Ways To Conserve Water In The Kitchen III

- To avoid wasting drinking water from a running tap, collect it in a bottle or jug and store it in the fridge until it is cool enough to drink.
- Garbage-disposal units use about 6 litres of water per day. Put suitable food scraps into a composter or worm farm rather than down the kitchen sink.
- When you clean your fish tank, use the ‘old’ nitrogen and phosphorous-rich water on your plants.


- Look for dishwashers that have a National Water Conservation or WELS Label. The best water rating achieved by dishwashers is 5 star.
- Only use the dishwasher when you have a full load.
- Use the rinse-hold setting on the dishwasher, if it has one, rather than rinsing dishes under the tap.


- When washing dishes by hand, don’t rinse them under a running tap. If you have two sinks, fill the second one with rinsing water. If you have only one sink, stack washed dishes in a dish rack and rinse them with a pan of hot water.
- Use washing-up liquid sparingly as this will reduce the amount of rinsing required when washing dishes by hand.
- Use a plugged sink or a pan of water. This saves running the tap continuously.
- When boiling vegetables, use enough water to cover them and keep the lid on the saucepan. Your vegetables will boil quicker and it will save you water, power, and preserve precious vitamins in the food.
- Flow-controlled aerators for taps are inexpensive and can reduce water flow by 50%.
- Don’t use running water to defrost frozen food. Ideally place food in refrigerator to defrost overnight.
- Catch running water whilst waiting for it to warm up. Use it to water plants, rinse dishes, or wash fruit and vegetables.
- If you have a leaking tap, replace the washer or other components as required. Dripping taps can waste 30–200 litres of water per day.
- Insulate hot water pipes. This avoids wasting water while waiting for hot water to flow through and saves energy.
- Make sure your hot water system thermostat is not set too high. Adding cold water to cool very hot water is wasteful.


- Remove ice cube trays a few minutes before you need them, to loosen them at room temperature instead of under the faucet.
- Keep a covered container of drinking water in the refrigerator instead of running the faucet for cool water. - Shake the container before serving to incorporate air in water and eliminate “flat” taste.
- Serve drinking water only if people request it.

Ways To Conserve Water In The Kitchen II

·      When washing dishes by hand, don't let the water run while rinsing. Fill one sink with wash water and the other with rinse water.

·      Some refrigerators, air conditioners and ice-makers are cooled with wasted flows of water. Consider upgrading with air-cooled appliances for significant water savings

·      Use the garbage disposal sparingly. Compost vegetable food waste instead and save gallons every time.

·      Run your dishwasher only when they are full. You can save up to 1,000 gallons a month.

·      For cold drinks keep a pitcher of water in the refrigerator instead of running the tap. This way, every drop goes down you and not the drain.

·      Wash your fruits and vegetables in a pan of water instead of running water from the tap.

·      Collect the water you use for rinsing fruits and vegetables, then reuse it to water houseplants.

·      Designate one glass for your drinking water each day or refill a water bottle. This will cut down on the number of glasses to wash

·      Don't use running water to thaw food. Defrost food in the refrigerator for water efficiency and food safety.

·      Soak pots and pans instead of letting the water run while you scrape them clean.

·      Install an instant water heater near your kitchen sink so you don't have to run the water while it heats up. This also reduces energy costs.

·      If your dishwasher is new, cut back on rinsing. Newer models clean more thoroughly than older ones.

·      One more way to get eight glasses of water a day is to re-use the water left over from cooked or steamed foods to start a scrumptious and nutritious soup.

·      When washing dishes by hand, fill the sink basin or a large container and rinse when all of the dishes have been soaped and scrubbed.

·      If you accidentally drop ice cubes when filling your glass from the freezer, don't throw them in the sink. Drop them in a house plant instead.

·      Purchase a green efficient dishwasher machine.

·       Wipe dirty plates down immediately post-use, and if you have dishes that don't really have junk on them, just don't rinse them.

·      Avoid using the heat-dry, rinse-hold and pre-rinse features of the dishwasher. Instead use the dishwasher’s air-dry option”. 

·      If you wash a head of lettuce all at once and then wrap it in a thin kitchen towel or paper towel, you will actually save water instead of washing the lettuce every time you make a salad or have a sandwich, literally at times piece by piece.

·       Most people use a new cup every time they get a drink of water, but what's the point? Why not just keep using the same cup all day. You know it’s yours so you won't contract any germs but your own, and if you switch up your beverage choice then you just give it a quick rinse and it is as good as clean. This conserves water because you only need to wash one cup per person per day.

·      The key to dish washing in an environmentally-conscious way is to plug up a sink and fill it with warm water and soap. The bubbles are what kill the germs and having a full sink prevents you from washing dish by dish with constant running water. Once your sink is filled, drop the extra sticky dishes to the bottom of the sink so they can soak while you are cleaning the rest to eliminate the hardship. 

Ways To Conserve Water In The Kitchen I

·      Use paper plates. They'll reduce the dishes you have to wash, and they are biodegradable. There are certain species of worms that will compost several pounds of paper plates a week! So before this water conservation is over your worms could turn those plates into compost for your garden.

·      Hand wash dishes. The government estimates a savings of about 15 gallons per load if you opt for hand washing over dish washing. You can reduce this even further if you use the "two tub" method: partially fill one side with hot soapy water and another with cold water for rinsing. Dip and swish your dishes in the rinse water to rinse them and then set in a rack to dry. When you are done, remove the tub of the rinse water and use it as pretty "clean" grey water to water your garden or plants. Even the dirtier "wash" water can be dumped into the bowl to flush the toilet.

·      Prepare your veggies in batches. Instead of running fresh water over your veggies, fill up a small tub of fresh water and soak your veggies instead of rinsing them. Save the soaking water for other uses. Cut up all the veggies you'll be using for the week at one time, so you only use one knife and one cutting board. Plus this saves you time down the road!

·      Use dry cooking methods. Try grilling and roasting instead of steaming and boiling. Frying and sauteing are also less desirable because fats are often more difficult to remove when washing later, and the fats do more to contaminate the grey water left over after you do the dishes, which means that grey water is less useful for reusing to water your plants.

·      Conserve on pots. Time to break out the crock pot and other one-pot cooking methods that dirty up a bare minimum of dishes.

·      Enjoy finger foods. Buy a ball of pizza dough, spread on some ready-made sauce, and top to your heart's delight. After it is baked, bring it out on your back porch and enjoy a slice in your hand. At the end of it all, you will only have dirtied the pan you baked on and the knife you use to cut the toppings. As long as it wasn't in contact with any uncooked meats, the knife can be reused after baking to cut the pizza.

·      Reuse your water glass. Keep one large glass for drinking water from throughout the day. I personally use a giant Three Stooges mug I inherited from my father. 



·      Reduce your sodium. Pass on the salty fries. Salt, caffeine and sugary drinks can all dehydrate you and make you thirsty, so you will have to drink more water to satisfy your thirst. Conserve by just sticking with drinking water and opting for lower sodium foods.

·      Go bento. If you are packing your lunch, traditional bento style packing uses a bare minimum of containers.

·      Consider reusing your kitchen's "grey" water. Grey water is already used water that has no fecal matter in it. A little bit of googling will get you plenty of information on how to reuse your kitchen's grey water. The simplest way may be to do your washing in rubber tubs and then use those tubs to transport water to either your garden, or your bathroom. The Colorado State Extension Service has a pretty serious look at grey water usage.

·      Reduced water flow faucets. Modern low speed faucets increase the flow of water with increased air flow. To avoid water wastage, install faucets with infrared sensors as they will automatically shut off when your hands have pulled away from the faucet.

·      Also check for leaks and fix even small leaks on time without procrastinating for days. 
 

·      Drinking water can be stored in water jugs or in the refrigerator. There is no need to run the tap each time to take a small cup of water. One other way to avoid running the faucet is to set individual water bottles for everyone in the household. 
 


·      Never throw the cooking water down the drain if that can be used for some other purpose. The water used to steam veggies can be used for watering plants or to fill the pet water dish. It can even be used to clean something else.

·      The same water used for steaming can be used for defrosting some other food items. 
 
Avoid letting tap water run while washing dishes. Pre-rinse the dishes with a very small amount of water before scrubbing. Scrub and then rinse the dishes in slow running faucet. If you are running the dishwasher or washing machine, try to run them on full load. Invest in water saving brands of appliances.

·      Set the water level for the right amount of load. Skip the pre-rinsing step while using the dishwashers. Simply scrape the food particles out of the vessels and place them in the dishwasher. Avoiding the pre-rinsing step saves about 20 gallons of water. 
 
Never allow water to run while water heats up. It can be avoided by installing an instant water heater to the kitchen sink and by insulating the water pipes. It helps save not only water, but also conserves energy at the same time. 

·      While cooking, use small pots that are just right for the dish. Using over-sized pots causes water to be evaporated.  

·      A pressure cooker saves water, time and energy while cooking. If you happen to boil water for noodles or any other dish, use lids for the pan. It will avoid water from boiling away by evaporation. 
 


·      Stop using garbage disposal that needs water for disposal. Instead, use a compost pile that helps save both water and energy. 

GP - Venn Diagram