Over the coming weeks we will be sharing some tips on how you can reduce water waste throughout different areas of your home. As we have discovered in our previous article (Is Malta running out of natural freshwater?), we all need to do our best to save water since it is such a scarce resource. Here are a few tips you can easily follow to reduce water waste in the kitchen:
Food preparation
- Don’t defrost food under running water. To reduce water waste, thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
- Fruits and vegetables can be washed in a container rather than running water. The same water can be used to water plants.
Cooking
- Avoid large pans and use appropriately sized ones for cooking to avoid using excessive water use.
- When cooking minimise the amount of water used, this will also help retain nutrients in your food. The leftover water can be used to water plants.
Washing up
- Scrape dishes to reduce washing time.
- Reuse the same glass or flask of water throughout the day to reduce the amount of washing up.
- If you have a dishwasher make sure to use it once it is full, on a fast/eco wash programme. This usually reduces water usage when compared to washing by hand.
- If you need to wash by hand, don’t leave the water running for the whole duration.
- Let pots and pans soak while you scrape them clean.
Some other tips
- Attach aerator to your taps, which will help reduce water waste and increase your water pressure.
- If you drop ice cubes and can’t put them in your drink, put them in a house plant instead of the sink. It will water the plant!
- If you have a reverse osmosis (which is great to reduce plastic waste!), make sure you collect the waste water generated. This can be used for cleaning floors, flushing the toilet, watering the garden, or even to wash your car.