In the Kitchen
There are many small steps you can take that add up to big water savings
in the kitchen. These range from how you cook to how you clean up.
Reduce
- Take foods out of the freezer early to allow plenty of time to thaw.
Thawing frozen goods under a running tap wastes water.
- Clean fruits and vegetables in a partially filled sink and rinse
them quickly.
- When boiling vegetables, use only enough water to cover the foods.
Steaming uses even less water while conserving more nutrients.
- Keep a bottle of drinking water in the fridge. That way, you don't
have to let your tap run to get cold water when you want a drink.
- Fill the dishwasher before you turn it on. It can use from
35 to 45 litres per cycle. Washing by hand uses about the
same, each time you wash, so use the dishwasher once a day and
save.
- Turn your taps off tightly but gently so they don't drip. And repair
any leaks in and around your taps and faucets without delay.
Retrofit
Water efficient faucet aerators are a good idea in the kitchen
because they reduce water flow. They can, however, cause problems with
some dishwashers that hook up to the faucet and require an unrestricted
flow.
Home water treatment systems are a necessity in some parts of
the country, but their water consumption can be considerable.
Water treatment/softening systems are designed to remove calcium and
magnesium – the minerals that cause scaly deposits on faucets and
shower heads, spots on dishes, and rings around the bathtub.
But, a midsized system can use about 350 litres of water every
time it regenerates the softening agent. If this backflushing happens
several times a months, it can add up to 10 000 litres of water
flushed down the drain each year.
If you must use a water conditioning system, make sure it is the type
that regenerates only when necessary, not a fixed time or water volume
basis.
Home water filtration systems are designed to take impurities
out of your water and make it safer to drink. They too, can waste a lot of
water doing their job. Reverse osmosis systems, for example, return only
10% to 20% of the water that flows through them. The rest goes down the
drain. Some filters cause more problems than they solve, increasing the
bacteria count of the water that flows through them. Remember to change
filters as recommended by the manufacturer.
Sink garbage disposal systems are water wasters as well. In
order for them to work properly, you must run the tap. Depending on how
often the unit is used, it may consume hundreds of litres of water each
week. Consider composting your kitchen wastes instead.
[Making
water safe to drink]
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