will have a pool of water to soak in.
BATHING - Buy a showerhead which conserves water and keep showers short. The showerheads available now will retain good water pressure while using less water, and keeping showers around 5 minutes should be more than enough to get clean.
TOILET - Water-conserving toilet apparatuses are available, but I tend to stick with the simple, old fashioned way:
Fill a 2-liter bottle with water and put it in the tank in a place where it won%26#039;t interfere with moving parts. You%26#039;ll save a half a gallon of water every time you flush, and it adds up. Put 2 bottles in if you can fit them.
Note: Do NOT use bricks or rocks for this. They will break down and could mess up your toilet.
BRUSHING - After you wet your toothbrush, turn the water off. Brush. Turn the water back on to rinse.
GARDENING - Water your lawn sparingly and do it in the early evening rather than the morning. When the sun is not out, the plants will have a better chance of soaking up the water before it evaporates, so you won%26#039;t have to use as much.
If you feel you must use sprinklers, put them on a timer to avoid forgetting about them.
CLEANING - Using spray bottles will reduce the overall amount of water and cleaner you use to clean.
Also, use organic, biodegradable cleaners if you can. Some are better than others, so ask around. A good brand I use is Seventh Generation. Most of these cleaners are made from vegetable oil rather than petroleum, which also reduces our dependence on foreign oil.
AND OVERALL: There are more and more appliances and home hardware these days which are designed to save water and electricity. Look for the Energy Star seal. This will help you make good choices and save money over the life of the appliance.
Other Answers (5)
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The most important way to conserve water is to prevent it from running off to the oceans when we have lots of it. That is, get involved in projects to provide reservoir capacity.
Next process is recovery of water... or use of sewage water for irrigation instead of using new water. In a home where septic tanks are permitted, the septic system recovers water to the aquifer. (This is a problem when large numbers of homes live close together.)
One can bathe adequately with just 2 litres of water, but not with a long hot shower. Collect the water for gardening after use.
The ultimate way to save water with a toilet is to stop using the flush toilet, and use either a composting or a dehydrating toilet.
The ultimate low water low energy way to wash dishes:
mechanically remove all loose food.
Place dishes in a small pan of cold water, just enough to cover the largest, and cold wash each dish before moving it to a sink.
When all the dishes are cold washed, repeat the process with hot water and detergent, even less hot water than for cold wash.
The dishes then drain until the next use, not rinsing off the detergent because it is a good disinfectant, and because you have little water.
Use teh dish water for gardening.
Front load washing machines are geat for saving laundry water, but use the water for gardening.
Brushing? Your teeth? use a mechanical brush and just use a 1/2 cup of water to rinse the mouth and 1/2 to wash the brush.
Brushing the floor? smooth surface... slightly moisten, brush, then squeegee the water to the next area. Use a cloth and small bowl of water for final cleanup.
Gardening... use mulch to avoid loss of water from the soil, and irrigate only to produce food. grow ornamentals that are able to withstand drought, let grass die in drought.
Water newly planted trees, transplanted plants.
Make sure your home has storage of water adequate for complete supply failure for a long time... enough that you would fill it up when a water truck comes by every couple weeks. -
Washing clothes - high efficiency front loaders
Washing Dishes - dishwasher uses less h20 then by hand
Bathing - turn off shower when washing hair
Toilet - purchase toilet with a low LPF rate (liters per flush)
Brushing - turn water off while brushing teeth
Gardening - set conservative watering schedules h20 in am
Cleaning - too vague -
do it....
once a week
once a week
share with someone
go out and use someone elses
chew gum
where i live it rains all the time anyway
once a week -
Washing Clothes- Wash by hand
Dishes- Wash by hand
Bathing- take showers and only and only washing.
Toilet- Unless ur takin a crap I%26#039;d just go outside.
Brushing- don%26#039;t leave the water running while you brush.
Gardening- Recycle rain water from your gutters
Cleaning- Try not to make such a mess so you can spend less time cleaning. -
Washing clothes: Use a high efficiency washer and only wash full loads
Washing dishes: Use a high efficiency dish washer and only wash full loads.
Bathing: Use a low flow shower head and take a Nave shower. That is, get wet, turn off the water soap up and scrub, turn the water on and rinse off.
Toilet: Set the toilet not to fill all the way by adjusting the shutoff valve or filling the tank with something. Also, use the old motto: If its yellow let it mellow, it its brown flush it down.
Brushing: Don%26#039;t wet the brush first, you don%26#039;t need to. Only turn the water on to fill a cup and rinse your mouth and brush with that instead of runnung water down the drain.
Gardening: Collect rainwater from your roof if its allowed in your town, its illegal in some. Re-use dish or laundry water.
Cleaning: Don%26#039;t clean, nobody really likes to and it wastes water.