Save Water in The Kitchen – 8 Handy Tips

Useful ideas to help you save water in the kitchen and reduce your water charges.

There is no point pouring money down the drain, so here are a few simple changes which you can make around your kitchen that will help reduce your water consumption, save you money and help your garden and our environment.

1 Rather than running the tap when cleaning vegetables, use a bowl of water and rinse.  Later, reuse the water to water outdoor plants.

2 Utilise your left over boiled water for your plants (be sure to allow it to cool off first).  Cooking water from pasta, steamed vegetables and boiled potatoes can be used in the same way – just let it cool first.

3 Reuse water from rinsing out the tea or coffee pot for outdoor plants.  It is rich in nitrogen, as well as some trace minerals.  Water different plants every day and you may find you no longer have to fertilize them very often at all.  All of these water sources contain extra nutrients which will aid your garden immensely.

4 Very hot cooking water can be used to help kill weeds – simply pour it directly on the weed and around its roots.  Be careful and take care when carrying the water to the garden.

5 While you are waiting for the hot water to flow, collect the cold water and reuse; it can be used for watering plants or rinsing dishes.

6 Only put on a washing machine cycle when you have enough for a full load.

7 Save about five gallons of water per washing by doing dishes in a few inches of hot soapy water.

8 Very hot water is not always necessary for all washing and rinsing needs.  Usually, by the time we are finished washing our hands, the water is just beginning to warm up – so really, all you have done is heat up your pipes.  You can conserve water easily by turning off the tap while lathering hands.  The running water is really only necessary for initial wetting, then rinsing – so running water in between is really a waste.

Now, if you measured the amount of water saved each day by these few simple methods – there would be dozens of gallons of pure, drinkable water left untouched in the reservoir.

By reducing hot water consumption, your energy bills are a little bit smaller.

All this, just from the kitchen sink!