Life When Water ceases to flow
A few months ago the electricity in our area of the central Algarve failed for around six hours. One of the consequences was that water ceased to flow through the taps!
But what if this was not temporary and the drought situation meant that we had to limit our use of water in the longer term?
With the severe level of drought in parts of the Portugal especially in the south it is important to conserve water. These are some tips to do just this:
Turn off the tap while you are not using the water.
During your hygiene, while brushing your teeth, washing your hands, hair or body. In the shower while soaping or shampooing, the tap can be turned off.
In the kitchen.
If you have to wash the dishes by hand, do it without running water, use the dishwashing sink and/or a double bowl if you have one
Avoid washing vegetables under running water, do it in a container and use this water for other uses (watering plants, toilet, etc.)
These are some of the moments when you can turn off the faucet and save a lot of water that applied daily, at the end of the month can mean a very significant saving.
Steam cooking. In addition to being healthy, steamed vegetables or some fish are very easy to make. So, with the same water (and energy) you can cook two things.
Save the shower water
There are few people who use this trick, but it is one of the most effective for saving water. While you wait for it to heat up, store those litres of water that would otherwise be wasted. You can then reuse it for the toilet, to water the houseplants, or even to wash the floor.
Take care of your toilet
With flush toilets we can also save enough water to significantly reduce consumption.
With flush toilets we can also save enough water to significantly reduce consumption.
First, checking if it has any water leaks. To do this, put dye inside the toilet. If you see coloured water in the toilet without flushing it, then it is a sign that there are leaks to be treated.
The next step is to reduce the volume of water that is released with each flush. If you don’t have a double flush toilet or simply putting a full plastic bottle into the toilet flush tank.
Pets
Do not throw away your pet’s drinking water when you give it fresh water. Reuse it to water the plants.
These are just a few there are many other measures we can all take including governments, local government, businesses – everyone!