Every day we hear the term go green, but what does it mean? We have been having Earth Day for years but how much do you think the average person considers our environment for the remainder of the year? At almost any store today we see reusable shopping bags. How may people actually buy one? It looks like a quick and easy cure for the soul; buy a reusable bag and I m green. How else can you really be green?
Green can mean many things and almost any activity or object has some form of impact on the environment. For example, even our use of water around the house can be given some green tweaks.
When you are washing the dishes or cleaning the kitchen, running the water while performing an activity is wasteful. While it seems like a lot of effort, the water should be turned on when rinsing a dish or filling a bucket, then turned off immediately. Careless use of water can cause you to use fifty or sixty percent more water than is actually needed for the task.
To make it easier to control water, many companies now sell on demand water faucets for the home. On demand faucets were originally designed for public restrooms to prevent sink overflow from a faucet that had been left on. There are now designer look faucets for the kitchen and bathroom that turn water on when hands are in reach of the faucet, or by simply touching the faucet. Turning off the water is as simple as touching the faucet again.
When the water is on, new faucets contain a flow restricter valve on them. These flow around three gallons per minute, and are quickly becoming law in many states. Older faucets can be retrofitted with a flow valve/aerator. The aerator itself does not save water, but gives the feel of more water flow by adding air to the water to expand the volume of the flow stream. Some kitchens have bypass valve to allow filling of a pasta pot, or other large pot in a reasonable amount of time. The idea is to use what you need, no more.
Believe it or not, studies show that using the dishwasher uses less water (and soap) than hand washing. The reason is that when washing dishes piecemeal, you turn on the water, let it warm, rinse the utensil or plate, wash and then rinse. When a water meter is attached, it shows a surprising amount of water for a family load of dishes. The dishwasher on the other hand, takes in a set amount of water, and with the help of filtering, re uses the wash water throughout a cycle. Fresh water is then used for a short rinse cycle. Hooking up a water meter shows usage of half the amount of water or less than would be used to wash piecemeal.
These simple tips for saving water are as easy to use as that eco friendly bag in the checkout aisle, so live green and save green.
Author Resource:-
Eliza Reeder writes articles that deal with environmental concerns and eco-friendly living. She encourages everyone to help protect our planet's future by doing things like using reusable bags. You can learn more at http://www.reusablebagsdepot.com
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