15 Ways to Recycle Used Water

Monday, July 25th, 2011 at 2:05 pm

Water is a precious resource. Even when it seems there’s plentiful water for all our needs, we cannot lose sight of the fact that water resources are either depleting or getting polluted. Recycling water helps not only to preserve water stores, but also helps save the environment. You can recycle water at home, at schools, at your workplace and just about everywhere. It’ll take you a few additional minutes every day to recycle water but the extra time is well spent.

Recycling Water In The Kitchen

1. Rinse your washed utensils in a plastic tub of water instead of using the dishwasher. Dishwashers, whether you load them fully or not, use a great deal of water. Best of all, you can use the rinsed water to water houseplants, or to clean sinks, toilets and floors. If the water contains grease, add a few drops or lemon dish soap, or mild baby shampoo to make the water grease free.

2. Always rinse vegetables in a bowl of water instead of under the running tap. Save the water and use it in your garden. It doesn’t matter if the water contains bits of mud or even veggie peals. All of it is good for your plants outside.

3. You can use the water in which you boil your pasta and use this starchy solution to prep your soups. You can also save the water leftover from boiling veggies, and add it to your soup stock. If you don’t want to use saved cooking water in food, you can always use it to water plants, shrubs and herbs.

4. Don’t throw away water that’s been left out in glasses, half drunk. This water and the leftover water in half-drunk water bottles can be boiled and drunk again. If you don’t want to drink water that’s been left out, you can always use it to wash dishes.

Recycling Water In The Bathroom

5. If you turn your shower on and let it run free it heats up, catch the free flowing water in a bucket. This is clean water and you can use it to feed outdoor plants, feed animals, water your lawn, trees and shrubs.

6. Instead of draining your bathtub after bathing, use it to clean tiles, mop floors, and wash your car or walls. You can even pour the used bath water into outdoor tree wells. Check with your plumber if he or she can fit your tub’s outlet to an indoor or outdoor water recycling system. This way, when you finish your bath, you can turn on the recycling system to drain the water from your tub for other needs.

7. Take baths instead of using showers. Nearly 7 to 10 gallons of water is lost down the drain when you shower. When you take baths instead, you can save all the bathwater to water your lawns, wash your car and so on.

Recycling Water In Your Garage and Driveway

8. When you wash your car with water and soap, let the soapy water drain into your lawn or into your shrubs. Soapy water won’t hurt your lawn and shrub plants. Park your car close to your lawn and shrubs when you wash it.

9. Wash your car using water in buckets. This way you’ll know how many buckets of water you’re using. When you hose your car down, you will lose sight of the gallons you’ll be wasting.

10. Dry sweep your driveway instead of hosing it down. You can get best results if you dry sweep your driveway before you wash your car. That way, you can place your car in your driveway and wash it, allowing the soapy water to clean out your driveway.

Recycling Water Using Innovative Recycling Systems

11. You can help save several hundred gallons of fresh water in your home by installing a gray water recycling system. A gray-water recycling system can save 35% of bath and shower and over 30% of the water that you would otherwise flush down the drain. This system is connected to your home’s plumbing system. It automatically treats used water from your kitchen, bathroom and laundry rooms for reuse.

12. When it rains, the water just goes straight in our sewerage system. That’s so much clean, chemical free water that you could put to good use. Use rain collection barrels to collect rain water. If your area gets lot of rain, installing a rain harvesting system might be a good idea as well. You can use stored rain water to feed your livestock and water plants.

Recycling In Your Garden

13. When you water your flower pots, excess water usually drains out. Place plastic buckets under the flower pots to capture this excess water and reuse it in your garden.

14. Plant smaller plants and shrubs close to your larger trees, shrubs and your lawn. This way, when you water your lawn or border shrubs, your herbs also will get some loving attention.

15. If you have a sizeable garden, it’ll be a good idea to dig small ponds of a couple of feet in diameter and layer them in plastic. Dig these close to your shrubs and lawn. When it rains, excess water from lawns overflow and you can catch the water in these little ponds and use the water for to feed other plants.

Marina is a freelance writer and enjoys writing about specialty products like full length floor lamps, chaise lounge chairs and a lot more.

Tagged with: water recycling