Going Green with Water

By now we’ve all heard that it’s everyone’s responsibility to use the water that we have left on the planet in an eco friendly manner or soon water may be another one of our natural resources that’s diminished. To that end, it’s important that all of us learn what we can do about where our water goes and how we can put it to better use around the house. First, here’s a little breakdown of the H2O that flows in the average home and where it tends to go.

You might think that personal hygiene is the biggest of the water wasters under our collective roofs—you might think that all those long showers and time spent brushing our teeth with the faucet running amounts to the biggest waste, but our preening only accounts for 25% of water usage in the home. A small number when you think of it really, but not as surprising as the 5% of water usage that goes toward drinking and cooking. Still, there are ways that we can all do our part to use a little less water in the home.

If you can make the choice between taking a bath and a hot shower, it’s the green decision to go with a shower and a short one at that. Remember here too that saving hot water will save energy and money as well. If you use a water saving shower head as well, the consumption can be cut in half. You can take this approach a step further and apply it to washing your hands as well—there are various types of sprayers that are available on the market today. There are several other ways that we can save water in even more radical ways including swimming in a sea, lake, or pond and taking a cold shower.

In the percentages mentioned above, the biggest offender for wasted water in the house was left out. Believe it or not, the biggest offender is flushing the toilet at 30% of the home’s water consumption. The toilet is the most wasteful of all modern conveniences. While a composting toilet is a possible solution for some homes, most people will balk at having to replace an entire plumbing system. It is possible to reduce the water used by reducing the number of flushes to a minimum, or replacing the toilet with a low flush design. As well, we might not flush every time. There are also designs whereby a sink is attached to the toilet tank which allows for at least the washing of hands before the toilet is flushed.

Many of the toilet designs that are on the market to day are designed with environmental concerns in mind, which is making many people replace the old ones with ones that are eco friendly in their design.

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