Little Things You Can Do!
There are potentially limitless changes that you can make to your life to help conserve water. Check out the following video, suggestions, and websites for ideas to implement into your life.. and don't forget to pass them onto the people around you!
If you think you've mastered this Little Things You Can Do, give some of the Big Things You Can Do a try!
Every drop counts! National Geographic has created an interactive water tour of your life. Click the logo or hyperlink to take the tour and find out "What Is Your Water Footprint?"
National Geographic, along with Disney and many more, supports Change The Course, a foundation that works with conservation organizations to fund projects that restore flow back into the Colorado River. You can help restore the freshwater ecosystems of the Colorado by pledging to cut down on your water footprint. For every pledge, Change The Course will restore 1000 gallons back to the Colorado River.
Did you know that the State of California offers rebates to their citizens for consumers that will help save water and money? California Water Service is one way to find out what programs and rebates are available in your area!
Save Our Water! Explore this awesome interactive website for more suggestions on changes to make at home, and for more information that you should know about the drought!
They also urge citizens to report water waste.. become a Water Watcher!
Go Dirty for the Drought! Join the Los Angeles Waterkeeper(s) in a pledge to not wash your car for 60 days.. or more!
It saves water and money.. and you get a great static cling sticker to put on your window!
If not washing your car for a while isn't an option to you, here are some ideas to implement!
-
Use waterless products, such as Eco Touch or
Eco Green. Water actually
doesn't do much other than push the dirt around - when you scrub a wet car to get the dirt loose, you're scratching the paint off too. By using waterless products, they break down the dirt
particles away from the the paint of the car. After, you can wipe off with a microfiber towel or a t-shirt, and you won't have to use any water!
If you don't want to pay for the product, you can make your own environmentally friendly car-wash solution using household products. Here's a recipe for one:
1 cup of Borax, 1 tablespoon of Castile liquid soap, and a pail of water. - Wash your car regularly! This may seem counter-intuitive, but waiting longer to wash your car means it is going to be more difficult to get the larger amounts of dirt off. By cleaning your car regularly, you'll prevent dirt from sticking to your car as much as it will when there's buildup.
- If you're going to do it the old fashioned way with the hose, make sure you have a hose nozzle that can be shut off between rinses. A regular garden hose uses about 10 gallons a minute! That's 100 gallons of water in just ten minutes!
- Park inside whenever you can! This will help to keep your car cleaner between washes.
- Buy a car cover. These are especially helpful if you have to park your car outside.
- Wax your car! Not only will your car shine, but the wax helps to repel grime from sticking.
- If you're going to go to a car wash, look for WaterSavers certified car washes. They promise to use 40 gallons or less on the average car, and recycle most of the grey water!
(Aschim, Broverman, Poon)
Little Things at Home
In the kitchen:
Did you know that the average faucet flows at 2 gallons a minute? Keep this in mind when you're washing dishes! To conserve water, there are a few things you can do. Instead of letting the water run, fill one compartment in your sink with soapy water to wash and fill the other to rinse the dishes with. Or if you have a dishwasher, better yet! The average machine uses 6 gallons of water per cycle. Be sure to run it only when it's full for maximum effect!
Soak pans and pots instead of letting the water run over them while you scrape!
Collect the water used for rinsing fruit and veggies and use it to water your plants
Cook food in as little water as possible.. you don't need the pot all the way full just to boil spaghetti!
Use only one glass or water bottle that you can refill throughout the day - it'll cut down on the number of glasses to wash
Teach your children to tightly turn off faucets after each use to prevent drips
In the bathroom:
This is arguably the room where we use the most water in our lives everyday.
When washing your hands, turn off the water while you lather. Not only does this conserve water, but soap is also more effective at killing germs when it's not being washed away immediately. According to the CDC, you should wet your hands, turn off the water, and scrub your fingers, under the nails, and backs of the hands for at least 20 seconds. After, rinse your hands in clean running water (you still don't need a lot!), and towel or air dry.
Take shorter showers! I know it feels fantastic to soak under hot running water, but wrap up the rinse and go bundle up with some layers instead! In addition to taking shorter showers, there are more things you can: turn off the water while washing your hair, and while you shave! I keep a tall plastic cup nearby to fill with hot water, and use that to soak my razor and rinse it when I need to, instead of letting the water run. Just the act of not letting water run while you shave can save up to 300 gallons a month! Installing a low flow shower head is another great way to not only save water, but also save you on the cost of heating your water.
If taking a bath, fill the tub halfway or less. Plug the bath before turning on the water and adjust the temperature as need be as it fills up. Or better yet, only take short showers instead. Bathtubs can use up to 70 gallons of water. (Save Our Water)
Now, for the most controversial of bathroom topics...
The toilet.
Traditional, non-efficiency toilets generally use between 3.5 and 5 gallons of water per flush. Ultra Low Flow Toilets (ULFT) use only 1.6 gallons, and newer High Efficiency Toilets (HET) use as little as 0.8 - 1.28 gallons per flush.
By switching out your old pre-1990's basic white toilet to a HET, you can save 45 gallons a day and 23,000 gallons a year.
If making this change doesn't work for you, you can also consider the popular conservation idea of
"If it's yellow, let it mellow.. if it's brown, flush it down!"
Other Tips:
When going out to eat, don't ask for water if you're not going to drink it. If you do, make sure you finish your glass before you leave the restaurant! Otherwise they'll end up dumping it down
the drain.
Know where your master water shut-off valve is. Not only can this help save water in case of a leak, but it can help prevent damage to your home too.
Monitor your water bill. It and your water meter are tools that can help you discover leaks.
Do you have any more ideas or tips? Leave a comment below to share what you think!
The Pacific Institute’s report of 2000, "Waste Not, Want Not: The Potential for Urban Water Conservation" determined that of of indoor water use, flushing toilets accounts for 33% and showers account for 22%,while faucets account for 18%, washing machines for 14%, leaks for 12%, and dishwashers for 1%.
Natalia Simone King
A passionate, responsible, and affable leader with many years of community involvement, Natalia has been an active participant in numerous science programs and collaborative activities. She is a tenacious and ambitious college student with an innate curiosity and strong desire to understand all that she can about the universe. Born and raised in California, Natalia moved from the San Francisco Bay Area in the fall of 2015 to the University of California, San Diego to complete work on her Bachelors of Science in Ecology, Behavior and Evolution. She is particularly interested in the involvement of the various conservation projects of the world and can think of no better place to start than by helping to save her home.
Water Trading (Tuesday, 11 April 2017 03:00)
Good blog post, Really i got too much information.
Joe Pementell (Tuesday, 29 December 2015 17:58)
Our home was the first home in our neighborhood to embrace the brown and stop watering our lawn! This was an easy first step to make and will help us transition to a dry landscaped environment with native plant species.
Lisanne Bzoskie (Sunday, 06 December 2015 20:05)
Hello Natalia, I believe your conservation efforts and plan of action for California is fantastic! Keep it up! Thanks to your advice my family has now switched to more vegetarian options instead of beef, and reduced our milk consumption greatly!
John King (Sunday, 06 December 2015 16:55)
I've stopped watering the lawn, I take shorter showers, and I eat less red meat since it takes a huge amount of water to raise a cow. That's too great a price for a steak.