Why should you save water?
Most of the drinking water consumed is preheated. Shower, bath and wash water are also heated. This heating consumes a lot of energy. Saving hot water therefore also means saving energy and money. It's not just about your home. Energy is also used to pump and treat water before it reaches the households. So overall water savings can lead to greater emissions reductions. The less water you use, the less you pay at the end of the month. So if you save in a few months, you can save a lot of money!
Saving water: Advantages and disadvantages
Advantages
One important reason to save water is the environment. Water use at home is not always dependent on water availability. However, agriculture accounts for about 70 per cent of the main consumption. It is not for nothing that almost half of the food on our plates is watered as it grows.
For this reason, water should definitely be conserved in agriculture. Drip irrigation systems are the most promising: water flows with little force through perforated hoses placed above or below ground. It reaches the roots that have fallen off and dropped without damaging them, and water consumption is reduced by 30-70 per cent. Yields also increase when the plants grow in an environment that is wetter for them.
Disadvantages
One important reason to save water is the environment. Water consumption in the household is not always dependent on the availability of water. However, agriculture accounts for about 70 per cent of the main consumption. It is not for nothing that almost half of the food that ends up on our plates is irrigated during its growth.
For this reason, it is essential to save water in agriculture. Drip irrigation systems are the most promising: Water flows with little effort through perforated hoses laid above or below ground. It reaches the fallen roots without damaging them, and water consumption is reduced by 30-70 percent. Yields also increase when the plants grow in an environment that is wetter for them.
Tips for everyday life
- Shower instead of bath: A bathtub holds up to 200 litres of water, a shower 60 to 80 litres. It makes a big difference.
- Turn off water and soap when you wash your hands: You can save up to 2 litres by turning off the water when you clean and wash your hands.
- Fix leaking taps: A tap can waste a lot of water during the day. The dripping sound is also annoying. When you repair or fix a tap, you not only save the environment, but also your nerves.
- Avoid running water in the kitchen: Wash fruit, vegetables and salads in bowls, not under running water. If you don't have a dishwasher, the same goes for washing dishes.
- Do not let cold water run out: Sometimes hot water takes a while to heat up. Until then, more or less cold water flows out of the tap. You can use it to make tea, for example.
- Use the ecological flush button when flushing the toilet: To protect the environment, use the small flush button on the toilet bowl whenever possible. This uses up to 50 % less water. Another trick to save is to use an additional water stop button, which allows you to end the flush cycle early.
- Only use fully loaded washing machines and dishwashers: this way, household appliances are used less and in addition, electricity and water can be conveniently saved at home. Furthermore, proper loading is important to save space in the dishwasher. Place heavily soiled ceramics on the bottom and refillable dishes on top. With the cutlery basket, the cutlery handles are placed upwards and sometimes downwards. It is important that the spray arm still moves freely and that the dishes are not stacked too tightly so that the water can rinse everything well.