Easy Ways to Reuse Water

water conservation recycle

Hot summers and drought seasons lead to water rationing. With these easy tips, you can reuse water while you still keep your landscape fresh and green.

Set Up Rain Barrels

When a good rainstorm hits, it can be a wonder for your lawn. The trouble is that so much of the water falls onto your home, not into your yard. By installing rain barrels, you can catch the water that would otherwise flow into your gutters and out the downspouts. Rain barrels can get quite heavy as they fill up, so you want to empty them quite regularly. Add a debris screen to keep pests and insects from getting into it. Although the water is untreated with chemicals, it may not be appropriate for cooking or drinking. Use the water for your lawn or garden. If you want to water vegetables, make sure the water touches the soil, not the plants and the produce directly.

Catch Cold Water Indoors

As you sit in front of the running faucet in the sink or tub waiting for the water to heat up, you fully recognize that you are sending cold water straight down the drain. You could be catching this water for reuse, and it is quite easy and inexpensive. While water at the kitchen sink is heating up, let it pour into a pot for cooking. Keep a bucket next to each bathtub so that every family member can fill it up as they prepare to take a bath. Just remember to use the water within the next day or two. One gallon of this water might be enough to water your indoor plants. A few gallons a day could take care of a small raised-bed garden.

Consider a Gray Water System

If you want to take your water conservation to the next level, ask your Sacramento plumber about installing a gray water system. Gray water describes gently used water that comes from your washer, bathtubs and sinks, but not your toilet. It may have trace amount of dirt or food particles, but would be reasonable to use on your lawn and garden. This water is not appropriate for drinking or cooking, since it may have miniscule amounts of chemicals. You can hook up the gray water system to an irrigation pipeline, providing most or all the drip irrigation you need for your garden.

Avoid Standing Water

With any approach you take to reuse water, you should take care to avoid leaving open buckets or barrels with water in them for days or weeks on end. This is called “standing water.” Standing water has a couple of problems inherent to it. Standing gray water may begin to decompose over time, which releases foul odors. Standing water of any kind attracts rodents and insects, especially mosquitoes. Using the water you catch within a day or two is the best practice.

Water rationing is a nightmare without the ability to reuse the water you have. If you take advantage of these water reuse tips from the experts at Ace Plumbing, you will save water and money.