Do we really need to save water? Water occupies more than 70% of the Earth's surface. But only 2.5% of it is freshwater, and only 0.6% is freshwater as a source of drinking water. According to UNICEF, about 2.2 billion people, or as many as one in four people worldwide, do not have access to safe drinking water. Importantly, Poland is among the countries with the smallest water resources in Europe, with only the Czech Republic, Cyprus and Malta worse off. So we need to think about how to reduce our water consumption on a daily basis, especially now that summer has arrived, and with it the hot weather.
Step 1: Install water-saving bathroom faucets.
Installing water-reducing faucets in your bathroom is a simple and effective way to save money. These eco-friendly faucets are equipped with aerators, also known as aerators, which effectively mix the flow of water with air. As a result, they use less water without compromising the comfort of hand washing.
In this type of faucets, the water flow is only 5-6 liters per minute. In comparison - in the case of faucets without a proper aerator, this value varies from 10 to even 13 liters per minute. Thus, the use of eco-friendly faucets can give annual savings of as much as 24,000 liters of water. An interesting example of such saving collections are Moza and Otava by KFA Armatura.
Moza concealed washbasin faucet with economical aerator
© Armatura Krakow
Why this number? Let's take a 4-person family living in an apartment (without a garden). We can divide the water consumption into categories to make it easier to count. The first: sink + sink (25%) and the second: bathtub/shower + toilet + washing machine, dishwasher (75%). Typical faucets use about 12 liters per minute, and economy faucets, only 6 liters per minute. If the monthly water consumption of such a household is about 16m³/month, and with saving faucets can reduce it by 12.5%, we have 24,000 liters of water less per year! And that's just replacing the faucets with ones equipped with a suitable, ecological aerator.
Otava standing washbasin faucet with saving aerator
© Armatura Krakow
Step 2: Change your daily habits.
Do you use the shower often? Invest in a special stopwatch! Every minute that water runs from the tap is between 8 and 12 liters of consumption. It's easy to calculate how much water you can save by reducing your shower time from 10 to 5 minutes. These are really significant amounts.
Never turn on your washing machine or dishwasher when it's not full. Not only will you reduce your water consumption, but you will also save on electricity.
Always turn off the water when brushing your teeth. And be sure to check that the tap has been tightened properly after washing your hands or taking a bath. Every drop really counts!
Standing washbasin faucet Logon Black
© Armatura Krakow
Step 3: Fix all the faucets in your home.
A functioning faucet can significantly reduce the amount of wasted water. Remember that every leaky faucet or leaking aerator is a source of waste. If a drop of water falls every 2 seconds, that adds up to 30 drops per minute. The average volume of a drop in a household is 1/20 to 1/10 ml. Averaging, we have 6.5 liters of water per day, which on a monthly basis means almost 200 liters of wasted water.
See how easy it is to replace the aerator yourself, as well as the seals in the faucets.
Small habits, big effects
Did you know that by saving water, we also reduce greenhouse gas emissions? The water industry is one of the largest consumers of energy in the world. By reducing water consumption, we can help reduce the amount of energy needed to transport and treat water. In addition, wasting water depletes groundwater, which consequently leads to land subsidence and can cause permanent damage to the landscape. There are really many such examples, so it is worth remembering that the introduction of small habits, can bring a whole range of positive changes for the environment.
