Tell me ways to conserve water?

Question

I live in NC and we are in a severe drought. Can you tell me some ways to conserve water? Unique ones- not like turn the water off when you're brushing your teeth.

Answer 1

use high pressure shower heads..you can save a lot of water that way.

If you have an air conditioner you can put a bucket under it to catch the condensation...you can use this water for all kind of stuff(put a piece of window screen over it to keep bugs out)

You can take sponge baths and save the water for washing your hair

Water your lawn and garden after the sun goes down you'll loose less water to evaporation.

This is an old millitary trick..when in the shower water down well..then shut the water off and soap up..then turn the water back on to rinse.

You can catch rain water in a barrle or bucket.

You can also melt snow and ice for water.

Answer 2

I have a valve that is on my shower head that I can turn off after I get myself wet.  I soap up all over, then turn it on just long enough to rinse off.  I can shower with about 2 1/2 gallons of water.

I really don't like the idea of leaving urine sitting in my toilet for long periods of time.  I have tried that and it made my whole house smell like urine.  I think the brick idea is much better.  2 or 3 bricks works even better.

One other thing... recently we noticed that one of our outside spigots was leaking.  I checked the water bill and we were using almost 10,000 more gallons a month than last year.  I went to The Home Depot and bought a brass valve that goes between the spigot and the hose.  This stopped the leak.  Check all your outdoor spigots for leaks.

Answer 3

have your washing machine drain into a big container instead of down a drain then get a bucket and use the laundry water to flush your toilet

Answer 4

I am in the same boat as u because I live in NC too :(

Answer 5

There is no reason we should have water shortage.

We should be taking water from the ocean.  And desalination the water.

The water we use, should be purified.  And sent back into our system.  To use again.

Answer 6

Only wash dishes when the dish washer is full, use rain water to water plants (keep a bucket outside to catch it)

Try not to shower during peek times like 7:00 in the morning. Take a shower at night. Water the grass late at night too.

Answer 7

put a brick (or something similar) in the tank o your toilet... this save water every time you flush because the brick raises the water lever and causes it to take less to fill the tank.

Answer 8

i live in NC also and i have been practicing the "navy shower" where you cut the water on and wet yourself and cut it off to use soap and shampoo.  then, cut the water back on to rinse off.  you can save several gallons of water a day this way, and its not as uncomfortable as it seems.

Answer 9

Never put water down the drain when there may be another use for it such as watering a plant or garden, or cleaning.

Verify that your home is leak-free, because many homes have hidden water leaks. Read your water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter does not read exactly the same, there is a leak.

Repair dripping faucets by replacing washers. If your faucet is dripping at the rate of one drop per second, you can expect to waste 2,700 gallons per year which will add to the cost of water and sewer utilities, or strain your septic system.

Check for toilet tank leaks by adding food coloring to the tank. If the toilet is leaking, color will appear within 30 minutes. Check the toilet for worn out, corroded or bent parts. Most replacement parts are inexpensive, readily available and easily installed. (Flush as soon as test is done, since food coloring may stain tank.)

Avoid flushing the toilet unnecessarily. Dispose of tissues, insects and other such waste in the trash rather than the toilet.

Take shorter showers. Replace you showerhead with an ultra-low-flow version. Some units are available that allow you to cut off the flow without adjusting the water temperature k***s.

Use the minimum amount of water needed for a bath by closing the drain first and filling the tub only 1/3 full. Stopper tub before turning water. The initial burst of cold water can be warmed by adding hot water later.

Don't let water run while shaving or washing your face. Brush your teeth first while waiting for water to get hot, then wash or shave after filling the basin.

Retrofit all wasteful household faucets by installing aerators with flow restrictors.

Operate automatic dishwashers and clothes washers only when they are fully loaded or properly set the water level for the size of load you are using.

When washing dishes by hand, fill one sink or basin with soapy water. Quickly rinse under a slow-moving stream from the faucet.

Store drinking water in the refrigerator rather than letting the tap run every time you want a cool glass of water.

Do not use running water to thaw meat or other frozen foods. Defrost food overnight in the refrigerator or by using the defrost setting on your microwave.

Kitchen sink disposals require lots of water to operate properly. Start a compost pile as an alternate method of disposing food waste instead of using a garbage disposal. Garbage disposals also can add 50% to the volume of solids in a septic tank which can lead to malfunctions and maintenance problems.

Consider installing an instant water heater on your kitchen sink so you don't have to let the water run while it heats up. This will reduce heating costs for your household.

. Insulate your water pipes. You'll get hot water faster plus avoid wasting water while it heats up.

Never install a water-to-air heat pump or air-conditioning system. Air-to-air models are just as efficient and do not waste water.

Install water softening systems only when necessary. Save water and salt by running the minimum amount of regenerations necessary to maintain water softness. Turn softeners off while on vacation.

Check your pump. If you have a well at your home, listen to see if the pump kicks on and off while the water is not in use. If it does, you have a leak.

When adjusting water temperatures, instead of turning water flow up, try turning it down. If the water is too hot or cold, turn the offender down rather than increasing water flow to balance the temperatures.

If the toilet flush handle frequently sticks in the flush position, letting water run constantly, replace or adjust it.

Answer 10

Take scattered showers; turn them on to get wet, turn off while lathering, turn on to rinse. It actually will save hundreds of liters.

Put a toilet dam in your toilets tank; fill an empty peanut butter jar with rocks or something that will keep it in place in the tank. Basically, what this does is displace approx. 1 liter of water per flush... which adds up to a lot!

Use a recyclable water bottle rather than constantly buying bottled water.

Answer 11

if you are a moslem, you can vast

there are technology that can convert hidrogen and oxigen in air into water, it may not cheap nor easy to find, but that you are motivated, you could seek for more detail info about this and find one nearest to your neigborhood, and gather them (your neigbour) to get this technology together, or you can ask the local authority to do this

Answer 12

Toilet/bathroom:  If it's yellow, let it mellow.  If it's brown, flush it down.

Answer 13

Drink wiskely.

Answer 14

DON'T BATH.

Answer 15

I heard putting a brick in your toilet tank helps... the brick takes up space that water would normally take up.  Also, time your showers, people get so relaxed in the shower they don't realize how long they are actually in there.

Answer 16

dont always flush the toliet when u do a number 1 that uses up the most water and dont overfill the kettle when u make tea or coffee  buy lots of bottle water from shops incase it runs out good luck

Answer 17

I don`t know what NC means if it is city life ,suburban or Country ,so i have given you the whole story

PERMACULTURE ANSWER ON WATER HARVESTING AND CONSERVATION

WHY SHOULD WE HARVEST WATER

because there is so little that we can use

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25% of the planets surface is land

75%of the surface is water and it is rising

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97%of the Earths water is salt

fresh water is only 3% of all the Earths water

most of it is beyond out reach

now much ice is melting and running into the seas fresh water lost for ever.

STORAGE or Location of % of the fresh water

ice and glaziers 74%

groundwater 800 meters + 13.5 %

groundwater less than 800meters 11.o%

Lakes 0.3%

soils 0.006%

Atmospheric in circulation 0.0035%

rivers 0.03%

frozen land or permafrost is not included and represent an unavailable storage of 40%

so of the 3% about 11.6 ,is easily available to us ,in rivers, lakes and ground water surface aquifers,more and more of this is becoming contaminated

.

Now climate change and desertification, because of irresponsible agriculture ,overgrazing and deforestation is damaging world fresh water production .

It is a good reason for concern and if we do not rectify matters by changing agricultural methods ,reforest ,stop deforestation,become more economic with water use ,stop producing more people ,stop wasting and contaminating water, we will be in serious trouble all round

and could end up looking like Mars

And these are some of the things we can do

tp conserve water use

EFFICIENT WATER USE

IN THE HOUSE and GARDEN

one can connect the sink straight to the toilet cistern and so use the water twice ,first to have a shave and then to flush the toilet

also if you bend the ball valve you can regulate the level of the cistern

Always have your Grey water and Black water separate,so that the sink and shower water goes directly into the garden saving on irrigation and at the same time ,making the sewage smaller and easier to deal with ,

This also goes and irrigates the garden but via a cistern of two compartments and a French drain ,on which you plant trees,

when it rains ,make your lawn and garden receptive to absorb water ,and not let it run off onto the street.

And cars can be washed with rain water ,it does not have to be drinking water.

The summary for the garden is mulching and lowering the flower beds

having the paths high so that they form basins that absorb the water .

ON THE LAND

Economic systems of irrigation, like drip irrigation

and water harvesting design, using a lot of stone walls ,that condense water in the night

and planting leafy plants ,for the same purpose,

Building wind breaks ,to counter act the drying effects of the wind and farm towards Aggro forrestal ,using as many trees as possible to limit evaporation .

Using shade nets before we have tree cover

and use MULCH

By cutting down the weeds before they produce seeds and leave them where they fall.

They will cover the ground add even more organic matter on top,(you can use saw dust,leaves green or dry),

And when you plant make a little space and plant in the mulch.this is the easiest quickest and by far most beneficial way(for the quality of you soil)to prepare the land for planting.

To prevent weeds from coming all you have to do it turn out the lights,you can even use cardboard or black plastic(this is good for strawberries because they will rot if they touch humid ground,and the bugs can get to them).

Mulch is organic material green or dry that covers the ground,the thicker the better the composting process will turn it in to black topsoil

The humidity is preserved underneath and promotes the development of worms(there exists no better compost than their excrements)and a variety of micro biotic life which together within the mulch produce more topsoil.

The mulch also keeps the ground temperature even and guards against the impact of the rain ,which would other wise brings salt to the surface if on unprotected land.

Mulch also prevents the soil from drying out because of the sun and,wind erosion.

WATER HARVESTING

As far as catching rain is concerned ,we do this all the time ,and have done so already since Babylonian times,and is a part of the more advanced Agriculture,that existed with the Egyptians,,Moors, Arabs and probably many more

Central ,and South American indigenous people had this idea coupled to their pyramids ,catching the water of the slopes and leading it into tanks or onto the fields .

And many others ,today we call this WATER HARVESTING.

Only Modern Man is totally extravagant with the rain water given ,and complains of the wetness ,letting it run off into the rivers lost forever ,With out even attempting to hold on to it .

And then later complains of not having water ,when times are dryer

In Permaculture the rule is to harvest water to the point of Zero runoff.

This means that all of the rain that falls on an area is absorbed by the terrain and not a drop leaves it.

By building dams,ponds or Swales, with inter connecting ditches,

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

If there are enough of these ;the places ,where before ,the rain water ran over the ground into the rivers and on to the sea ,in a matter of minutes or hours

It now runs into absorbent dams or Swales and saturates the ground and eventually reaches subterranean water deposits ,taking many months to do so.

Or it fills up ponds that can be used for Aquaculture.

And so a convex situation that repels water is transformed in a concave ,absorbent one and turning the area in to a sponge.

In Spain and Portugal ,which still display many examples of the conquering Moorish influence one can find many remnants of Water harvesting,such as Aqueducts and tanks underneath the patios ,which collect the rain water from the roofs ,to be used in dryer times.

In Arabia ,on a large scale ,land has been shaped to catch and lead,rain water into sandy areas or to agricultural lands.sand is almost as good as dams because it absorbs water and holds it.

Here in Mexico we collect the rainwater in our school for sustainable agriculture,but it is too near Acapulco to trust the rain water for drinking ,and this holds true for most places ,so we use it for irrigation.

the rain water from a gutter runs via a filter into a tank.

In Europe in my parents house ,when i was young ,we had a rain barrel,where the water from the gutter ended up .

this was usual in those days ,but i have seen few in modern times.

We can use this action also in other ways ,

for example the roof water via a ditch can run trough the chicken house ,cleaning it and end up fertilizing the vegetable plot(this is called the creation of energy flow.

this water used to be Ok in times gone by before Air pollution ,

Today i would recommend it only for washing and irrigation

for more information on Water Harvesting

read The Permaculture designers manual by Bill Mollison,which cost about 40 dollars.

and is the best all round book you can get,on Environmental design,.(tagiari publishing, [e-mail])

Answer 18

i live in NC to

I have been using spring water to stop running water to brush my teeth and to drink.

maybe a filter pitcher could work for drinking water

the rain was good on saturday and sunday but we still need much more

Answer 19

There are many ways to conserve water.

Turn of the taps when not in use.

Repair water leakage problems immediately.

Don't waste water.Use waste water to water plants.

Don't use shovers use buckets.

Answer 20

we only flush the toilet when it is NOT urine.

we only do the dishwasher when it is so full that nothing else can possibly get in there.

we have low flow shower shower heads and sink faucets/spigots.

we do not let the water run when brushing teeth or shaving or anything else. we wash with cold water as it becomes warm/hot in the shower/sink and in colorado now it is g.d. COLD...

we do NOT have a lawn that we water. period.

we use grey water for all sorts of things like flushing the toilet (the kids bath water and the washing machine is grey water)

our town has a strict and careful water reclamation unit. it stinks down there but the water that comes out is great and the solid waste is burned for energy.

we dont drink the city water as it has synthetic flouride in it and chlorine. POISON. so we have well water delivered twice a month and we drink that.

we collect snow in the winter in 800 gallon containers to water our garden from in the summer. it is melted, filtered and carefully stored.

and on and on.

Answer 21

• Wash 1-3 large loads of laundry, and not a bunch of small ones.

• Get your ice chest and dump it into a bowl and wait for it to melt. There's your water.

• Take short showers; no baths.

• Buy a fake Christmas tree, so you don't have to water it.

• Grill/Bake food and refrain from using Crock-Pots or boil anything.

Answer 22

Don’t drink water.--- This message brought to you by the beer brewers of America.

Answer 23

When you are going to bathe fill a bucket.

Wet your toothbrush and clean your teeth, then

use a bowl to pour water over yourself.

Cleanse yourself and then rinse.

You will have literally saved gallons of water

each time you do this.

You can also use the left over water to flush

the toilet.

Answer 24

A good number of the ways to conserve water are fairly obvious (showers, toilets...) - to see ones that aren't you have to look at products that you consume which require a lot of water to produce.  For instance - in the southeastern portion of the US a majority of the electrcity that is produced comes from coal, nuclear and gas plants.  To produce a kWh of electricity from a baseload coal plant takes ~25 gallons, from a nuclear plant is ~ 30 gallons, and from a gas CC plant ~10 gallons of water per kWh.  During the process of producing a kWh of electricity most of that water is returned to the reservoir/lake/river but some evaporates.  Therefore - my recommendation for you for ways to reduce the amount of water that you consume (directly or indirectly) is to reduce the amount of electricity that you consume.  Change you lightbulbs to CFL's or LED's, unplug your TV/DVR when not in use, turn off lights when not in the room, if you have electric heat - turn the temp in your house down.  If you have christmas lights up - limit the amount of hours that you have the lights on (if a christmas tree has 4 strings of lights each consuming 50 watts it only takes 5 hours to get to a kWh).

Hope this helps.