Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink.
We've been thinking about water a lot lately. Here in San Francisco, there's too much mercury in the bay and, as a result, in the fish. Elsewhere, there's simply not enough water.
So, we've been making a much more concerted effort to conserve, mostly in the kitchen as that seems to be where we end up using/wasting the most.
But where to start?
• First, just be aware of your water consumption. Do you leave the water running unnecessarily while washing the dishes? Consider calculating a water budget (instructions here) so that you have an idea of how much water you use.
• Now that you are paying attention to how much water you're using, consider changing one of your water-wasting habits. Is there any water going down your drain that could be saved for watering the plants?
• Fix that leaky kitchen faucet—you could save up to 3-gallons of water a day.
• If you have a dishwasher, only run it when it's absolutely full.
•If you don't have a dishwasher (and you want one), consider making the investment. That's right: We know this is a controversial topic, but a few months ago we read a compelling fact in a great article ("Counter Measures: Ten ways to green your kitchen") at Chow.com: You could save 37 percent more water, if you have a relatively new dishwasher and you use it correctly.
• If you're still adamantly opposed to dishwashers (or can't afford one), how about installing a very cool contraption that allows you to control your kitchen faucet with a pedal? They're available at PedalValve.com for around $200. With one of these you'll never leave the water running while you dry the coffee mugs again.
• Consider composting over running your garbage disposal. It's tip #14 over at americanwater.com, and we think they make a good point. Besides, composting is a great thing to do anyway.
As you can see, we haven't gotten to ten yet, but we're hoping you can add your suggestions.
Related article:
How to: Green your Dishwasher
Image: Via sxc.hu
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
I remember my grandparents using left-over boiled water (from pasta or potatoes or the kettle) caught in the sink to soap up their dishes. They rinsed with lukewarm water.
view birdseyechili's profile
there are faucet aerators with an on/off lever available for under ten dollars... i ordered mine from gaiam.com but they must be available elsewhere too. this is a really fantastic, easy, and cheap way to save water when washing the dishes - just flip the switch up when the water doesn't need to be running, and it maintains the temperature when you switch it back on. kinda life-altering, actually...
view anne (www.sustainableflatbush.org)'s profile
When I was growing up we had a divided sink and we did dishes by filling one half up with soapy water and washing dishes in that side and rinsing in the other. I wonder if that used more or less water than the way I do dishes now? I wet the dishes, wash them with a soapy sponge, and then rinse, trying to turn the water off in between as much as possible.
view J-fer Rose's profile
We have a divided sink and no dishwasher. Usually by the end of the day both sides of the sink are full, so dedicating one side to soapy water won't work. I put soapy water in the largest vessel in the sink (bowl, glass, pot) and refresh my sponge from that, only running the water to rinse.
Anne, I appreciate your tip about the aerator with the lever at the spigot. We have separate hot and cold water handles, rather than a single handle that controls both--that'll change when we redo the kitchen in a few years--and I hate having to fiddle with two controls when turning the water on and off while washing. I'm gonna go check that out!
view AngieK's profile
I also learned that if you keep your faucet running a stream a water about the size of a pencil, you'll be able to wash dishes normally but you save tons and tons of water!
view laure's profile
Put your dishes in the dishwasher and use the saved time to prod your local government to enforce limitations on lawn watering and to promote climate-appropriate landscaping. I was appalled by this article in the WSJ on lawn fetishists who get away with breaking watering bans.
While I'm all for not being randomly wasteful, your sloppiness in washing dishes is literally a drop in the ocean next to these people's waste.
view wende in the twin cities's profile