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Start a vegetable garden at home

One can continue saving water while also maintain a vegetable garden at home. Having a vegetable garden is not only good for the family members because the parents can be sure that their food is fresh and are homegrown but also kids would enjoy tending to the vegetable garden.

There are many ways to have a vegetable garden or even a landscaped garden and still be saving water. The trick to saving water here is by strategically planning all the details of the vegetable garden and by being responsible when using water. This will not only allow the household to grow their own food but also help save water and the environment. Here are some ways to save water while maintaining a vegetable garden and a landscape garden at home.

Plastic mulch

The material placed on top of the soil in a vegetable garden and other garden beds is called Mulch. This is designed to reduce evaporation, encourage consistent soil temperature, and minimize the growth of weeds that take water from the vegetable. Also, the materials made to be mulch vary depending on the climate, soil, and local resources. Some of the materials commonly used for mulch are wood bark chips, pine needles, shredded organic materials, straw, and gravel. After a while, the mulch decomposes and it improves the soil. Another addition that is great for the vegetable garden soil is compost so the vegetable garden can save water and avoid soil erosion.

Planting native plants specie

Planting the right kinds of plants in the vegetable garden is important. The native plants that are common in the area and country as well as those that are well-adapted are best suited for the vegetable garden at home. Native species enable the household to be saving water and there are also times that rainfall is already enough.

There are also some native species that are resistant to insects and diseases in a particular region. To know which native species of plants are local to one’s area, it is best to consult a local agriculturist or do some research on the Internet. Some of the things to consider when choosing the native plant species are the general climate of the area, the soil type, and other characteristics like drought tolerance and insect repelling.

Companion planting

Companion planting is the process of planting similar plants together for their mutual benefit. Sometimes, tall plants tend to overshadow shorter plants so they deprive the latter of sunrise. There are also some plants that need more water compared to other species so these plants tend to suck in all the water. The evaporation process of the shorter plants are also obstructed by the taller plants which can make the plants in a vegetable garden very unhealthy or lacking in nutrients. Other benefits of companion planting aside from enabling the vegetable garden to save water and letting the plants grow healthily are deterring pests, providing windbreaks, creating healthy microclimates for good insects, and promoting symbiotic nitrogen fixation.

Watering the vegetable garden

Evaporation on the plants can be reduced by hand-watering only when necessary. Also, in saving water, the best times of the day to water the vegetable garden are early morning or late afternoon. Other ways to save water are to install drip irrigation using tubes or lines that water the plants at soil level eliminating the evaporating water present on the leaves. For the drip system in watering, the options range from soaker hoses to complex and customized irrigation systems. Another way is through a rainwater collection system that would collect the water from the rain in a holding tank to be used in watering the vegetable garden. This can be done by using a 50-gallon drum connected to the downspout of the gutters.

Save money by improving the toilet

There are many ways to save water and the best place to start is at home. Toilet repairs could go a long way, as well as mindful conservation of water so that it will not be wasted. At home, the toilet could have some problems or leaks that might cause more water to be spilled and wasted than to be conserved.

People should check if their homes need some repairs as this will significantly improve water conservation. The key to the many ways to save water is to keep in mind that water is important and it must not be wasted. There could be a time that all the clean water of the earth would run out and that would not be good for everyone.

People must participate in conservation and follow the many ways to save water. These ways are simple and easy to follow. It could be done at home, at school, at the office, and just particularly everywhere. From taking a shower, cleaning the car, drinking water during meals, preparing food, and all the other things that people do, the ways to save water must be followed, for the benefit of nature and everyone as well.

Water conservation

Avoid flushing the toilet unnecessarily. Tissues, sanitary napkins, tampons, insects, and hairs must be disposed in the trash can and not in the toilet. These might even cause the toilet to be clogged, hence more water would be wasted.

Check the toilet if there are leaks. Fixing a small leak in the tank could help a household save up to 1,000 gallons of water a month, this is one of the many ways to save water. In order to determine a leak in the tank, various techniques and equipment could be used.

Discover leaks with dyed water

Dyed Water Test – Try putting food coloring, coffee, powdered fruit drink, or anything that would provide color to the water in the toilet tank. There must be enough dye that the color would be really bright and deep. If the toilet has an in-tank colored bowl cleaner, this must be removed first and flush it several times. Re-insert it then and use the bowl cleaner to dye the water. Don’t let anyone use the toilet for half an hour and after the specified time, look into the bowl and see if the water has been colored by the dye in the tank. If the water on the toilet is colored, it means the tank has a leak and it must be repaired.

Waterline test

Waterline Test – If in the Dye Test the toilet tank showed some leaks, the Waterline Test will determine where the leakage is. First, turn off the water supply by turning the shut-off valve off and then use a pencil to make a mark at the waterline, inside the toilet tank. Make the toilet off-limits again for 30 minutes and then after that, check if the level of the water is still in line with the pencil mark that is done earlier. To know if the leak is in the flush valve or flush seal, keep the shut-off valve closed overnight. In the morning, if the water in the toilet tank drains to the level of the flush valve, like almost an inch in the tank, the valve needs to be replaced. If the leak is lower than this, it is the valve seal that must be replaced.

Replacing the broken parts is one of the many ways to save money. The refill valve is easily replaced than repaired, one can do it by oneself or maybe by a plumber. Also, the flush valve is one of the easiest repairs to do. And lastly, check the thin refill tube and make sure it is positioned above the overflow pipe held with a metal clip.

Recycling shower water as gray water to be used as toilet flush or to water plants

We all know that water is an important part of our daily lives. We cannot live without it. And that’s an understatement. As such, all the means to conserve water must be taken.

Recycling shower water at home as gray water is easy and it could be done with simple tools. Every day, people shower,s and thousands and thousands of gallons of water are being wasted. Recycling shower water is an innovative way to conserve this precious resource and also to make the most of it. Some of the steps to conserving water are installing low-flow showerheads and low-flush toilets. In addition to that, recycling shower water enables a household to conserve, save money, and also grow a landscape and garden that will enhance their home.

The things needed in recycling shower water are a 5-gallon bucket, gray water irrigation systems, gray water flush systems, and shower water recirculating systems.

The 5-Gallon Bucket

The 5-gallon bucket is the easiest piece of equipment to produce when recycling shower water. A 5-gallon bucket is generally available in most hardware and gardening stores or it can even be a recycled bucket. Recycling shower water with the use of gray water irrigation is allowed in most places and it does not require any kind of permit. One just needs to ask the neighborhood about the rules and processes of installing a gray water system. As for the 5-gallon bucket, it will collect the water that runs from the shower while it is heating up. The process of recycling shower water will then re-use the shower water for flushing the toilet or watering the plants, depending on the preference of the homeowner.

Gray Water Irrigation Systems

Depending on the municipality where a person lives, recycling shower water into gray water is often allowed to be re-used, untreated. While recycling shower water, it passes through a branch-drain system that would irrigate the landscape around the home–backyard, and garden. If a gray water irrigation system will be installed, a permit is needed and there will be some alternations in the plumbing system of the house. There must be a gravity-driven method of moving the water that is recycled from the shower drain and then it flows into the landscape, watering the grasses, shrubs, trees, and all the plants present around the house. Having a gray water irrigation system installed on a house usually costs from a few hundred dollars if the homeowner would install it to a few thousand dollars if the irrigation system would be installed by a professional.

Elements of a Gray Water Irrigation System

Gray water source(s) – Washing machine, bathtub and/or sinks, shower,
Collection plumbing – These pipes are used to transfer the water that is recycled from the inside of the house to the outside so it could be used again
Surge Tank, filter, and pump – Elements that are not really needed but add up to the complexity, cost, and efficiency designed to make plumbing easier
Distribution plumbing – Where the water that is recycled passes to different locations
People – The head of the irrigation system. These are the people who maintain and benefit from the irrigation system

Gray Water Flush Systems

This refers to a recycling shower water system that uses the water from the shower and utilizes it again as the water to be used when flushing the toilet. A system needs to be installed inside the home that would filter, disinfect, and pump the gray water back into the home so it could be used again for toilet flushing and other non-potable uses. But having this system installed could be a little challenging as using water that is recycled for interior purposes have several water-quality standards that must be passed for the system to be approved.

There is a specific technology that treats water that is recycled so it could be used again for the interior of the home and this system is often expensive and is often used only by large corporations and companies.

Shower Water Recirculating Systems

Recirculating systems include a special shower floor base that has the purpose of storing and recycling shower water. The special shower floor base only gathers used but clean water and then processes it again for initial cleansing. The dirty water is then allowed to go into the drain while the cleansed water is transferred into a plug to be collected, reheated, pressurized, and delivered back into the normal showerhead. However, the recycled water will only be used for days when regular showers are extended and the owner does not want more clean water to be wasted.