Looking for tips to save water and money? In this article we identity tips and off-grid solutions ranging from very simple to more complex.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the average US citizen uses 82 gallons of water every day, and 70% of this is used indoors. Yet of those 82 gallons, 30 gallons is wasted for a variety of reasons, from leaving the tap on whilst you brush your teeth, to not repairing leaking appliances. The water that we use is precious, and it is essential to the planet that we preserve as much as we can.
In Europe people use slightly less with an average of 144 liters (40 gallons) per person per day.
This means not only considering our water usage in the home, but also finding alternative ways to source our water. Off-grid solutions, such water saving devices, collecting rainwater, using gray water and taking shorter water can have a big impact. To learn more continue reading.
Simple devices to save water
The cheapest and simplest tip to save water is to install water saving devices on the faucets and shower at home. There are many alternatives available including the Nozzle by Altered and shower water saving devices on Amazon.
Collecting rainwater
Harvesting rainwater is an extremely effective way of obtaining water, particularly for use in ponds and in the garden. Research done by MIT found that even an area as small as 100m2 could provide us with 12,000 liters of water per year. This could be water that collected from your roof via a simple drainage system and then be stored directly into water butts.
Before you introduce this water into a garden pond though, you should check for signs of algae. Removing pond algae can be done with plants or barley straw. You can also use a skimmer to remove any surface algae. Rainwater is not suitable to drink straight away, but it can be treated using a water filter or purification tablets. Don’t forget that water will only ever be as clean as the container that you keep it in.
Reuse gray water to save water
Gray water is water that has already been used by your household. Rather than sending this into the sewage system, a lot of it can be reused at home. As long as you don’t use a water softener, then the water from your bath and from doing the dishes can be used for irrigation in the garden. You can also use a laundry water recycler to save the water from your washing machine, which can then be used a second time to wash clothing. This will reduce the amount of water you use washing your clothes by 50%. Considering that the average household uses 16,000 gallons of water a year just on laundry, this is a substantial saving.
Other tips to save water
Other simple tips to save water include taking shorter showers, not flushing the toilette every time use it, reusing water from the bath for plants and garden. Taking shorter showers will also reduce your energy costs as heating water makes up about 30% of household energy consumption.
Save money by using a water filter
Every year Americans purchase more than 42 billion liters and Europeans 88 billion liters of bottled water. Drinking water filtered through a water filter such as EcoPro or EcoPro Compact by TAPP Water is a simple alternative that will save you money - the filter is 15 times more financially economical than bottled water. You will also be reducing your usage of single use plastic bottles and helping to cut down the demand for production.
Conclusion
Saving water is imperative if we are going to move towards living in a more sustainable way. Installing water saving devices, recycling the water we use at home and shortening showers are simple tips to reduce water consumption. Furthermore using a water filter is an easy way to do this and will help in the long term.
Do you have more great tips. Please comment below or e-mail us on customer@tappwater.co
