Hearing about the California drought and other similar news around the country may leave you wondering how you can do your part to help conserve water. If you're worried about where to start when it comes to conserving water, here are some ways that both you and your household can reduce your water consumption. The good news is that saving water doesn't have to be especially difficult or expensive.
These suggestions are adapted from a list of the most effective actions that U.S Households can take to curb indoor water use, published last summer in Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development.
1. Wash Your Clothes Responsibly
This doesn't mean that you need to do your laundry even less frequently than you do now. I'm suggesting that you take a look at the washing machines that are currently in your household, and look at their efficiency. Using Energy Star-certified clothes washers typically result 40% less water usage than other washers. This means that switching out your washing machines to something more water efficient could reduce your water use by 16.7%, according to a study, saving you money, and conserving water at the same time.
Even if you can't afford to switch out your washing machine, you can still reduce your water usage by making sure that the washing machine is filled up all the way when you use it, or adjusting the water level to match the load. Doing so can reduce your indoor water use by 7.9%.
2. Shorten your Shower
It's the old and repeated mantra that reducing your shower time can greatly reduce your water useage. It's repeated so often because it's true. For example, by shortening your shower time from 8 minutes to 5 minutes, you could save 8.2 % of your indoor water usage.
If you want to go the extra mile, you could also try switching out your shower head to a WaterSense-labeled shower head, to reduce your water usage by another 1.9%.
3. Turn off the Sink
It may seem obvious, but turning off the water when you brush your teeth or wash your face, can save a lot of water in the long run. The same can be said for filling up the sink when you shave, rather than letting the water run. If a family of three can reduce their indoor water use by 4.4%, if each person reduces the time that they let the faucet run by two minutes per day, imagine how much water an entire Greek house could save, if more people followed suit.
4. Reduce your Outdoor Water Use
Keep in mind that indoor water use only makes up around 40% of a household's water usage, so trying to reduce your outdoor water use is just as important. This means you should occasionally think twice about filling up a pool when it's warm outside, or about setting up a water slide in your backyard.
All of these suggestions are simple ways to start when it comes to water conservation. As Los Angeles enters its fourth year of drought, and many other places across the U.S. suffer from similar droughts, it's important to consider how you can help to reduce water consumption where you live.
