Tips & Advice
Making a little go a long way
“If it’s yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down.”
It may seem unpleasant, but it’s a mantra that could serve you well if you’re to complete the 20 Litre Challenge.
To add some perspective to the task at hand, the average daily water usage in the UK is a staggering 155 litres per person. So managing on just 20 for all your refreshment, hygiene and domestic needs is a tougher task than you might realise.
Granted villagers in rural Africa don’t have thirsty kitchen and bathroom appliances to contend with. But neither do we have weeks on end of blazing sun; dry, dusty plains to live and work on; and crops to cultivate for our very survival.
It can be done. Here are a few pointers from Pump Aid director Ian Thorpe to help you through the day ahead.
In the bathroom
• One third of all water in the home is flushed down the toilet. So follow the advice above and only make that flush when it’s absolutely necessary. Pull the lever more than once and your best laid plans are already scuppered!
• Don’t run the tap whilst brushing your teeth and use a cup of water instead.
Dip your brush in the cup to wet the bristles before gargling to rinse and using the remaining water to clean the brush and sink afterwards.
• It’s common knowledge that a shower is more economical than a bath for water conservation. However, given even basic showers can use 15 litres of water a minute, neither will suffice for the purpose of this challenge. Try turning the shower off when lathering soap and shampoo. Or instead, fill the sink with water and use this to shampoo/condition your hair, sponge yourself clean and then rinse yourself afterwards.
• The sink option won’t appeal to all, and may not be pleasant in the long run, so if you really need to shower then turn off the water whilst you shampoo/condition your hair and wash your body, and run it rinse only.
• You could also shower or bathe with a partner or loved one to save water. It’s economical as well as fun!
In the kitchen
• Use a bowl of water rather than running a tap to peel vegetables. You could then drain the peelings and transfer the water to a pan to cook your carrots, potatoes etc in afterwards. You could then re-use that water to water your plants!
• Use the smallest pan possible to boil vegetables, and use only enough water to barely cover them. Better still, try steaming them instead.
• Embrace the inner student in you, give the dishwasher a breather and leave the washing up until the end of the day so you can blitz it in one go using the sink. When you finally don the rubber gloves, avoid using the tap to rinse waste food or suds.
• Don’t overfill the kettle when you fancy a brew. Only boil enough water for you and whoever.
• Washing machines by their very nature are thirsty beasts, so try the old-fashioned method of doing laundry by hand. It never did your Nan any harm!
General
• Try using an alcohol-based antibacterial hand wash to clean your hands, or a bowl of warm water, rather than rinsing them under the tap.
• Bear in mind that most waste water, whether from washing up, emptying the bath or whatever, can be used for watering lawns, flowers and plants.
• Keep a jug of water in the fridge to cool rather than letting a tap run cold.
There are many more ways to conserve water and complete the 20 Litre Challenge. Even if you fail, the very fact you’ve given it a go should at least make you realise how much water we use completely unnecessarily. That in itself makes the exercise a success.